Sorting through what is covered in travel insurance

You have to take the time to read all of that before you buy it.
Ask the company you are paying directly.

Most policies would cover either situation, as well as others, but it's a complicated subject. Here's some good information that can help you decide whether to get travel insurance, and if so what kind:

https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/trip-planning/travel-insurance

https://www.insuremytrip.com/

https://www.squaremouth.com/

It depends on what the details of the policy say.

Generally, insurance is for paying you for any unplanned costs on covered items you might incur. And if an airline credits or otherwise compensates you, insurance wont also pay for those costs. You cant get double reimbursement.

There is a category in trip insurance that address your concerns.
Trip Delay. This is when your airline cancels a flight or you miss a connection due to a delayed flight. This will generally cover the costs associated with the delay up to a preset limit.

I had a claim last year under this category. A flight was late departing and we missed our connection. The airline rebooked us for the next day, paid for our hotel, and meals. Nothing to be reimbursed for there. What I put the claim in for was the fact that I had to change another flight on a different ticket that would have been the final leg home to the next day. I ended up with around $360 in additional costs for that change. My travel insurance (Allianz) reimbursed me promptly with no hassle.

I was headed home. If you were on your way to your vacation, this might have cost 1 nights lodging at your destination and I think a claim could have been put in for that as well.

As a side note, because I was on a European carrier, they sent also sent each passenger who filed a claim 600 euros in compensation.

Hey - I've been using a yearly AIG Travel Guard insurance for the last 2 years. It got good reviews on this forum, but a few unhappy customers. It covers my international and domestic trips for both personal and business. It has both trip interruption and trip cancellation coverage. I was in Germany in March during a rail/air strike. I was physically unable to get from Frankfurt to Munich. The Munich hotel showed ZERO mercy and charged me full price. After returning to the states, I called AIG's number. Using the website I explained my situation, uploaded my receipts and correspondences and a copy of a news article describing the German strike. They refunded me the daily maximum for both Cancellation and Interruption and I'm very happy with them. It also has some hospitalization coverage and emergency evacuation coverage, but haven't needed to use them. I hope this helps!

Safe travels,

Matt

There is NO SUBSTITUTE for reading EVERY WORD of the policy you propose to buy. Every policy is DIFFERENT - that's American free enterprise. Plus your opportunity to pay for only what you want.

Examples: I started buying travel insurance because of aging parents. I learned (by calling the company) that "Pre-existing conditions" did NOT apply to " ... serious illness requiring a doctor's care of a close member of your immediate family ... " because those people are not the INSURED TRAVELERS. That was good news to me. But it is not clearly stated in the printed policy!

Another example: When I had to see the doctor on a cruise ship for a minor matter, when I submitted the $100 expense, they told me I had to submit a "Medicare denial" before they would consider the claim. Since my Medicare claims normally don't require my intervention, that was a lot of work. But they were hoping I would drop it.

Hey Matt, I think that means that the Munich hotel amount is now no longer available for reimbursement during the remainder of the year's policy, right? That is, your "maximum coverage" is now a lower number.

Is trip insurance mostly about you, the purchaser, being unable to complete your trip for their established reasons...

Depending on your age and health insurance coverage (Medicare?), the medical and emergency evacuation coverage may be just as important as the trip interruption/cancellation coverage.

Thanks all. My most recent experience w US carriers has been them cancelling or not getting me to my destination in a timely manner (eg sorry we can't get you there until 2 days from now...), so that's my main impetus.

If you have questions as you read the legalese plan docs, call the company. I spent over an hour on two calls to Allianz. I wanted to verify part of pre-existing clause. The first person winged the answer which didn’t feel right. The next day I called back, talked to someone else who researched my question, then verified her information was correct before answering my question. Also, read the docs of the policy you are interested in carefully. Each policy can have different information and limitations.