Should I Buy Travel Insurance Through My Airline?

Should I Buy Travel Insurance Through My Airline?

Buying tickets for any trip can be a real headache. Once you’ve reached the end of this ordeal you’re hit with the question about whether you’d like to purchase travel insurance from the airline. At this point, you might just click ‘yes’ in order to move on. On the other hand, you might pause and wonder, “would it be better if I purchased travel insurance elsewhere?”

The answer to this is a resounding YES. While the insurance offered by an airline might be convenient, it generally does not provide as much coverage as you can secure on your own.

Through airline travel insurance, you’ll likely receive some sort of trip interruption and cancellation coverage, travel delay protection, and perhaps even missed flight coverage. Yet, it might not be immediately obvious that many of these airline policies provide few features, low dollar limits, and may only cover a few specific situations.

A recent study noted that, “consumers are pressured to buy plans that promise extensive or even total coverage, but in reality offer very little, leaving them without the security they thought they bought and oftentimes without their money.”¹

Meanwhile, travel insurance through your alumni/alumnae association can provide a multitude of protections against:

• Trip cancellations, interruptions, and delays
• Medical expenses, including emergency medical evacuation
• Delayed, lost or stolen baggage
• Cancellations for work reasons, hurricanes, or for any reason (depending on the plan)

Through the alumni association, you can secure coverage that is far more flexible than airline-purchased insurance. Of course, as any travel expert will tell you, no matter where you find your plan, be sure to check the fine print.

¹https://www.markey.senate.gov/news/press-releases/flyer-beware-is-travel-insurance-worth-it