Flight Delay Insurance, a new innovative insurance solution for airline travellers has been launched by global insurer Chubb and App in the Air. The solution was underwritten by Chubb’s European group in collaboration with reinsurance giant Swiss Re and FlightStats, and will be made available to UK App in the Air clients via their personal travel assistant app.
The protection offered via the new solution covers the additional costs and also the inconvenience travellers might experience in light of a cancelled flight, diverted or delayed flight, and promotes a speedier payout than what might be experienced when claiming via an airline carrier.
An announcement on the launch of the solution, explains that “under current EU legislation, passengers travelling from within the EU must be delayed by at least three hours before they are eligible for any compensation and this only applies if you are travelling with an EU-based carrier.”
However, Flight Delay Insurance can reportedly payout sooner, and applies to flights outside of the EU, specifically designed to cover unexpected costs.
Alex Blake, Senior Vice-President and Global Head of Travel Insurance at Chubb, commented; “This exciting new proposition, launched in partnership with Swiss Re, FlightStats and App in the Air, marks an important step in our strategy to develop new and innovative ways to reach more customers with very tailored and relevant insurance offers. It also addresses a previously unmet customer need, having been designed specifically to pay out when they may not otherwise be eligible for compensation from their airline carrier.
“Being able to assess claims automatically in real time, without any action on the side of the customer – such as obtaining proof of the incident – and then pay the claim directly to their PayPal or nominated bank account, debit or credit card, we think will be an appealing feature and provide the level of service we all now expect in our ever-increasing online, digital lives.”
Users of App in the Air will be offered cover via Flight Delay Insurance for every eligible flight that is on their itinerary, and clients receive £100 compensation should they be delayed by more than an hour, and in certain instances when they are delayed by just 30 or 35 minutes.
Cancelled flights and diversions trigger an automatic payout of £100.
FlightStats data is utilised to provide real-time data that is used to validate claims and, should a claim be validated it will then be transferred to the clients account, usually within an hour, but at the latest, within 72 hours of them reaching their destination, explains the release on the new product.
Bayram Annakov, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of App in the Air, said; “Working in conjunction with Chubb and Swiss Re has enabled us to develop a proposition that addresses a real and increasing customer need. This is exactly the kind of positive experience we want to provide to App in the Air users.”
