What Does Trip Delay Insurance Cover?

What Is Trip Delay Insurance?

Trip delay insurance covers expenses you incur when your travel is delayed for reasons beyond your control. If your flight is grounded overnight due to bad weather, for example, trip delay insurance might cover the cost of your meals and a hotel room for the night, transportation from and to the airport, plus necessities like medicine or toiletries.

Trip delay coverage is for short-term delays: It covers your costs while you're waiting for your next leg of travel. There's usually a minimum delay requirement and a cap on benefits that can range from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars.

Most commonly, trip delay coverage is included as part of a travel insurance policy or as a free credit card travel benefit.

Learn more: What Does Travel Insurance Cover?

What Does Trip Delay Insurance Cover?

Trip delay insurance reimburses you for actual costs during an unexpected travel delay. Reimbursable expenses might include:

• Meals
• Lodging
• Medication
• Toiletries and personal use items
• Transportation to and from the hotel

Depending on your coverage, you may also be reimbursed for prepaid expenses you lose as a result of a delay—for instance, a nonrefundable hotel night you booked at your destination. Your coverage may extend to the people you're traveling with. Some policies also cover additional pet care or parking expenses if your return home is delayed.

To qualify for benefits, a delay typically has to meet certain requirements:

• Minimum delay: Benefits only kick in when you're delayed for a certain amount of time. Common minimums range from five to 12 hours.
• Common carrier: Your travel must be booked on a common carrier, such as an airline or passenger train. It won't, for example, cover travel delays if you're driving your personal car.
• Covered reason: Broadly speaking, the delay should be out of your control. Missing your flight because you accidentally overslept doesn't qualify.

Coverage varies, so read the fine print to get all the details.

Does Trip Delay Insurance Cover Canceled Flights?

Yes, trip delay insurance covers costs when your travel is delayed by a flight cancellation, as long as the delay meets the requirements listed above: You should be traveling with a common carrier and experience a minimum delay for a covered reason.

Trip Delay Insurance Limits and Exclusions

Trip delay insurance reimburses you for specific costs you incur during a covered travel delay. It doesn't cover related costs, including:

• Canceled trips: Trip delay insurance presumes that your travel is delayed, not canceled. However, your costs may be covered under trip cancellation insurance if you have to end your trip due to a prolonged delay or because you aren't able to secure a suitable rebooking.
• Interrupted plans: If your trip is underway when an extended delay makes it impossible to continue, you may be able to use trip interruption insurance (also included in most travel insurance policies) to help you purchase a new ticket home.
• Brief delays: If you're held up for three hours and your coverage kicks in at six hours, you won't be eligible for reimbursement.
• Over-limit expenses: Trip delay coverage includes daily or per-trip reimbursement limits. Know your limits and use them as a guide for spending. Or, consider purchasing coverage with a higher limit if you think you'll need it.
• Airline vouchers and primary insurance benefits: Credit card trip delay benefits may be considered secondary to any benefits you receive from an airline or paid travel insurance policy. If the airline offers you meal or hotel vouchers, or your primary travel insurance provides coverage, your credit card trip delay insurance may not reimburse you for these expenses.

Learn more: Should You Buy Travel Insurance?

How Much Does Trip Delay Insurance Cost?

Trip delay insurance generally doesn't have a standalone cost; it's a travel benefit associated with your credit card or part of a larger package of coverage included in a travel insurance policy. Travel insurance typically costs between 4% and 8% of your total trip expense, according to the U.S. Travel Insurance Association. Travel insurance premiums vary based on the length of your trip, destination and your age.

If you have a credit card with travel benefits, trip delay coverage may be included at no extra charge when you use your premium credit card or credit card rewards to purchase travel. Check your credit card's benefits guide to find out whether you're eligible for this coverage and what it includes.

How to Get Trip Delay Insurance

Here's how to ensure you have trip delay coverage the next time you're planning to travel.

Via Credit Card

Not all credit cards offer this coverage, so check your credit card's benefits guide. You may need to purchase some or all of your travel using the designated card in order to activate your coverage. While you're checking into it, make note of the number to call (or app to use) if you need to file a claim. It'll come in handy if you experience a delay.

Via Travel Insurance

If you don't have access to free credit card travel benefits—or you want more robust coverage—consider buying travel insurance that includes trip delay coverage. You can buy travel insurance through major carriers like Allianz or Berkshire Hathaway, or check an online marketplace like InsureMyTrip or Squaremouth.

Tip: You can also insure your trip against trip cancellation, but this coverage typically comes with a long list of restrictions. If you want the broadest trip cancellation coverage, consider a cancel for any reason (CFAR) policy.

Is Trip Delay Insurance Worth It?

Trip delay insurance is helpful in a pinch. If it's available at no additional cost (when you buy travel insurance or use credit card travel benefits), it's almost certainly worth having. It can serve as a good reminder, too, that you may have access to a range of useful coverages for free when you use your card (or your card's reward points) to pay for your trip.

Tip: If your credit card doesn't offer benefits like trip delay insurance, you may want to shop for a premium card that does. Travel rewards cards typically offer the best travel benefits, though the tradeoff may be paying an annual fee.

Deciding whether to purchase travel insurance can be a bit more complicated, since travel insurance costs money.

One consideration is the length and complexity of your trip. If you're flying to Seattle to embark on an Alaskan cruise, for instance, a major flight delay could mean missing the boat. In that case, travel insurance with trip delay, trip interruption and trip cancellation coverage can defray the cost of meals and lodging while you're delayed, and help you recoup nonrefundable costs if you're unable to complete your travels.

Learn more: What Is Flight Insurance and Is It Worth It?

How to File a Trip Delay Insurance Claim

Check with your card company or insurance provider for step-by-step guidance on filing a claim. Here's how claims typically work when you have trip delay coverage.

1. Contact Your Provider

If you can, use the insurance company or credit card app or call their toll-free number and report your delay, ideally while it's happening. They can help confirm eligibility and advise you on how to file a claim—and how long you have to file it. Also, once you confirm your benefit limit, you can plan your spending accordingly.

If your trip has already ended, contact your insurer or credit card company as soon as possible, to get the ball rolling before your claim window closes.

2. Keep Your Receipts

Save receipts for all expenses, including transportation, meals and lodging. Get documentation from the airline (or other transportation carrier) that shows your original booking, updated itinerary and reason for delay.

3. Submit Your Claim

You can typically submit a claim via website or app. Fill out your claim form completely and include supporting documents. You may be asked to provide the following:

• Your original and updated itinerary or ticket
• A credit card statement showing your travel purchase (if using credit card travel insurance)
• Statement from the carrier documenting the reason for the delay
• Copies of itemized receipts for reimbursable expenses

The Bottom Line

Trip delay insurance isn't mandatory, but it can be helpful. Check into your credit card's free travel benefits (if available) to see whether this and other coverages apply when you use your card to purchase travel. Consider buying travel insurance if you're concerned about the cost of travel delays—and other potential issues like emergency medical expenses, baggage delays, trip interruption, missed connections and more.

If you're thinking about opening a credit card with travel benefits, good credit may help you get the best rates and terms. You can check your credit report and credit scores for free on Experian, to help you find cards that are a good fit for your travel goals, financial needs and credit profile.