My thoughts on travel insurance. Is it worth the $20?
I normally do not go for the extra insurance when buying a ticket. Most of our flying is done through Southwest and I don't believe they offer that option anyway. But there have been a couple instances where I thought the insurance might have come in handy.
1) If you are a travel idiot or prone to unfortunate mistakes. A few years ago a few of us decided that Puerto Rico was going to be our spring break destination. For some reason, I volunteered to buy the vacation package for all four of us on my credit card, probably to get the points or something. Later in the week I was perusing my credit card statement and saw the charge from Orbitz - TWICE. Somehow I had bought the same package TWICE. The largest charge I'd ever made in my life - TWICE. After a near-tearful call to the Orbitz and airline personnel, they kindly undid one of our bookings but I think that's because God blessed me with a compassionate agent. She asked if we'd bought the insurance (we hadn't) and I'm sure it would've made it easier if we had! Incidentally, on the way home we all missed our flight - and no flight insurance - had to BUY a new one to get home. But really, everything else about actually being there was great! But that's where $20 would've gone a long way.
2) If you have reason to believe your flight may not go as planned. During my last trip when weather canceled my first flight, I was really leery of airlines and decided to buy the travel insurance with my Jet Blue flight to Denver. When that flight was canceled due to a missing crew member, my dad was quick to inform me of my passenger's rights and encouraged me to press for a taxi voucher home. They are not quick to give away vouchers these days. Since I'd bought the insurance, I called their emergency number to ask if they would arrange the taxi home for me. They said they WOULD NOT, but that I could take a taxi and attempt to claim it later. They were not very reassuring, so I approached the airline. At first the manager said she would take care of it, but when she found out it was $150, she changed her mind. After much begging and pleading, the airline agreed to pay half of my taxi ride home since I was sharing with someone from the next town over. I still think that's ridiculous, but I was so anxious to get home, I took it, and was careful to get a receipts. The next day I filed a claim with the insurance company . . . and this weekend I got a check!! Wonder of wonders, it worked! *I should clarify that all of my flights were fully refunded by the airlines because weather and missing crew members are good enough reasons for the passengers to get their money back.
So, sometimes it is worth it, although the language is very exclusive. I will read the terms before buying it next time to see if it would apply to a situation we might find ourselves in. Sorry this was such an incredibly boring post, but I thought it might be helpful. I really couldn't believe we got our $75 back this weekend!
I normally do not go for the extra insurance when buying a ticket. Most of our flying is done through Southwest and I don't believe they offer that option anyway. But there have been a couple instances where I thought the insurance might have come in handy.
1) If you are a travel idiot or prone to unfortunate mistakes. A few years ago a few of us decided that Puerto Rico was going to be our spring break destination. For some reason, I volunteered to buy the vacation package for all four of us on my credit card, probably to get the points or something. Later in the week I was perusing my credit card statement and saw the charge from Orbitz - TWICE. Somehow I had bought the same package TWICE. The largest charge I'd ever made in my life - TWICE. After a near-tearful call to the Orbitz and airline personnel, they kindly undid one of our bookings but I think that's because God blessed me with a compassionate agent. She asked if we'd bought the insurance (we hadn't) and I'm sure it would've made it easier if we had! Incidentally, on the way home we all missed our flight - and no flight insurance - had to BUY a new one to get home. But really, everything else about actually being there was great! But that's where $20 would've gone a long way.
2) If you have reason to believe your flight may not go as planned. During my last trip when weather canceled my first flight, I was really leery of airlines and decided to buy the travel insurance with my Jet Blue flight to Denver. When that flight was canceled due to a missing crew member, my dad was quick to inform me of my passenger's rights and encouraged me to press for a taxi voucher home. They are not quick to give away vouchers these days. Since I'd bought the insurance, I called their emergency number to ask if they would arrange the taxi home for me. They said they WOULD NOT, but that I could take a taxi and attempt to claim it later. They were not very reassuring, so I approached the airline. At first the manager said she would take care of it, but when she found out it was $150, she changed her mind. After much begging and pleading, the airline agreed to pay half of my taxi ride home since I was sharing with someone from the next town over. I still think that's ridiculous, but I was so anxious to get home, I took it, and was careful to get a receipts. The next day I filed a claim with the insurance company . . . and this weekend I got a check!! Wonder of wonders, it worked! *I should clarify that all of my flights were fully refunded by the airlines because weather and missing crew members are good enough reasons for the passengers to get their money back.
So, sometimes it is worth it, although the language is very exclusive. I will read the terms before buying it next time to see if it would apply to a situation we might find ourselves in. Sorry this was such an incredibly boring post, but I thought it might be helpful. I really couldn't believe we got our $75 back this weekend!
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