www.CostaRicaTicas.com

In the next 12 months, if oil prices stay high, we can almost guarantee you that at least one domestic airline will cease operations and leave thousands of travelers with worthless tickets and (worse, for some) frequent flyer miles.

We don't want to scare you from flying but you should be prepared. Will travel insurance cover you? A reader wants to know if those "point of sale" cheapo flight insurance policies that many airlines, such as Spirit and Northwest, now sell when you pay for your fare, provide adequate protection. The answer may surprise you and is the "A" of today's Q&A, smack down at the bottom of today's fare listings.

Safe travels!

-- George Hobica & Tracy William Stewart


Q. Just before I was about to buy a ticket on Northwest, they offered me travel insurance for a very small amount. I think it was $12.50. It seems a lot cheaper than what I could find on Travel Guard or other travel insurance sites. I'm most worried about the airline going out of business and leaving me in the lurch. Does Northwest's insurance protect me if Northwest goes under? What about the other major insurers? Do they offer protection in the case of Chapter 11?


A: Travel insurance bought from an airline will, in most cases that we know of, not protect you should that airline go out of business. Read the fine print in the policy of any airline-sold travel insurance and you'll see this exclusion. This is true even if the insurance company underwriting the policy offers such protection in the policies it sells directly.

Travel Guard, for instance, writes insurance for some airlines, and will offer protection against airline default if you buy the policy directly from Travel Guard, but not if you buy a Travel Guard-underwritten policy from an airline.

Don't forget that your credit card offers some protection as well, but only if you contest the charge, from your out-of-business airline within 60 days of seeing it on your statement.

http://www.airfarewatchdog.com

Don't know if this link has been mentioned before but it looks like a good'un and when has Brother Witling ever steered us wrong? The rest of the poop in this thread looks good too--I personally always buy the Basic insurance directly from TravelGuard--the airlines are too da*n shakey these days. It should be noted that I come down only twice a year.

_________________
"A man accustomed to hear only the echo of his own sentiments, soon bars all the common avenues of delight, and has no part in the general gratification of mankind"--Dr. Johnson
"Amen, brother"-ED