Nebraska travelers considering travel insurance for holiday flights

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) – Thanksgiving travel is getting underway today as many of us set off to our holiday destination.

AAA expects more than 6.5 million people from our region alone to travel at least 50 miles from home this week.

After recent delays and cancellations during the government shutdown, more people are thinking about travel insurance.

Holiday travel can be a stressful time, and purchasing extra insurance isn’t always top of mind.

Some have never used it.

“Maybe in the future, like I said we do travel quite a bit, but as of now, you know, I don’t think so,” said Jessica Segarra, an Omaha resident flying to California.

Others say they haven’t had luck with it.

“The first time we tried to get reimbursed it was too much of a pain,” said Steve Moisoff, who was traveling to Omaha to visit family.

Those who do use it, say it’s well worth it.

“The reason I did was because about two weeks ago Burbank Airport, where I’m flying into had no more air traffic controllers and they were coming in and the planes were talking to each other about where to land. So, I was going to have to cancel my flight because I was too afraid to fly like that,” said Peg Connealy, a Lincoln resident.

Following the recent government shutdown and airport disruptions, travel insurance agents say they’ve received more questions about when you should consider using it.

“People are understanding the benefits, the features, and you know, how they can save money,” said Brandon Hughbanks, a senior travel insurance specialist.

Brandon helps clients choose policies and figure out what you need to insure during your travels.

“Things out of your control that prevent you from being able to take that trip and use your investment that’s where the travel insurance would come in and be able to reimburse you for the things that you purchased that the supplier would not refund back to you,” he explained.

Here in the Midwest, he says potential weather disruptions and the number of travelers are two of the most important considerations.

“The numbers of people traveling is higher than it is most of the rest of the year. So therefore there’s going to be more issues with possibilities of different airlines or situations where you may not be able to utilize what you booked just because of the sheer number of folks that are trying to get from A to B,” Brandon said.

His clients, and others traveling this holiday, say to them, the benefits outweigh the costs.

“Generally, it’s really affordable if you’re just insuring your flight, and sure it’s not a bad idea,” said Marie Murphy.

“You know I might. It wasn’t as expensive as I thought it would be, so I might do that again,” Peg said.

If you are traveling this week, our First Alert 6 Weather team is reminding you to pay attention to the forecast this weekend, especially on the way home.

Friday, Saturday and Sunday are First Alert 6 Weather days for snow potential.

You can keep up with all of our weather updates on the First Alert 6 Weather app.

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