How Does Flight Insurance Work?
Traditional travel insurance works a certain way. For the most part, it reimburses you if you have to cancel or interrupt your trip for a covered reason, you have an emergency medical issue, or you lose your luggage.
Flight insurance – like AirCare® and ExactCare Extra® from Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection – works differently.
Many of the flight-related benefits in these products pay you for your inconvenience.
For instance, if your flight is stuck on the tarmac more than three hours, AirCare will pay you $1,000.
AirCare and ExactCare Extra have benefits like these for missed connections, flight delays of more than three hours, flight cancellations and lost luggage.
AirCare adds inconvenience benefits for late-night delayed arrivals and diverted flights.
Inconvenience benefits are a way of taking care of you when you fly by putting a little money in your pocket – money you can use for meals or gifts.
Flight Insurance Pays Fast*
One of the best things about these inconvenience benefits is that because flights have to be tracked very accurately, it’s possible to know if a flight has been delayed or cancelled – or even if you’ve missed a connection.
Because of that, AirCare and ExactCare Extra can file claims automatically – without you having to do a thing. Also, because these claims don’t need photos of receipts or other verification, they can be paid almost immediately.
Customers report having a claim filed on their behalf and paid into an account they specify before they even knew anything was wrong with their flights.
It’s that sort of proactive claim filing and super-fast payment that makes flight insurance so different – and why people who buy it often buy it for every flight they take.
Claims With ‘A Pic And A Click’
One more thing about claims: Because AirCare flight insurance has a “fixed” luggage benefit, claim submission is extremely easy if your luggage is lost or stolen.
A fixed benefit pays a flat amount for your luggage, regardless of what was in the bag. Most other luggage benefits require you to list what was in your bag and generate receipts for how much you paid for each item.
With a fixed luggage benefit, often all you need to file a claim is a picture of your airline-issued baggage-claim receipt or lost-baggage report you filed with the airline.
This is what we mean by “pic-and-a-click” claims: take a picture, send it to us, and we’ll start the claims process.
Flight Insurance Plus Traditional Travel Insurance
Because there’s very little overlap in coverage, often people who buy flight insurance pair it with other travel insurance to cover trip interruption or travel medical emergencies.
Of course, ExactCare Extra has already done the combining for you. In addition to flight insurance, it includes coverage for trip cancellation and interruption, medical emergencies, evacuation, and more.
However, people who are going on a cruise may want to pair AirCare with BHTP’s WaveCare®, with its increased luggage limits and coverage for cruise-ship disablement.
Can I Use Travel Insurance To Change My Flight?
Absolutely – because flight insurance works hand-in-hand with the 24/7 travel assistance included with most travel insurance plans.
For instance, if you have flight insurance with Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection and you miss a connection, you can contact BHTP’s travel assistance and get help rebooking your flight.
Travel assistance can also help you find a hotel if your flight has been diverted or you arrive late at night after having been delayed for multiple hours.
Here’s a good way to think of it: Flight insurance pays you for the inconvenience of flight mishaps. Travel assistance helps take care of the inconveniences.
Is It Too Late To Get Flight Insurance? Not At All!
In most cases you can buy AirCare flight insurance up to 11:59 pm the day before you depart. Getting covered is fast and easy.