Our guide to lost luggage reimbursement
Quick insights
- Lost luggage reimbursement is a travel insurance coverage that compensates you when a carrier loses or damages your bag.
- The coverage may be helpful when the airline or cruise line’s compensation for lost or damage baggage doesn’t meet your needs.
- Some travel rewards credit cards offer lost luggage reimbursement as a cardmember benefit.
When your bags are lost, you may be able to get reimbursed for your belongings through lost luggage reimbursement. This travel insurance coverage can help cover the gap between the actual value of your items and any compensation the airline or cruise line carrier offers you.
Read on to learn more about lost luggage reimbursement.
What is lost luggage reimbursement?
Lost luggage reimbursement is a type of insurance coverage that will reimburse you when a carrier loses your luggage. With this coverage, you can get reimbursed for the actual cash value of your bags and their contents. If you purchase a comprehensive travel insurance policy, it may have lost luggage reimbursement and baggage delay insurance.
How lost luggage reimbursement works
If the carrier has lost your bags, they may be legally obligated to compensate you. For example, airlines are required by the U.S. Department of Transportation to provide this compensation. That’s why you’re usually required to submit a claim form with the carrier before your insurer’s coverage can be applied.
If the carrier denies your claim, then you can file a claim through your insurer for lost luggage reimbursement. You can also submit a claim to your insurer if the carrier pays you an amount that doesn’t fully cover your losses.
Travelers may be able to get this coverage through certain travel rewards credit cards as long as they pay for all or some of the carrier’s fare with the eligible card.
Your policy typically pays the difference between the actual cash value of your lost belongings and what the carrier paid you for your claim.
What’s generally included with lost luggage reimbursement
When your luggage is lost or damaged, lost luggage reimbursement generally reimburses you for the value of your bags and packed items. Coverage can vary across policies, but they usually have these limits:
- Maximum coverage limit: The policy will typically set an upper limit for how much you can be reimbursed for each person for each trip.
- Coverage limits on items: Within the maximum coverage limit, there may be additional limitations on how much the policy will reimburse you for certain missing items. You may find that jewelry and electronics are commonly subject to these limitations.
- Excluded items: These policies may exclude items like cash, furs, tickets and checks, which means you won’t get reimbursed for them if they’re lost by a carrier.
If you get travel insurance through a credit card, consult your Guide to Benefits to get details on coverages, limits and the claim process.
Lost luggage reimbursement with a credit card
Some credit cards offer lost luggage reimbursement as a benefit to cardmembers. The coverage is often automatically available and doesn’t require you to sign up.
You will need to purchase some or all of the fare with the eligible credit card for the coverage to apply to a trip. Additionally, the policy may cover any immediate family members as long as the fare is purchased with the card.
Once your lost bag claim has been processed by the airline or other carrier, you may want to submit a claim through your credit card’s lost baggage reimbursement coverage. You’ll find the Benefit Administrator’s contact information and claims process in the Guide to Benefits for the credit card.
The benefits of lost luggage reimbursement and other travel insurance for cardmembers
Travel can be an exhilarating experience, but you may have to navigate certain risks that can come with travel. With a premium credit card with travel insurance benefits like lost luggage reimbursement, travelers can potentially get some peace of mind knowing that they have coverage for some of these common risks. Note that the Chase Sapphire credit cards have an annual fee.
Here are some of the benefits that may be included with a travel rewards credit card:
- Baggage Delay Insurance
- Travel Accident Insurance
- Travel and Emergency Assistance
- Trip Cancellation and Interruption Insurance
- Trip Delay Reimbursement
In addition to these travel protections, you may find the credit card offers rewards, perks and more designed with travelers in mind. For example, these credit cards come with premium travel rewards and travel insurances.
In conclusion
Lost luggage reimbursement could potentially be valuable to you if you think that a carrier’s reimbursement limits won’t meet your needs. Some credit cards come with this coverage, as well as other travel insurance benefits. You may wish to review the carrier’s baggage compensation policies to determine if they are sufficient for you.
