Want to Know How to Claim Insurance for Delayed and Cancelled Flights?

A mother traveling alone with her toddler is stuck in the aerobridge with several other passengers, with the kid wailing for hours.

An 85-year-old is left uncomfortable in a wheelchair at the gate where the boarding is delayed, unable to use the washroom.

A family's hard-earned money is in jeopardy as their connecting flight is missed in a blink due to the cancellation of their current flight.

We've heard or seen all these scenarios; only those who have experienced them will know the anguish. Flights have become expensive, especially after the COVID era, and it takes much planning for a typical middle-class Indian to book flights at affordable prices. Recently, there have been several instances of flight delays and cancellations without any prior information, leaving the passengers stranded and huffing. Arguments with the ground staff, tweets on the official social media pages, and phone calls/emails to the flight companies do not seem to yield favorable results. Claiming compensation for cancelled flights from the airlines is a near-impossible task these days.

According to the Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR) Section 3, Series M, Part IV, titled "Facilities to be provided to passengers by airlines due to denied boarding, cancellation of flights and delays in flights" issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the airline companies have to take care of the following:

A full refund or alternate flight arrangement has to be provided to the passengers as a part of the canceled flight compensation process, along with stay and refreshments.

A full refund or alternate flight arrangement has to be provided to the passengers in case of a flight cancelation, along with stay and refreshments, depending on the total time of the delay.

However, unforeseen circumstances beyond an airline's control, like waiting for the fog to clear up, do not make the airline liable to compensate the passengers. That's where travel insurance comes into the picture and play!

Let's admit it: many of us tend to ignore adding the travel insurance sum when we book the flights, considering it an additional expenditure. However, it saves us in contemporary situations wherein the flight companies do not bother explaining or covering our expenditure. Canceled flight insurance details can be obtained in detail from the insurance provider.

Travel insurance covers the expenses, damages, and financial loss due to unexpected events like thefts, death, medical emergencies, flight delays, loss of luggage, etc., when traveling in India and abroad.

"If a flight is canceled, then travel insurance will pay for actual costs that you incurred, for example, cancellation charges on a room reservation or some non-refundable bookings. This is what will be paid even in the case of a delay, typically over 12 hours," explains Kapil Mehta, the co-founder of SecureNow Insurance. The air travel insurance claim procedure is not as cumbersome as we presume.

Let's have a look at the five key points in the claim process for delayed or cancelled flights-

a. Compensation by the airline

If the airline company has already given compensation for the delay or cancellation, the insurance firm need not shell out anything extra.

b. Delays

Before opting for insurance, the traveler must check the terms and conditions associated with the policy to see what situations get covered. Flight delay insurance procedures can be acquired from leading insurance companies.

c. Weather

In case of cancellation due to bad weather conditions such as fog, the traveler is entitled to receive total compensation as a part of fog-related flight disruption coverage.

d. Comprehensive coverage

Travel insurance offers comprehensive coverage, not just insurance for delayed and canceled flights, but taking care of all the traveler's vital aspects.

e. Deductibles

Policies cover accommodation and meals in case of significant delays, but some benefits can be claimed only after a specific time has lapsed.

Detailing in flight delay insurance claims is extremely important. So, as the jargon goes, ''read your travel insurance policy document carefully before investing."