Missed connection, denied claim

Q: I traveled to Egypt this spring and, as a precaution, I insured my trip through Access America. Before I left, I called the company to find out if I would be compensated if I missed my connecting flight. A representative told me I would be.

On my way back to the States, security was very tight because there had just been five bombings in Egypt, and my flight was delayed. It took about three hours to get through customs in New York. By the time I made it to my terminal to connect with my flight back home, I had missed my flight to Phoenix.

I had to pay $669 to buy a new ticket to get home. I filed a claim with Access America, but it was denied. At that point, I called the company anonymously and asked the agent, “If I missed my flight, would you pay for my trip home?” Again, the agent said “Yes.”

I feel that Access America misled me into buying their insurance. They will tell you anything to sell you a policy and always find a loophole when it comes to paying a claim. Can you help?

Dawn Duane Wolf, Sun Lakes, Ariz.

A: Access America should reimburse you for your missed connection if that’s what it said it would do.

But did a company representative ever promise to refund your specific ticket? Or were you just speaking about a hypothetical missed connection? Travel insurance companies carefully train their call center employees to speak only in generalities, since claims can’t be adjudicated by phone.

The trouble with travel insurance — with any kind of insurance, for that matter — is the fine print. Yes, you’re “covered” but there are exceptions. Those exceptions are clearly spelled out in your policy, though in type that is rendered so small it’s barely legible.

When you insure your trip, it’s important to read the entire contract, including the legalese, before you buy the policy. Don’t take anyone’s word for it. Not a phone representative. Not a travel agent. No one.

Also, remember to bring a copy of the policy with you so you can consult it while you’re traveling. That way, if you run into trouble you can refer directly to the policy rather than rely on a phone agent for answers to important coverage questions.

I checked with Access America, and the company agreed to take another look at your case.

According to its records, your explanation to the company for your missed flight from New York to Phoenix was slightly different from the one you offered me. In addition to the full flight, you mentioned that there were three or four other international arrivals (which is not unusual) and a shift change for customs at 4 p.m. You told Access America it took you two hours to get through customs and another 20 to 30 minutes to transfer to your terminal.

Check out Part 6, Section H, of your contract for what is — and isn’t — covered in the event of a missed connection. You would have been covered for up to $300 — if you had been delayed by a traffic accident or bad weather. Unfortunately, there is no mention of customs delays.

“It was a confluence of events that caused Ms. Wolf’s delay,” said a spokeswoman for Access America. “None of them were covered under her policy.”



  • ken howard

    oh, this really stinks. A company like that should be put out of business, whether they put the details in (in fine print) or not. Even when you conscientiously do the right thing you can’t do the right thing. The right thing to do is insure yourself and publicize that company’s bat faith.

  • wary about travel insurance

    This is why I will NEVER buy travel insurance. It is not worth the paper it’s printed on.

  • Matt Turner

    Clearly, by the response from their folks, I won’t consider Access America as an insurer for a forthcoming trip to India.

    Thanks for the advice on double-checking coverage.

  • carol

    Why on earth did she have to buy a new ticket? I assume she was ticketed separately for domestic and international. Otherwise, the airline would have taken care of it. I will admit I’ve occasionally booked flights this wasy, but maybe I’d better re-think it.

  • drwong

    This illustrates the problem in asking too broad or too general of a question to anonymous telephone agents, particularly when the contracts are written by company lawyers who earn their pay in part by limiting the company’s liability!

    If you gave them the facts of a specific situation, the agent could easily refer to the contract to tell you whether or not it was covered (unless you happened to have the contract in hand).

    Second, this illustrates the hidden costs of trying to save a few bucks by booking separate flights, instead of using one carrier (or its partners). I’ve missed several international connecting flights due to delays at Customs – when that happens, the carrier has always put me on the next available flight without a surcharge – in Copenhagen, SAS even paid for my lunch because the next flight wasn’t until that afternoon!

  • Louis

    Norwegian Cruise Line sold us an air-sea package including travel insurance over the internet. Contract arrived with tickets before we could read terms and conditions. Flight cancellations over a two-day period required catching up to ship 3-4 days after departure with no guarantee of safe travel along the coast of Chile for three seniors. THEIR insurance agency offered a refund of $1500 on $6000 fare. There is legal protection for fraud against them, but none for consumers. Ouch!

  • Michael Guerra

    Access America is telling my I’m not covered either even though the New Mexico Highway Department closed all highways to Santa Fe because of the biggest storm in history on new year’s eve. I wonder if anyone has filed a class action lawsuit. I’m going to look into it.

  • David

    My wife was also denied reimbursement. I’m not going to go into details here but the government should shut down Access America. They purposely lead you to believe (especially on the airlines site) that this insurance is for not being able to make your flight. In order to see if you will ACTUALLY get reimbursed you have to read pages and pages of gobbly gook to see if what happens to you will be covered. This is a simple one time purchase that will be immediately used. Not like a homeowners insurance plan. I think the entire thing is a scam to just rip people off. Under no circumstances should you use Access America! The chances of your situation actually occurring and being covered are slim to none considering all the little exemptions they put in. I sure hope someone files a class action lawsuit against them.

  • Catherine51

    As a 25-year+ airline employee and travel agent, I cringe when customers ask me to book them on the next possible flight after an international connection on separate tickets (or, for that matter, on domestic flights where airline #2 does not accept baggage checked through from airline #1). I take the minimum recommended time and automatically double it — in San Diego, for example, from domestic to domestic with checked baggage, theoretically 90 minutes is enough but I always advise three hours. At Kennedy Airport, international to domestic with or without baggage, theoretically two and a half hours is enough but I always advise four to five hours. I do not know of a single travel insurance policy that covered missed connections from airline to airline, especially if non-thru-checked baggage is involved. When customers press me for closer-than-advised connections, I document the record up to wazoo. Other agents would be well advised to do the same.

  • Carl

    Yes document up the wazoo. Please do not think an insurance company is going to open their wallet easily. If you have a claim it should be paid. Access America paid my claim but the documentation was key. Black and white no gray area’s and you should reimbursed.