Alaska Airlines Travel Insurance: What to Know

Some airlines offer its passengers the convenient option of purchasing travel insurance along with their flights, and Alaska Airlines is one of them. Alaska’s travel insurance is provided through Allianz Travel Insurance.

If you’re wondering if it’s worth purchasing Alaska Airlines travel insurance, here’s a look at what it covers, how much it costs and other factors to help you determine if purchasing this coverage is right for you.

You can buy Alaska Airlines trip insurance while you’re booking a flight or add coverage to a flight you’ve already booked.

Buying coverage when you book your flight is easy. After selecting your flight and seats, but before purchasing the ticket, you’ll be given the option to add travel insurance.

If you decide to purchase Alaska travel insurance, you’ll select “Yes” to add protection, and the cost of the insurance will be added to your total and paid at booking.

The process starts by getting a quote. This will ask you for details like your home state and destination, as well as the cost of the trip and your age. From there, you will be given multiple plan options. Select the plan that provides the coverage you deem will fit your needs.

If you purchase Alaska travel insurance, you’ll receive the following benefits:

• Trip cancellation and interruption. If your trip is canceled or interrupted due to a covered reason, this benefit will reimburse any prepaid and nonrefundable travel expenses you’ve already made.

• Emergency medical transportation protection. If you need emergency transportation due to a covered illness or injury, this coverage will arrange and pay for transportation to the nearest appropriate medical facility. You’ll also receive assistance getting home after treatment. 

• Travel delay protection. If your trip is delayed for more than six hours for a covered reason, you’ll be reimbursed the cost of meals and accommodation while you wait.

• Baggage loss/damage protection. If you lose your luggage or it gets damaged or stolen, this coverage will reimburse you the cost of your personal effects.

• Baggage delay protection. If your bags are delayed for over 24 hours, you’ll receive reimbursement for the cost of necessary personal items, like clothes or toiletries.

• Change fee protection. If you need to change your flight itinerary, you’ll be reimbursed for any fees incurred — but only if the change is made for a covered reason.

• 24/7 assistance. Multilingual travel experts are available to assist you with any unexpected travel issues.

• Epidemic coverage. You may be eligible for reimbursement of some expenses related to COVID-19 if it affects your travel plans.

Alaska’s travel insurance — which includes trip cancellation, travel delay, baggage loss/damage coverage and more — is fairly comprehensive.

However, keep in mind that Alaska Airlines travel insurance reimburses you for covered reasons only, such as canceling a trip due to a death in the family or receiving medical care due to an unexpected illness. Be sure to review your policy to understand which situations are covered and which aren’t.

The cost of Alaska travel insurance varies based on a number of factors, including your destination and the length of stay. As a result, you won’t know the cost of the insurance coverage until you’re ready to book.

To give you an idea of how much Alaska travel insurance could cost, we tested out a few travel destinations and trip lengths:

• Six-night round-trip flight from Los Angeles to Liberia, Costa Rica: $45.

• Four-night round-trip flight from Seattle to New York-John F. Kennedy: $31.

• One-way flight from San Francisco to Fort Lauderdale, Florida: $21.

• Two-week round-trip flight from Portland, Oregon, to Honolulu: $30.

Although the flight insurance cost can vary, based on our searches, it’s unlikely you’ll end up paying more than $50 for your trip.

Alaska gives you two options to file a claim through Allianz Travel:

Filing online can be simpler than other options as you can upload the documents needed to support your claim.

Here are a few factors to consider to help determine if Alaska Airlines flight insurance is worth it for you:

• Are you an anxious traveler? If you worry about unexpected situations when you travel and don’t otherwise have travel insurance, purchasing coverage through Alaska may ease some of your stress and make your travel experience more enjoyable.

• Are you traveling to a destination where there are extra risks for travel issues? While there’s always a chance that something could go wrong with your travel plans, you may face additional risks depending on when or where you’re flying — for instance, traveling to the Caribbean during hurricane season or visiting a country with a travel warning for tourists. In these cases, you may want to consider purchasing Alaska travel insurance if you’re not already covered through a credit card or other plan.

While only you can make the call if Alaska travel insurance is worth it for you, the above considerations will help you decide if it’s worth purchasing coverage.

Alaska makes its travel insurance easy to purchase and file a claim, should the need arise. The cost of coverage varies based on trip destination and length and includes trip cancellation and interruption, emergency medical and baggage protection for covered reasons.

However, before purchasing a plan through Alaska, you should first check to see if you have travel insurance through your credit card, since purchasing another policy usually isn’t worth it if you already have coverage.