At the urging of my travel insurance, before they would pay my claim for trip interruption, I needed a statement from the airlines I had no refund due. I thought this would be futile, as the ticket clearly states, "Non Refundable". I just got notice from the airline that I was due $387 (approximately 47% of the unused ticket). Who knew!
Background: We purchased RT flights from Iceland Air, Economy Standard, in November, 2024 for our trip in April/May, 2025. We purchased travel insurance with Travel Insured International in January, 2025. Trip was round trip from Seattle to Glasgow with a change of planes in REF.
DW got sick and we missed our return flight home. A few days later we flew home on a different airline, where we got a 2-seat row. 3 months later, because the hospital treatment notes and invoice were slow in coming, we filed for Medical Expenses and Trip Interruption. I don't think the hospital would have billed us without my prodding them.
The insurance company itemized additional information/documentation they still needed. One of these was: "Airline Refund: This policy covers non-refundable trip costs. Please request a refund from the airline and provide a copy of their written response or refund payment." That sent me to the Iceland Air website to request a refund, Under "Contact Us" I found "Claims and Refunds", then "Refund for extra services". Apparently, "Unused government and/or airport taxes are refundable." Even though this forfeiture occurred over 3 months ago, I'm getting a partial refund.
I don't know if other airlines work this way. This only works if you purchased tickets directly with the airline, per Iceland Air. I hope this is useful for other fliers.