Flight insurance has been around for a long time. As a matter of fact the first person to be insured by one was President Woodrow Wilson when he insured a flight on May 6, 1919 with The Travelers Insurance Company. It’s been the basis for some critical studies in the 1950’s on pricing and expenses and was one of the key elements in a best selling novel that was made into a 1970’s disaster movie.
What it’s not:
Flight insurance is NOT life insurance. Some web sites mistakenly refer to flight insurance as life. Even though flight insurance does provide a benefit for the death of an insured it should never be confused with life insurance. Life insurance is much broader than flight insurance and to confuse the two can be misleading, inaccurate, and in some States could be considered a violation of truth in advertising laws.
Flight insurance is NOT airline cancellation coverage. The type of insurance that provides protection for the loss of airline fares due to your cancellation is called “trip cancellation” coverage and is usually part of a package of travel insurance. It is a named “peril” coverage and only provides protection if you cancel due to one of the covered reasons listed by the insurance company in the policy.
What is flight insurance?
Flight insurance is a form of accidental death and dismemberment where coverage is limited to death or dismemberment that is caused by an accident while riding as a passenger, boarding or alighting from, a commercial airline which is properly licensed to carry passengers and which operates a published schedule. Coverage may also extend to charter flights operated by them. Some flight insurance policies also provide coverage while you are at an airport while in conjunction with a covered flight. The benefits usually include:
Principal Sum: the amount of death benefit paid to the insured’s beneficiary when the insured dies due to bodily injuries from a covered accident. It is also known as death benefit limit.
Dismemberment: the amount of benefit paid to the insured if the insured loses a part of their body as defined by the policy as the result of a covered accident. A dismemberment – loss of a body part or sight – is paid according to a schedule found in the policy.
Flight insurance has been around for 92 years and will probably be around for at least another 92 even though their are advocates that recommend against buying there are people that won’t travel without being insured.