Will My Travel Insurance Cover Strike Action?

Posted on: Sep 8, 2022 | | Written by:

Will My Travel Insurance Cover Strike Action?

Published on September 08, 2022. EST READ TIME: 3 minutes

Strike action coverage in travel insurance

How Strikes Impact Travellers?

Strikes could cause travel disruption to the travellers. Specifically, when you are travelling abroad, flight cancellations due to airline strikes can disrupt your travel. Let’s say you are on a holiday abroad. If the flight gets cancelled due to a strike, you might have to face a lot of difficulties getting back to work being stranded abroad. When an airline industry or the airport employees go on a strike, there would be no necessary services available to the traveller. The organized shutdown of operations like strikes can not only disrupt travel but also would cause inconvenience and loss to the travellers.

Travel disruption and cancellation of trips due to strikes are not just confined to international travels. Even during domestic travel, you may face travel disruptions due to rail strikes, transport strikes on the road and cancellation of domestic airline tickets, etc. While you make contingency plans during such situations, you would experience inconvenience along with a financial loss.

Having a comprehensive travel insurance plan can financially protect you by compensating the financial losses by allowing you to claim the flight compensation for the cancelled travel or delayed flight due to an airline strike.

Does Travel Insurance Cover Airline Strikes?

Changing the travel plans and reworking it could get frustrating. Especially when the travel plans are affected by the flight delay or cancellations due to strikes, the only solution to have added protection is by availing of the comprehensive international travel insurance policy. Having good travel insurance that covers strike-related issues can be a great way to deal with delays and cancellations of trips. However, it is important to know the terms and conditions of the travel insurance policy before you buy.

Many international travel insurance policies cover airline strikes, specifically when the travel is planned before the announcement of airline strikes or before the airline strikes schedule is put out. Having a good travel insurance policy compensates you for the cancelled travel and also makes alternative travel arrangements or overnight accommodation arrangements in case of a delayed trip. However, the benefits would depend on the terms and conditions laid down in the travel insurance policy that you have availed. It is crucial to know the extent of benefits available before you opt for the travel insurance policy.

What Should I Do if My Flight is Affected by a Strike?

Flight delays and flight cancellations due to multi-day airline strikes or airport strikes called for a better work environment or the pay hike demand is not an uncommon situation. These travel disruptions can get you stranded in a foreign land without much assistance. It is important to know that the strike actions taken after the travel bookings are done put the transport authority responsible for the situation.

Let’s see how you can deal with the flight delays or flight cancellations impacted by airline strikes. As a traveller, you would have certain options to deal with these situations. Unlike sudden flight cancellations due to weather conditions or any other such issues, strike-related flight delay or cancellation gives you a little amount of time to work out alternative arrangements. Here are the things you should do when the flight is affected by a strike:

● Get information from your airline

Get proactive as soon as the airline strikes are announced. Be it a strike by the airline or by the airport staff, it is important to contact your airline to get the complete information beforehand. You need to check with your airline if your flight would be affected by the strike actions. You can get the details on the websites of the airline on the travel alerts page. The website would sometimes give you more details on fee waivers or refunds or rebooking facilities, etc. Once you know the details you can plan the further steps of your trip.

● Try to book a flight with another carrier or a partner airline

You can also check with your airline and request them to refund and allow booking with a partner airline or any other carrier for you not to get affected by the strikes. Some airlines would rebook your travel on an alliance partner when requested. If you are a frequent traveller of the same airline, you would probably be allowed to rebook.

● Check on your eligibility for compensation

If you could not get any alternative arrangements for your planned travel, then you would become eligible for compensation. The airline needs to compensate you for your overnight accommodation, transportation to the hotel, food, and other essential costs involved. If the strike is covered by your international travel insurance policy, you could get the costs covered by the insurance company.

Will I Get Compensation because of an Airline Strike?

Yes. You would become eligible for compensation if the airline strikes cause you travel disruption and the airline fails to make an alternate travel arrangement for you. Strike-related travel disruptions such as flight delays for more than 12 hours and the cancellation of a flight can get you stranded overnight in a foreign country. In such scenarios, airlines would make alternate arrangements for your travel such as rebooking a flight. If they fail to make these arrangements, you can ask for compensation for your overnight hotel accommodation, food, transport cost to the hotel, etc. If strikes are covered under your travel insurance policy, you can make compensation claims from the travel insurance company for the flight delay or cancellation.

It is important to know that the travel disruptions that are caused by strikes called out by airport employees such as baggage handlers, and security staff, and the strikes that are caused due to political unrest, etc. would not hold airlines responsible for the loss that you may suffer. In these cases, you would not be eligible for any compensation.

Should I Book Another Flight?

Depending on your travel circumstances, you could ask for a refund of the booking amount and then book another flight. Booking another flight if you get a refund would be an ideal option.

Compensation payable by the airlines would be limited depending on your travel. Hence, it is imperative to have an additional layer of protection in the form of a comprehensive travel insurance policy.

Conclusion

Strikes can be the result of many factors. Only for the airline strikes, you can get a refund or compensation for the travel disruption by the airline. Hence, to cover all types of strike-related losses, it would be wise to have a international travel insurance policy covering the strike. Travel insurance is always an additional layer of security for your smooth travel experience.

Disclaimer: The above information is for illustrative purpose only. For more details, please refer to policy wordings and prospectus before concluding the sales.

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