Missed Connection Travel Insurance

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Missing a flight, cruise or other transportation connection while traveling can be stressful and costly. Missed connection insurance can help by paying for the cost of catching up to your itinerary.

The best travel insurance companies include coverage for missed connections in their policies, but you’re only eligible to file a claim under certain circumstances. Learn how missed connection benefits apply so you know what to expect if you don’t make it to your connection on time.

What Is Missed Connection Travel Insurance?

Missed connection insurance helps pay for the additional cost to make it to your destination if a problem covered by your policy causes you to miss a flight, cruise or other travel connection. It can also compensate you for prepaid, nonrefundable trip costs for portions of your trip that you miss due to the hiccup in your travel plans. Sometimes, missed connection benefits cover expenses incurred during your wait.

There is usually a required waiting period of three hours before benefits apply. Missed connection coverage can range from $100 to $2,500, depending on the policy.

What Qualifies as a Missed Connection?

Missed connection benefits usually apply if you miss your connection due to the following reasons, but qualifying missed connections can vary significantly among travel insurance policies.

	A certified delay or cancellation by a “common carrier,” such as an airline.
	Severe weather that prevents you from getting to your departure point, or a natural disaster.
	Quarantine
	Hijacking
	Strike, terrorist incident, cyber terrorism or riot

What Missed Connection Insurance Covers

Missed connection benefits pay you to catch up to your trip, but beyond that, coverage varies by policy, so be sure to read the fine print for the following:

• Cruise and tours only: A “cruise only” or “cruise and tour only” policy will only reimburse you to catch up with your cruise or tour.
• Reasonable expenses: Some policies reimburse you for reasonable meal and lodging costs incurred while you wait for your new departure.
• Prepaid, nonrefundable trip costs: Some policies allow you to recoup nonrefundable trip expenses for activities and excursions you missed due to the missed connection.

It’s smart to compare and review the fine print of several travel insurance policies before selecting a plan because not all have the same terms and limits for reimbursing missed connections.

Here is an example of how missed connection benefits can differ by policy.

Policy and maximum benefit per person	Missed connection for cruise and tour only	Cost to catch up to your trip	Reasonable expenses covered	Reimbursement for the unused portion of trip
HTH Worldwide Trip Protector Preferred $1,000	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
IMG Global Travel LX Basic $500	No	Yes	No	No
Seven Corners Trip Protection Choice $1,500	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
WorldTrips Atlas Journey Elevate $1,500	No	Yes	No	Yes

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What’s Not Covered by Missed Connection Coverage?

Missed connection coverage is for specific unforeseen events beyond your control. That means if you oversleep and miss your flight, you won’t be eligible to file a missed connection claim.

It also typically doesn’t apply to your return destination. For example, if severe weather causes a delay for your flight home, you would not be compensated by missed connection insurance.

Exclusions will be listed in your policy, but can include:

• Being under the influence of drugs or intoxicants.
• Childbirth and pregnancy.
• War, invasion or civil war (whether declared or undeclared).

Does Travel Insurance Cover Missed Flights?

Yes, travel insurance can cover the nonrefundable cost of missed flights if the cause is due to unforeseen events beyond your control. This can include traffic accidents, medical emergencies, severe weather, airplane mechanical issues and unexpected flight delays and cancellations.

How you’re compensated depends on the type of coverage and the reason for missing the flight.

Trip cancellation insurance, trip delay, trip interruption and missed connection benefits can help compensate you for the nonrefundable cost of a missed flight if due to a problem listed in your policy.

For example, trip interruption insurance benefits will reimburse you for unused, prepaid, nonrefundable trip expenses, such as airfare, if your trip is unexpectedly cut short and you have to return home early.

Note that you would not file a claim with your travel insurance company to recoup the cost of a missed flight if you’re eligible for a refund from the airline. You’re entitled to a refund from your airline if:

• Your flight is canceled and the airline doesn’t rebook you.
• Your flight is canceled and you don’t accept rebooking.
• Your flight is “significantly changed” and you don’t accept the changed itinerary or any offers of rebooking or other compensation.

What’s the Difference Between Missed Connection Insurance and Travel Delay Coverage?

Missed connection and travel delay insurance both help pay for costs that arise because your itinerary is disrupted. However, they may cover you for different circumstances and may offer different benefits.

Travel Delay Insurance

• Covers out-of-pocket costs for necessities you buy when your trip is delayed for a specified amount of time—for example, three, six, or 12 hours— due to unforeseen circumstances.
• Offers a broader range of covered problems than missed connection insurance. For example, if you’re injured or become ill, involved in a traffic accident or your passport is lost or stolen, you can usually file a trip delay claim.
• You don’t have to miss a connection for benefits to apply.
• Compensates you for meals, accommodations and local transportation costs.
• Some policies also pay for expenses to catch up to your destination; this is not always included in coverage.
• Can pay for any prepaid, unused, nonrefundable land and water accommodations.

Missed Connection Coverage

• Problems covered are more specific than for travel delay insurance.
• Missed connection coverage applies if you miss a flight, cruise or tour connection due to delays caused by unexpected events listed in your policy, typically after three hours.
• Helps pay to rebook a flight or other transportation to catch up to your itinerary.
• Some missed connection coverage will pay for out-of-pocket expenses while you wait for your next departure, but it’s not commonly included.
• Some missed connection coverage will compensate you for nonrefundable trip costs for unused portions of your trip; it’s not always included, though.
• Missed connection benefits are often only for tours and cruises and not all flights.

Is Missed Connection Coverage Worth It?

Missed connection benefits are generally worthwhile because they’re included in most travel insurance plans at no additional cost. Missed connection coverage is packaged together with trip cancellation, travel medical, evacuation, delay, interruption and baggage benefits as part of many standard travel insurance policies.

That means you aren’t shelling out more money for it as an upgrade, as you would for “cancel for any reason travel insurance.” CFAR is optional coverage that generally adds 50% to your travel insurance cost. It generally reimburses 75% of your nonrefundable trip costs, regardless of why you cancel a trip, as long as you cancel at least 48 hours before your departure.

Having said that, a policy with low missed connection limits likely would suffice if you have no connecting flights. For example, you have a direct flight for a weekend getaway. But let’s suppose you’re going on a Mediterranean cruise and your flight lands in Lisbon eight hours before your cruise departs. In that case, it’s wise to consider a policy with robust missed connection coverage.

How Do I File a Claim for a Missed Connection?

To file a missed connection claim, you need to:

• Provide documentation showing proof of the reason for your delay or missed connection, which can be airline or cruise forms.
• Submit the documentation along with your trip itinerary.
• Also include receipts for additional expenses incurred, if your policy includes this benefit.