Flight delayed or cancelled due to dense fog? You can claim the loss from your insurance policy; here’s How

Fog has been a recurring phenomenon in North India. However, this year, the dense fog in Delhi has led to the cancellation or diversion of many flights. Passengers have expressed their dissatisfaction on social media, with videos going viral showing passengers eating food while sitting on the apron at Mumbai airport. The situation worsened when a passenger lunged at the co-pilot who was announcing a delay on a Delhi-Goa flight. 

The situation at Delhi airport has been exacerbated due to runway closure for maintenance and parking shortages caused by grounded aircraft. It has resulted in a cascading effect nationwide, with reports of flight delays and cancellations across the country. In such a situation, while insurance cannot alleviate the mental trauma passengers went through, it could provide some financial relief if one has a travel insurance policy, as flight cancellation or delay is covered in your travel insurance policy. 

“For flight delay, if the delay is more than the duration specified in your policy, you can simply call customer service to make the claim. Some of the claim processes over the years have also been automated through tech integration. For example, at Digit, flight delays are proactively tracked by the insurer through API integration with third-party flight tracking portals. In case a flight is delayed beyond the stipulated time, a claim intimation is automatically triggered to the customer, informing them about the claim. The customer simply needs to upload the boarding pass and share the bank account details for the claim to be immediately processed,” said Vivek Chaturvedi, CMO and Head of Direct Sales at Digit General Insurance. 

Under flight delay cover, a claim can be made if the flight’s departure time is delayed by more than the duration specified in the policy, typically 2-3 hours or more. A claim can be made if the flight is delayed due to any inclement weather, sudden strike by airline employees, equipment failure, or any operational problems, among others. But there is a catch. One should read the policy carefully to understand how the insurer calculates the actual departure time of the flight. Some may take the time the parking brakes of the aircraft are released, and the flight leaves the parking bay, while some may calculate the actual departure time as the time when the aircraft leaves the airport or goes wheels up. 

Similarly, in case of flight cancellation, one can reach out to the customer service helpline or email or WhatsApp to register the claim. One needs to share the cancellation proof of the booked tickets and the booking payment details so that the claim can be paid as per the sum insured. 

However, there are certain exceptions that can lead to claim rejection, as the devil is in the details. “One should read the policy carefully to understand how the insurer calculates the actual departure time of the flight. Some may take the time the parking brakes of the aircraft are released, and the flight leaves the parking bay, while some may calculate the actual departure time as the time when the aircraft leaves the airport or goes wheels up,” said Chaturvedi. 

Similarly, an insurance claim might not be paid in case the information about flight delay or cancellation was made public or communicated to the customer at least 6 hours prior to the departure time. A claim might also not be paid in case a flight delay or cancellation is caused due to any changes in government regulations or due to the permanent withdrawal of services by the airline or any strikes or disputes that were publicly announced or for which the warning was issued in advance. 

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A trip cancellation cover under a travel Insurance policy can protect one financially in case one has to cancel the trip for various reasons. This is not limited to just airline flight cancellations. Under a flight cancellation policy, one can get a claim for the amount that is not liable to be refunded by the airline. A trip cancellation cover provides wider coverage. It can pay for the costs incurred by you on your travel and accommodation expenses, including any expenses incurred on excursions or planned events up to the sum insured. A claim is payable in case you cancel your travel plan due to any hospitalisation due to a medical emergency of yourself, your travelling companion, or your family member. 

A claim will also be paid if the trip is cancelled due to an unexpected strike or riot or any natural calamity like an earthquake, flood, cyclone, etc. at your travelling destination. A claim can also be made in case you are required to be in your city due to any judicial case or if there is any travel advisory, compulsory quarantine, or travel prevention issued by the Indian government. A claim can also be made in case you end up losing your passport before traveling internationally, explains Chaturvedi.