Traveling is an integral part of life. Some travel for work and others travel to explore new places and experience various cultures with family or friends. It is the innate nature of humans to travel and explore, and this is one of the prime reasons why trains and flights were invented—to ease travel. Over the years, services offered by airlines have evolved. As airlines have increased the frequency of flights to accommodate more people, the confusion around baggage services has increased as well.
One of the most common things we have all experienced at least once in our lives is waiting around the baggage carousel for our bags after landing at the destination, only to discover that our set of checked-in bags have been left behind or wrongly placed somewhere else. Despite the barcoded tags on the bags, we must now spend time making the ground staff understand the exact make of the bags and then wait for them to call us back, only to say that the bags cannot be found.
In such situations, checked baggage insurance can come to your rescue. Although it cannot redeem your favorite dress or lost valuables, you can get a similar claim from your insurer. There are different sources from which such insurance can be purchased before you travel. Some of these are explained below for your reference:
Airline insurance
If you are flying domestically, federal laws state that the airlines are required to pay up to $3,500 per bag, but this does not include antiques or valuables that might be in the bag. To get the insurance claim, you are required to submit proof of the things you lost, and the money will be reimbursed if the airline cannot find your bag within a stipulated time.
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While traveling internationally, both countries set the limit of the insurance claim on the flight. If the country of your residence and the country you are traveling to are parties to the Montreal Convention (more than a hundred nations are, including our country), liability is capped at 1,131 of an obscure international monetary concept called ‘special drawing rights,’ which translates to approximately $1,600.
Credit card baggage insurance
If you have a credit card, you are surely in for a surprise feature that you did not know of thus far. Most credit cards offer two types of baggage claim insurance. The first is lost baggage insurance that you can claim if you have lost your baggage and the airline has informed you as such.
The second kind of insurance is baggage delay insurance that allows you to temporarily replace the necessary items till your airline finds your bags and returns them to you during your stay in the city you are visiting. The credit card claims are secondary to the insurance claim given by the flight that you traveled in. This claim can be reimbursed if you have booked the trip using the same credit card for you or your family member. It may also apply if you have used reward points to fly out of your city in some cases. The amount of insurance claim varies depending on the card you own.
Travel rewards cards
Some premium travel reward cards also offer insurance if you have booked the flight using the same card. The delay claim can be availed by showing proof of baggage delay depending upon the time that you had to suffer without the bag, and it lets you buy the necessary items that you can use in the interim period.
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