Travel insurance may help US residents with missed connections for group tours, cruises, and more.
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For information relating to policies purchased prior to October 23 2024, please check the Policy Wording provided with your purchase. You can contact us if you need this sent to you again. For plans purchased after October 23 2024, please see below.
Sometimes the best adventures involve getting to a specific location before you officially start your journey. Maybe you’ve been dreaming of hiking the Camino de Santiago in Spain. You book your guided hike and plan plenty of time for your plane to arrive before meeting up with your fellow hikers, but sometimes things don’t go exactly as we plan.
If storms here in the US have your plane delayed for a day, you may miss the start of the hike. Because this is a guided group tour, they can’t wait for you, and the hike must start without you. This unfortunate missed connection leaves you no other option than to meet up with them in the next city once you finally arrive. It stinks that you’ll miss the first part of the hike, but at least you’ll be able to complete most of it. However, you’ll need to pay for additional transportation to get you to that new city, but that’s where your travel insurance* plan from World Nomads may be able to help.
When you’re researching the best travel insurance plans, you may want to consider checking to see if it includes missed connection benefits. If so, you could be covered for things like additional transportation costs that will allow you to meet up with your group and get your hike back on track.
US residents who have the Explorer or Epic travel insurance plans from World Nomads have the missed connection benefit included in their plan. This is meant to provide assistance if there’s a covered delay that causes you to miss your scheduled trip departure for things like a cruise, guided tour or a flight on another carrier.
Let’s look at another example: You have an Alaskan cruise booked, but you’ll need to fly into Seattle to board your boat and start your trip. Let’s face it - sometimes flights aren’t on time or are even cancelled.
If your arrival in Seattle is delayed for at least 3 consecutive hours for a covered reason, your travel insurance could reimburse you for the cost to join your cruise at their next port of call. You may have to catch a flight to Juneau and board the boat there, and your plan may reimburse you for the cost of that additional flight you didn’t plan for. If you miss out on any special activities that you had paid for in advance on the cruise, you may be reimbursed for those unused, forfeited, prepaid non-refundable payments and deposits.
Another example: Airport missed connections. If one carrier is running at least 3 consecutive hours late and you miss your next flight on another carrier, you’ll likely be stuck with the cost of buying a new flight. However, with the missed connection benefit, World Nomads travel insurance plan may also cover the cost of a new flight.
We know a missed connection may throw your plans off track and could cause you to have even more additional expenses you didn’t plan for. Your travel insurance plan from World Nomads also includes trip delay coverage. If your trip is delayed for 6 or more consecutive hours for a covered reason, you may be reimbursed for additional expenses you have until you can resume your trip. That could include things like hotel accommodation and meals.
When you get a travel insurance quote, you’ll be able to compare the coverage of each plan to determine the best travel insurance plan for your needs. Your Summary of Plan Benefits will lay it all out for you, but we want to make sure you understand everything. If you’re unclear about anything at all, get in touch with us, and we’ll help explain it all.
When you’re planning a trip that involves traveling to another destination to join a group or catch a new flight on another carrier, there’s always things that can happen beyond your control. Nobody likes to get left behind, but it happens. It doesn’t mean you have to miss out on the trip.
Some of the covered reasons for a missed connection include:
While a good travel insurance plan could help you get back on track with your trip when you have a missed connection, there’s some things it doesn’t cover.
*All information we provided here is a brief summary. It does not include all terms, conditions, limitations, exclusions, and termination provisions of the plans described. Please carefully read your state specific plan documents for a full description of coverage. Travel insurance is included as part of your travel protection plan which contains both insurance benefits and non-insurance assistance services. Material included on this page does not represent, nor is it specific to, United States Fire Insurance Company or travel insurance benefits provided on United States Fire Insurance Company’s travel protection plans.
I arrived in Delhi from Rome. Baggage claim help desk informed me that my bag had been delayed in transit. I was without my bag for almost a week before it was finally delivered to me. It was cold in Delhi (being winter, December) and my warm jacket was in my bag, requiring that I purchase a jacket and other items of warm clothing that I had not taken in my carry-on.
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Here are our most frequently asked questions about cover for missed connections. You can also find the answers to other questions in our Help Center or you can ask the customer service team.
Call the tour operator or cruise line and see if it’s possible for you to join the tour or cruise later. If so, ask them where you’ll be able to join, and what time you’ll need to be there. Document all communication from the airline and/or tour operator - you’ll need proof of what caused the missed connection as well as the solution the cruise or tour is offering. Then, give the 24/7 Emergency Assistance line a call to discuss the alternate transportation you’ll need. You’ll also need to try to get a refund from the hotel and airlines - travel insurance comes into play for those instances that are non-refundable and forfeited. Make sure to keep all receipts for additional expenses you have because of the missed connection. You’ll need these things, as well as your trip itinerary, when you submit a claim.
No, you can’t claim the same unforeseen event under trip cancellation or trip interruption. However, you may also be able to claim for trip delay, if the incident meets the terms for that. Contact us if you have questions before you file a claim..
If the tour operator won’t let you join at another location (and you have documented proof), you may still be covered by your World Nomads travel insurance plan. You may be reimbursed for unused, forfeited, prepaid, non-refundable payments or deposits that you paid to the tour operator. You’ll need to contact our team to explain the situation.
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