A Guide to Flight Cancellation and Making An Insurance Claim

According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), in 2018 UK passport holders topped the international table for the number of people travelling internationally with a total of 126.6 million travellers. This figure represents 8.6 percent of all international air travel for the same period. (Source: IATA: https://www.iata.org/pressroom/pr/Pages/2019-07-31-01.aspx)

Isolated events affecting an airline’s ability to deliver on its mission of transporting the millions of holidaymakers and business travellers it carries in and out of the UK every year, do occur. Although rare, as IATA's data illustrates, when an issue of a larger scale affects customers in their thousands, such as flight cancellation due to industrial action, the impact is far greater.

For insured customers experiencing an airline cancellation:

If you are affected by the cancellation of a flight and you wish to make an insurance claim, you are advised to speak to your airline and check the details and limits of your cover before starting a claims process.

Cancellations triggered by an airline are most likely covered under the Travel Delay section of your travel insurance policy rather than the ‘Cancellation’ section.

This is because, for insurance purposes, the term ‘cancellation’ refers to trips cancelled by the policyholder only and not cancellation by a third-party, such as an airline.

Travel Delay cover differs from policy to policy, and your policy will tell you how long a delay, in the form of an airline-triggered cancellation, must have impacted upon you before you can make a claim.

However, please be aware that all European airlines, as well as flights departing from Europe, have an obligation to you as their customer which exists separately to your insurance policy. For this reason, events deemed inside the control of the airline, such as operational factors, are unlikely to be covered by your policy. In these circumstances the insurer will expect the airline to make good on their commitment to you.

Speak to your airline
Every airline will have its own processes and procedures for dealing with the cancellation of one or more of its own flights. For more information, speak to your airline to discover the options available to you. For further guidance you can also visit the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) website, here: https://www.caa.co.uk/Passengers/Resolving-Travel-Problems/Delays-and-cancellations/"

Some policies may also provide cover if your travel is significantly delayed and as a result, you decide to abandon your trip, this is known as ‘Trip Abandonment’. This level of cover will be dependent upon your individual policy and will likely only apply if you abandon your travel plans at the very beginning of your trip after experiencing a long delay.

Act quickly
In short, if your flight is cancelled the best approach is to act quickly; speak to your airline as soon as possible to identify the next steps available to you. If you do wish to make a claim you should then check your individual policy wording to discover the benefits and limits of your cover.

If there are any aspects of your policy that you are unsure of please contact your insurer, or their appointed claims handlers, for up-to-date advice and guidance.

Supporting Insurers:

As independent Third-Party Administrators (TPA), Rightpath Claims’ Travel Claims Centre of Excellence has over a decade of experience in supporting customers with expert, professional and friendly support in making an insurance claim in accordance with their cover terms.

Insurers supported by Rightpath Claims benefit from a TPA with an overall customer satisfaction rating above 90%, and a leakage which remains below 1%.

With proven, rapid scalability, Rightpath Claims’ is ready and able to support insurers with claims management services in response to unexpected travel-related incidents triggering exceptional claim volumes.

Combined with a history of innovation and a comprehensive digital strategy positioned to disrupt online claims, Rightpath Claims is the partner of choice for insurers wishing to optimise their customer experience and future-proof their online advantage.

For more information on claims handling or TPA services from Rightpath Claims please contact Rightpath Insurance Solutions on: 01268 214096