I had to cancel a short domestic trip with a single non-refundable item—-event tickets. I insured the cost of the tickets at the time of purchase, through the Allianz option offered by the vendor. Cost was $31 to insure the $500 cost of the tickets.
I filed the claim through the website yesterday, in late morning. I received notice of approval and payment around 7 pm last night. That was fast!
Nice to know. We are using Allianz for our upcoming trip to Japan.
Thanks for the info. I used Allianz a few times but never had to file a claim. In August of 2024, I had a snafu due to an airline strike in Germany. Long story short, in order to get home without waiting a few days in Germany for a re-booking, I had to purchase my own one-way ticket home. I filed a claim with Allianz but they denied the claim. I discussed it with them and they explained their policy about trip delays. In my case, it wasn't a delay so much as a re-routing/re-booking, which wasn't covered.
I know zero about travel insurance so I have to research it for next time. I usually buy refundable airline tickets but that only applies to cancelling the entire flight ahead of time, say, in the case of illness or an unforseen emergency. If an airline cancels a flight and then rebooks you, you are stuck with the rebooked flight which might not meet your needs. So I'm not sure what type of insurance would cover this.
Anyway, Allianz was pleasant to deal with and moderately quick to handle the claim even though they denied it.
If the airline rebooks you on a flight that is unsuitable for your needs, you should have the option to refuse it and get a refund for the canceled flight.
I had a great experience with Allianz, as well. I had a trip booked for this coming February. After a medical condition caused me to cancel, I used the app to upload my documents and received notification about 3 hours later that my refund was approved. My refund was in my bank account by 7:00 pm that evening. Very happy with their service.
