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Airline strikes, informational picketing, and operational meltdowns have been a key part of airline news over the past year, with threat of pilot strikes at Delta Air Lines averted only by a 34% pay increase over the next four years. But with United Airlines, AA pilots, various other airline unions and those at some foreign airlines still unhappy, more airline labor strikes could disrupt travel plans in 2023. This brings us to today's post: will travel insurance cover you in the event of a labor strike? It depends, and as always, it pays to dig into the details of your policy.
AMEX Platinum
U.S. AMEX Platinum card members may be surprised to learn that AMEX's trip cancellation and trip interruption insurance has NO coverage for labor strikes.
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The Chase Sapphire Preferred (as well as the Chase Sapphire Reserve) provide for trip cancellation and trip interruption coverage if “An organized strike affecting public transportation which causes You or Your Traveling Companion to a) miss at least 20% of the scheduled duration of the Trip; or b) miss the departure of a prepaid cruise, or tour (booked through a Tour Operator) that You are scheduled to take.”
The maximum coverage per trip is $20,000, with a maximum payout per twelve month period of $40,000.
20% of a trip is a decent amount; on a one week trip you'd have to miss at least 1.4 days, and on a 15 day trip you'd have to miss at least 3 days. That's why it also makes sense to consider third party insurance policies, for which we prefer Allianz.
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Allianz
A typical Allianz Journey Plan provides trip cancellation insurance and trip interruption coverage if (bolding ours) “your travel carrier cannot get you to your original itinerary’s destination for at least 24 consecutive hours from the originally scheduled arrival time due to a natural disaster; severe weather; strike, unless threatened or announced prior to the purchase of your policy; or an FAA or foreign equivalent mandate”
For longer trips, a 24 hour delay from the expected flight arrival time provides better coverage than the Sapphire Reserve's requirement that you miss 20% or more of the schedule duration of the trip.
FAQ
What's the Best Way of Being Protected Against Labor Strikes, Especially Ones That are a Long Time in the Making?
One of the best ways to protect yourself against strikes that may be threatened many months before they actually occur is to have an annual insurance policy that you renew on time each year. As long as you renew by the expiration date (there's even a few days of grace period) you'll be considered to have continuous coverage. That means that If you purchased an annual policy, and towards the end of that first year a labor strike was threatened by an airline that you subsequently booked with in your second year of coverage, you'd be protected against an actual strike as long as you renewed the policy on time.
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Which Airlines are Less Likely to Be Embroiled in Labor Strikes?
While there are no guarantees, the fact that Delta pilots and Alaska Airline pilots recently reached agreements for pay increases and improved contract terms put those airlines above competitors such as United Airlines, American Airlines, and Southwest, which haven't resolved their labor disputes. Just keep in mind that there can be other flight changes and disruptions for Delta and Alaska that have nothing to do with labor relations.
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