The Thanksgiving long weekend means air travel for some families – and that can mean lost luggage, delays and frustration. But Warren Buffett is there to help if things go sideways at the airport.
Buffett's
Berkshire Hathaway is offering travel insurance that costs $25 per trip when things go wrong with your flight.
A breakdown of the coverage – under the AirCare brand name – pays $1,000 when a tarmac delay stretches past two hours, $500 if your luggage is delayed more than 12 hours, $1,000 if your luggage is lost or stolen and $500 if a flight delay keeps you from catching a connecting flight.
A more common complaint – if a flight is delayed more than two hours – pays $50.
Data from FlightAware indicates that nearly 90,000 flights in the U.S. were canceled in between November 2013 and May 2014.
Peter Eastwood, the president of Berkshire's specialty insurance arm, told Moneywatch that he thinks there is long-term profitability in the market, and Berkshire is looking to develop partnerships with travel agents, tour operators and other travel suppliers.
AirCare could soon become an option on travel sites such as Expedia and TripAdvisor, and perhaps even on each airline's own reservation site.
“It's a real game-changer in the marketplace,” John Noel, the president of Berkshire's new travel protection unit, told CBS, “and the timing couldn't be better.”
