Non-refundable airfare

[jc719]

How do travel insurance companies handle non-refundable airfare cancellations (before the first segment is flown)?

 

Airline change rules seem complex and depend on ticket class and airline elite status, but in many cases, the value of the cancelled ticket can be applied to another flight, often with some change fee. If I cancel the cruise, the flights planned in conjunction with that cruise are probably of no interest. But maybe I can use the amount paid toward some other trip.

 

I think the change fees are generally covered by most insurance plans, but how do they handle the residual value of the ticket? Will they pay the whole cost of the tickets and just trust me not to reuse them? I can't assign them or sell them to someone else (can't change the name).

[Alaskanb]

I have a similar question. Do you include non-refundable airfare in trip costs when you purchase travel insurance or just the amount to make ticket changes or not at all?

[Happy2cruise]

I always include the total airfare to be sure all angles are covered to waive the pre-existing conditions.

[Alaskanb]

I always include the total airfare to be sure all angles are covered to waive the pre-existing conditions.

I have just discovered this is the case wit a TravelGuard policy we have for a Norway cruise in August. Thankfully I had insured the amount to cover the final payment of the cruise (4,500) and not just the deposit. Effectively we have already included the cost of the airfare (2,000) and will just need to add enough coverage (+1,500) to include the total costs once we do the final payment.

I am not seeing this requirement in the TravelSafe policy.

[cruiseco]

It depends on the plan you've chosen and if you need coverage for pre-existing medical conditions.

 

Plan A:

 

"Waiver of the Pre-Existing Condition Exclusion

 

The Pre-Existing Condition Exclusion is waived provided you meet all of the following requirements:

 

1) the payment for this plan and enrollment form is received within 21 days of the initial Covered Trip deposit/payment for your Covered Trip; and

2) you are not disabled from travel at the time you makes your plan payment; and

3) you insure all prepaid Covered Trip costs that are subject to cancellation penalties or restrictions; and also insures within 21 days of the payment for those arrangements the cost of any subsequent arrangements added to the your Covered Trip."

 

Plan B:

 

"Waiver of the Pre-Existing Condition Exclusion

 

The Pre-Existing Condition Exclusion is waived provided you meet all of the following requirements:

 

1) the payment for this plan and enrollment form is received within 14 days of the initial Covered Trip deposit/payment for your Covered Trip; and

2) you are not disabled from travel at the time you makes your plan payment."

 

 

So if you (a) need coverage for pre-existing medical conditions and (b) select plan A above and © DO NOT cover the airline tickets you're out of luck.

 

Plan B above doesn't care if you cover all of your trip costs and will waive the pre-existing condition exclusion as long as you meet those other two criteria.

 

Some plans have the same requirement for Cancel For Any Reason coverage or financial default coverage.

[jc719]

This is drifting off my initial question (not that that's necessarily bad).

 

My airfare is non-REFUNDABLE (I can't get my money back if I cancel), BUT the value of the ticket can still be used toward another ticket under some conditions.

 

Assuming I meet the other policy requirements for trip cancellation before I begin the trip, can I get paid for the NON-REFUNDABLE ticket cost and still retain and use the value of the ticket toward some other trip that meets the airline's requirements?

 

Or do I need to wait for the ticket to expire (typically 1 year from original air purchase date) when the value becomes $0?

[Alaskanb]

Apologies for drifting off topic….

[GeezerCouple]

This is drifting off my initial question (not that that's necessarily bad).

 

My airfare is non-REFUNDABLE (I can't get my money back if I cancel), BUT the value of the ticket can still be used toward another ticket under some conditions.

 

Assuming I meet the other policy requirements for trip cancellation before I begin the trip, can I get paid for the NON-REFUNDABLE ticket cost and still retain and use the value of the ticket toward some other trip that meets the airline's requirements?

 

Or do I need to wait for the ticket to expire (typically 1 year from original air purchase date) when the value becomes $0?

 

This is a very interesting question.

You probably should check with the insurer or preferably a broker (like TripInsuranceStore.com etc.).

 

We had to cancel a trip due to last minute serious illness.

 

In our case, we had to provide documentation that we DID CANCEL all covered reservations. This included the airfare.

(Our airline reservations were not refundable and also did not have any other value such as what you discuss. However, if there had been anything like that, it wouldn't have mattered because of the requirement to cancel the reservations AND to provide written documentation of the cancellation.)

 

GeezerCouple

[sirwired]

Speaking for myself, the only time it could have come up with one of my claims happened to be with Southwest. Since I was scheduling a replacement trip and SW doesn't charge change fees, I never filed a claim for the air tickets.

 

I'm kind of curious too...

[cruiseco]

This is drifting off my initial question (not that that's necessarily bad).

 

My airfare is non-REFUNDABLE (I can't get my money back if I cancel), BUT the value of the ticket can still be used toward another ticket under some conditions.

 

Assuming I meet the other policy requirements for trip cancellation before I begin the trip, can I get paid for the NON-REFUNDABLE ticket cost and still retain and use the value of the ticket toward some other trip that meets the airline's requirements?

 

Or do I need to wait for the ticket to expire (typically 1 year from original air purchase date) when the value becomes $0?

 

If you insure the ticket cost and wish to be reimbursed for that cost you have to "surrender" the booking/ticket. What the insurer does at that point I don't know -- I'm going to assume they kill the reservation somehow with the airline. Insurers generally hate paying a claim and later finding out that there was no loss.

 

This is from Travel Guard:

 

Q. What should I send in if all I received is an e-ticket for air travel?

A. Submit the e-ticket passenger receipt.

Submit the ticket confirmation received for air travel booked online.

 

From Travelex:

 

We require the original airline tickets if they are non-refundable. If you were issued e-tickets, we need the e-ticket passenger receipt. If you booked the flight over the Internet, we need the printed ticket confirmation sheet with your ticket numbers.

[jc719]

The wording on these and policies from other providers appears to stem from the olden days when a "ticket" was something tangible, possession of which entitled you to something. By sending them such an instrument, you were relinquishing something. Today, "tickets" exist only in cyberspace and are non-transferable. I can certainly print a receipt and send it to them, but that only really establishes that I purchased the ticket, the price paid, and that the ticket was non-refundable (things that an insurer needs to know).

 

In the Travel Guard and Travelex cases cited above, they don't address any residual value of a non-refundable ticket. Their provisions serve to establish that the ticket was purchased, the price paid, and that the ticket was non-refundable. I'm sure they use this information to verify that you've insured the entire non-refundable trip cost (a provision that they are all-too-happy to exercise if you don't).

 

I would be surprised if an insurer or anyone else had the ability to "kill" or interact in any way with a contract/ticket between an airline and a traveler to which the insurer is not a party.

[cruiseco]

 

I would be surprised if an insurer or anyone else had the ability to "kill" or interact in any way with a contract/ticket between an airline and a traveler to which the insurer is not a party.

 

Perhaps, but at minimum you would be guilty of insurance fraud if you used those tickets after being reimbursed for them -- a felony in most states. That's probably enough to stop most folks from doing this.

[jc719]

I'm not looking to misrepresent anything, just to understand the provisions of the policies. They drafted the policy language and do not hesitate to enforce any of the "fine print" to their advantage.

 

So if they say "Submit the e-ticket passenger receipt. Submit the ticket confirmation received for air travel booked online.", I can certainly do that without misrepresenting anything. Same with "If you were issued e-tickets, we need the e-ticket passenger receipt. If you booked the flight over the Internet, we need the printed ticket confirmation sheet with your ticket numbers." These just establish the cost and that the tickets are non-refundable, which are reasonable things for them to request.

 

It may seem that I'm trying to sneak something past them, but I'm just trying to understand the terms of the contract as they wrote it.

[sirwired]

Well, if they have your last name and PNR (confirmation code), that's all they need to determine if you ever use your airfare credit. (Indeed, if you want to use it yourself, your last name and PNR are are exactly what the airline will ask you to supply to look it up.)