Insuring against having to cancel flights

[RonnieB]

I have a number of EDI-LHR flights to take before end of October, but I am also waiting on a date for a hospital operation – what is the best way to insure myself against having to cancel flights and hotels because of hospital admittance? Would Amex Platinum insurance cover it?

Thanks

[SamG]

Unlikely as it’s a known event and therefore not really in the scope of insurance

Some options are to see if there is Avios availability, book on Expedia as they have some flexible options or sites like lastminute.com offer “cancel for any reason” insurance

[memesweeper]

– BA fully-flex fares
– BA select semi-flex fares
– BA Avios fares
– lastminute.com exchange-for-a-voucher fares

… I think the lastminute offer might also be available via some other OTAs which might be slightly less completely awful than lastminute.com

Last time I needed to book a “but I might need to cancel it” fare, there was not a way to make it refundable for less than the cost of the cheapest ticket. So I booked a “disposable” one-way instead. As it transpired, the reason for possible cancellation crystallised within 24h of booking so I got a full refund anyway.