Domestic air travellers filed more insurance claims in the wake of massive flight cancellations and delays, with IndiGo cancelling more than 2,500 flights across the country in the past week. Tens of thousands of passengers faced hours-long delays, prompting a rise in travel insurance requests, insurance aggregators said.
Most claims were lodged for flight delays that forced passengers to spend extra time at airports or arrange alternative travel plans. Delayed or lost baggage also contributed to the rise in claims.
The travel insurance segment, particularly for domestic flights, has traditionally received little attention compared to other general insurance sectors in India. However, insurers, aggregators and tour operators said that the recent spate of flight disruptions has highlighted its importance.
“There has been a 5 to 7 per cent increase in claims in the last few days, mainly for flight delays,” said Meet Kapadia, head of travel insurance at Policybazaar.com, an insurance aggregator.
Kapadia explained that the primary claim categories include flight cancellations, delays, delayed baggage, lost luggage and missed connections due to previous flight delays. “If a passenger checked in on time and the flight is delayed, a travel insurance policyholder can make a legitimate claim for the delay,” he said.
Thousands of travellers to and from Calcutta were affected during the recent IndiGo disruptions. Many passengers had to arrange overnight stays at hotels, paying extra expenses as they were rebooked on flights scheduled for the following day or later. Others visited the airport searching for lost or delayed luggage. A Calcutta airport official said it could take at least two to three more days to clear all unclaimed baggage.
An official from a private insurance company said that claims for flight cancellations were comparatively lower than those for delays, as IndiGo had assured full refunds for cancelled fares.
“We have seen a significant rise in passengers reaching out to us over the past few days. We support these customers jointly with our partner insurance companies,” said Dev Karvat, founder and CEO of Asego Global Assistance, a travel assistance and insurance provider that works with IndiGo.
“As per our records, every fourth traveller reaching out for assistance is affected by cancellations and delays... Such uncertainties have increased demand for value-added services like lounge access during delays and baggage tracking,” he added.
Those in the insurance industry and tour operators said domestic travel insurance was largely overlooked until recent years, with most travellers purchasing policies only for international trips, such as to Schengen countries where insurance is mandatory.
“After the Covid pandemic, travel insurance uptake increased among international travellers. Given the scale of current disruptions and
delays, we expect more domestic passengers to adopt
travel insurance policies,” said Anil Punjabi, chairman of the Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI), eastern region.
