Today, travelling is easier than it has ever been before. But even though some people are used to travelling abroad as they do it quite often, others have never left their hometown. Nevertheless, however many times you have travelled in your life, you've probably heard of travel insurance.

Why Do Flights Get Cancelled?

There are many reasons why your flight could get cancelled. In most cases, they can be categorised as either your own personal reasons or the flight carrier cancelling the flight. Some of the most common reasons for a flight to get cancelled include:

• Bad weather (e.g. dense fog, typhoons)
• Natural disasters (e.g. earthquakes, floods)
• Strikes or other actions by the airline company's employees
• Financial default of the airline company
• Technical glitches in the aircraft
• Terrorist attacks or other crises

If the reason why your flight got cancelled falls into one of these categories (i.e. it was cancelled by the flight career and not by yourself), then your airline company will have to provide the passengers with compensation.

What Gets Compensated?

As explained above, cancelled flights (due to company reasons) should get compensated. However, you should also get compensated for any flight interruptions or rescheduling as long as you have travel insurance for any of these.

In many cases, the airline company must also provide compensation for any additional expenses that the passengers are supposed to bear due to the flight cancellation. For example, hotel accommodation charges.

Once again, what gets compensated depends on the travel insurance you bought. Because not all travellers are usually aware of what their insurance covers, issues may arise when you try to claim compensation for a cancelled flight.

What Changed with COVID-19?

Though the pandemic isn't completely over yet, many of the past restrictions have already been lifted and the world is slowly returning to its pre-pandemic state. Quite a few of the travel restrictions have been lifted too, but it's worth noting how travel insurance policies changed as well.

If you are the one initiating the flight cancellation, then these could be some of the reasons why you decided to cancel:

• You or your flight companion fell sick, got into an accident, or suffered an injury that prevents you from travelling.
• You or your flight companion tested positive for COVID-19.
• An immediate family member of yours passed away.

In case you want to cancel your flight due to one of these reasons, you need to check your travel insurance and see if you purchased the one that includes compensation for such situations. Otherwise, you won't get any compensation (for your tickets or for other expenses like accommodation).

This is precisely why you need to be careful when purchasing travel insurance. Always check that what you are buying covers exactly what you are looking for. In some cases, you will need to purchase additional insurance packages to receive the coverage you want.

Interestingly, most airline companies in the UK offer a travel insurance that doesn't provide compensation in cases when flights are cancelled due to strikes. Many of these include compensation for flight cancellations due to the passenger testing positive for COVID-19 while not considering situations when strikes happen.

Nevertheless, it's best to check with each insurance company separately, whether you are travelling in Europe, North America, Asia, or elsewhere. Most companies adapted to the global pandemic and introduced relevant travel insurance, but it's still worth double-checking when you purchase it for your next flight.

How to Write a Travel Insurance Claim?

If you do get into a situation where your flight is cancelled, how do you act? What should you do? And how do you write a travel insurance claim? Follow these steps:

1. Determine whether flight cancellation happened due to your own reasons or the company's. If the company cancelled your flight, then you will likely be contacted and provided with a refund or a voucher for your next flight (as well as compensation for additional expenses if your insurance covers them). If you want to cancel your flight for a specific reason, then proceed to the next step.
2. Check that your reason doesn't belong to one of the categories that aren't commonly covered by travel insurance. These include the reasons mentioned earlier as well as:
   • You or your companion has depression, anxiety, or another mental health issue.
   • You or your companion is suffering from alcohol or drug abuse.
   • You are having cosmetic surgery (not connected to an accident).
   • You are pregnant.
3. If you haven't checked your travel insurance when purchasing it, then check it now to make sure that the reason why you want to cancel your flight is covered by the insurance. If that is the case, you will be able to file a travel insurance claim.
4. Visit your airline company's website and find the relevant information about their travel insurance claiming process. If you can't find the information, contact their customer support.
5. Fill out the form for a travel insurance claim that is usually available on the airline company's website. Make sure to provide all the necessary documents. If possible, make sure to file the claim at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure of your flight because most airline companies only accept claims that were filed at such time.
6. Wait for the response from your airline company and proceed with any further arrangements. Keep in mind that some companies have a big backlog of refund requests, so it can take some time for them to actually provide you with compensation.

Final Thoughts

All in all, claiming your compensation for a canceled flight is definitely your right that you should make good use of. Follow the steps in this article and write your travel insurance claim for flight cancellations.

About the author

Nicholas Gunter has been a content writer and freelance proofreader at the essay writing service review Rated by Students. He is a well-experienced writing expert in marketing, business, and self-education. He also loves to play the guitar and speaks Spanish and German.

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