A New Haven-bound US Airways flight was struck by lightning. The passengers and crew were safe and the flight was rerouted to New York. This incident, however, demonstrates why flight insurance is so crucial.
The sheer varieties of flight insurance policies available indicate that fliers do recognize the importance of flight insurance. A basic flight insurance policy covers death, loss of limbs, or loss of vision due to an aircraft mishap. Some policies also include coverage for evacuation and repatriation on medical grounds, lost luggage, and trip cancellation.
You have several flight insurance packages to pick from. Flight life insurance plans provide insurance coverage for accidental death on commercial airlines. If the insured visits high-risk areas, then flight life insurance do not offer coverage.
Then there are flight cancellation insurance plans, which reimburse expenses due to a reason covered by the plan, such as flight delay or illness or death of a family member or companion. Some plans reimburse trip delays due to connecting flights that were missed. If a child below 18 years of age is accompanying an adult who is insured, then the child too is automatically covered.
Based on your requirement and the money you are willing to spend, you can pick one of several policies. Some policies offer maximum limits of $3,00,000, $5,00,000, or $ 1 million while some others offer lower maximum limits of $1,00,000, $2,00,000, $3,00,000, and so on.
Premiums can cost as little as $14 and can go up to $56 depending on the coverage selected. Maximum trip lengths, too, vary from 180 days to 365 days. Packages can be purchased for a single trip or for multiple trips.
Some flight insurance policies focus on specific risks while some others blend many services within the same plan. A MedEvac plan provides coverage for emergency evacuation of the policy holder (and relative or companion) on medical reasons or security grounds. It also offers nonmandatory adventure sports coverage. MedEvac also steps in with assistance services. You may need help with rearranging your current flight or hotel bookings, or your baggage may be lost, or you may need immediate medical assistance. In any of these situations, MedEvac offers 24 hour assistance.
A web site to help customers compare and evaluate flight insurance plans has been recently launched. Based on inputs provided by the customer, the web site selects relevant policy details from various sources and displays them. The customer can now compare all the policies and pick one that is suitable and affordable.