6 Best Flight Insurance Companies in 2025
From significant delays caused by inclement weather to airlines misplacing your luggage, there’s always the chance of travel disruptions before you even make it to your destination. While flying is often necessary to make it from point A to point B, it does come with its unique challenges.
Recent pilot strikes and airline staffing issues have also brought to light just how vulnerable our travel plans are to circumstances outside our control.
To limit the financial impact of flight-related setbacks, many travelers choose to purchase flight insurance before they depart for their trips. Follow along as we share the top travel insurance companies to protect your flights, and your trips, this year.
Key Takeaways
After evaluating all 19 providers and 100+ plans available in the Squaremouth marketplace, we have selected John Hancock as the top company for flight insurance in 2025. Below are our best flight insurance plan recommendations to cater to more specific benefits:
- Best Overall Flight Insurance: John Hancock – Gold
- Most Affordable Coverage: Berkshire Hathaway – LuxuryCare
- Best Plan for Flight Delays: John Hancock – Gold
- Best Plan for Missed Flights: WorldTrips – Elevate
- Best Plan for Lost Luggage: Detour Insurance – @the edge
- Best Plan for Delayed Luggage: Travel Insured International – Worldwide Trip Protector
What Factors We Considered
To ensure transparency and independence in selecting our travel insurance award winners, we base our decisions solely on Squaremouth marketplace sales data from the previous month, without any influence from insurance companies, business relationships, affiliates, or other external parties. Each award is given to the top-selling plans that meet the specific criteria outlined below.
- Best Overall Flight Insurance: Over 250 sales, includes 100% trip cancellation coverage, 3-hour travel delay (any delay of a common carrier), 3-hour missed connection, baggage loss, and 6-hour baggage delay, sorted by the highest to lowest number of policies sold.
- Most Affordable Coverage: Over 250 sales, includes 100% trip cancellation coverage, travel delay kicking in after 3-8 hours, missed connection kicking in after 3-8 hours, baggage loss, and 12-hour baggage delay, sorted by average premium from lowest to highest.
- Best Plan for Flight Delays: Over 250 sales, 3-hour delay filter selected (any delay of a common carrier), sorted by travel delay coverage from highest to lowest.
- Best Plan for Missed Flights: Over 250 sales, 3-hour delay filter selected, not cruise and tour only, sorted by missed connection coverage from highest to lowest.
- Best Plan for Lost Luggage: Over 250 sales, sorted by baggage loss coverage from highest to lowest.
- Best Plan for Delayed Luggage: Best Plan for Delayed Luggage: Over 250 sales, 3 or 6-hour delay filter selected, sorted by baggage delay coverage from highest to lowest.
Best Overall Flight Insurance
John Hancock Insurance Agency, Inc.
- Best Plan: Gold
- Provides reimbursement for food and accommodations after a 3 hour delay, more favorable than the 6-12 hour delay minimum found in most plans
- Covers 100% of your prepaid flight costs and other trip expenses, up to a maximum of $100,000
- Will pay you $200 if you are forced to change the date of your flights for a covered reason
- Provides up to $500 in reimbursement if your luggage is delayed by at least 12 hours en route to your destination, only six plans offer greater coverage
- Includes up to $1,000 in Missed Connection coverage to help cover the cost to book new travel arrangements if you miss a connecting flight
If you’re concerned about flight disruptions impacting your trip, we suggest John Hancock Insurance Agency, Inc.’s Gold plan to protect your upcoming journey. The comprehensive policy includes some of the most well-rounded protection for flight-specific disruptions like flight delays, baggage delays, and missed connections. The plan also features Trip Cancellation and Trip Interruption coverage, ensuring your airfare and other prepaid travel expenses are protected before and during your trip.
The plan’s medical coverage is also nothing to ignore, either, providing up to $250,000 in Primary Emergency Medical coverage and $1,000,000 in Medical Evacuation protection.
Most Affordable Flight Insurance
Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection
- Best Plan: LuxuryCare
- The best priced plan with great coverage for flight-related disruptions, at an average premium of $160
- Includes up to $2,500 in Baggage Loss protection, an amount only three plans on Squaremouth exceed
- Offers up to $2,000 in Travel Delay coverage for flights delayed at least 5 hours, among the better reimbursement limits and delay minimums of any policy
When it comes to flight insurance, you don’t have to break the bank to get great coverage. Berkshire Hathaway proves that with their LuxuryCare policy, which is currently their most robust travel insurance offering. At $160, LuxuryCare is less expensive than other protection plans that offer comparable coverage for flight-specific benefits. Some key highlights include its Baggage Loss and Travel Delay benefits, which are among the strongest of any plan found on the Squaremouth platform.
LuxuryCare also offers great coverage for other aspects of your trip, including up to $1,000,000 in Medical Evacuation coverage and up to $100,000 in trip cost protection in the event of an unforeseen cancellation.
Best Plan for Flight Delays
John Hancock Insurance Agency, Inc.
- Best Plan: Gold
- Offers up to $1,000 in reimbursement per person to cover the cost of meal, overnight accommodation, and transportation expenses in the event of a significant flight delay
- One of three policies on Squaremouth that provides coverage for flight delays after just 3 hours, while most require 6-12 hour delays
- Features the most broad flight delay coverage, providing reimbursement for any delay of a common carrier
Our pick for the best flight delay coverage is John Hancock’s well-rounded Gold plan. This is in large part because it offers reimbursement for eligible expenses to travelers that have their travel plans delayed 3+ hours. For context, the majority of travel insurance plans don’t offer coverage unless a traveler is delayed 6-12 hours. The Gold plan also offers the most broad protection for delays, covering more unexpected events that result in delays than any other policy on Squaremouth.
Customers that are impacted by significant delays are eligible for up to $1,000 in reimbursement, which is typically enough to cover the cost of meals and an overnight stay at a hotel as you await your updated flight departure time.
Best Plan for Missed Flights
WorldTrips
- Best Plan: Elevate
- Offers the highest coverage limit for the Missed Connection benefit of any policy on Squaremouth, providing up to $2,000 in reimbursement per insured traveler
- Coverage kicks in if you miss a connecting flight and are unable to get rebooked on another flight for up to 3 hours, the shortest wait time of any plan on Squaremouth
- Features other generous flight-related benefits, such as up to $2,000 in reimbursement for claims relating to flight delays and baggage loss
If you’re taking a trip that involves multiple flights en route to your final destination, you may want to consider plans that offer strong Missed Connection coverage. World Trip’s Atlas Journey Premier plan is one of our favorites in this category because it offers higher coverage than any other plan on our platform. At up to $2,000 per person, it provides plenty of coverage if you’re required to make new travel arrangements if a previous flight delay results in you missing a connecting flight. Atlas Journey Premier also features generous Travel Delay and Baggage Loss coverage, making it an overall great policy if you’re looking to protect yourself against common flight-related disruptions.
Best Plan for Lost Luggage
Detour Insurance
- Best Plan: @the edge
- Includes up to $3,000 in Baggage Loss protection, more than any other policy on Squaremouth
- Also offers the most reimbursement for lost, damaged, stolen, sports equipment that you choose to travel with
- Features $750 in Baggage Delay and $5,000 Sports Equipment Delay coverage, providing reimbursement for purchasing new essentials if your items don’t arrive on time
Detour Insurance is a travel insurance company built by adventurers, for adventurers. However, the Baggage and Personal Loss protection they provide within both their @the edge and @the edge plus plans will appeal to all types of travelers. Detour Insurance is one of the only providers in the nation that offer up to $3,000 in Baggage Loss coverage, which is why they’re our pick for the ‘Best Plan for Baggage Loss Protection’. This coverage also extends to customers who are traveling with their own sports equipment, which is a great perk if you’re participating in any sports or activities during your trip.
One other unique highlight of @the edge’s coverage is that it offers up to $5,000 in Sports Equipment Delay coverage, which surpasses all plans available on the Squaremouth platform.
Best Plan for Delayed Luggage
Travel Insured International
- Best Plan: Worldwide Trip Protector
- Offers up to $500 in Baggage Delay coverage to reimburse necessary expenses like a change of clothes or toiletries, an amount only 7 plans on Squaremouth exceed
- Provides coverage if your bags are delayed only 3 hours en route to your destination, the shortest minimum wait time of any policy
- Provides up to $1,500 in Travel Delay coverage if your flight is delayed at least 3 hours, making it one of the strongest policies for flight delay protection around
Millions of bags are mishandled every year by airlines, and more often than not travelers don’t have time to wait at the airport if their luggage is mistakenly left behind. We chose Travel Insured International’s Worldwide Trip Protector plan as the best Baggage Delay policy because it provides reimbursement after just three hours, faster than any other policy on the market. The policy’s $500 per person coverage limit also provides ample coverage to purchase a change of clothes, toothbrush, and other necessities.
In addition to great Baggage Delay benefits, Worldwide Trip Protector is also one of the strongest plans when it comes to flight delays, providing up to $1,500 in reimbursement if your flight is delayed at least 3 hours.
How Much is Flight Insurance?
The cost of travel insurance, whether you’re purchasing it for a flight, cruise, or other type of adventure, is based on several risk factors.
Travel insurance companies will take into account your age, trip length, trip costs, destination, and coverage needs when determining premiums. The type of policy you choose will also impact the amount you pay for coverage.
Overall, the average travel insurance policy costs roughly $308. As a rule of thumb, a comprehensive travel insurance policy will cost between 4-10% of the prepaid, nonrefundable trip costs you choose to insure. So, for example, protecting a $5,000 trip may cost anywhere from $200 to $500.
Does Flight Insurance Cover Trip Cancellations?
Yes, the majority of flight insurance policies are comprehensive, and will cover your prepaid, non-refundable travel expenses. The most common expenses travelers choose to insure include their flight bookings, hotel reservations, rental car deposits, prepaid excursions, and other preplanned itinerary items.
If you’re looking to protect your trip investment, be sure to look for a policy that includes Trip Cancellation. This will provide up to 100% reimbursement of eligible travel expenses if you’re forced to cancel your trip for a covered reason, such as an unforeseen illness, injury, or death of a family member.
For additional cancellation coverage, you should consider policies that include the Cancel for Any Reason benefit. This optional policy upgrade provides partial reimbursement for trips cancelled for reasons not already covered by Trip Cancellation.
Should You Purchase Travel Insurance From an Airline?
No, it’s generally not recommended to purchase travel insurance from an airline, or at least not until you’ve had some time to shop around.
When booking your flights, you may have seen an option to add “travel protection” or something similar before finalizing your reservation. It’s quite common now for airlines to partner with travel insurance providers to offer customers a convenient, one-stop approach to safeguarding their travel expenses.
While the plans offered by airlines are legitimate, they’re often more expensive and provide more limited coverage than policies found by comparing multiple travel insurance providers. Using a comparison site, like Squaremouth, is the best way to find more affordable plans that offer more robust protection.
Is Flight Insurance Worth It?
Typically, yes. Flight insurance is a great way to ease your mind and protect your trip costs before heading into a trip. Considering that almost a quarter of flights in the United States are either delayed or cancelled, and millions of bags are misplaced each year, there’s always a chance that you’ll encounter a costly disruption at some point during your journey.
Travel insurance can provide reimbursement for unexpected events you encounter that result in financial loss. Best of all, it doesn’t have to be expensive. Depending on the type of coverage you need, it’s possible to find quality travel protection without breaking the bank.
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