Compensation for delayed luggage

Can I get compensation if my luggage is delayed?

Finding out that your checked luggage has been delayed or lost after you've landed off a flight can be a major inconvenience. The good news is, there are a couple ways you can get financial compensation for delayed luggage.

Certain airlines will refund you for any essentials if your baggage has been delayed for a certain amount of time. How much you're compensated for will depend on your airline and where you're travelling to. If you're travelling internationally, you may be entitled for up to the equivalent of $2,617 AUD thanks to international law.

The other option is making a luggage delay claim with your travel insurance. With the right policy, you can be reimbursed for essentials, such as clothing, toiletries or other necessary items that you bought while waiting for your bags to arrive. This type of benefit is generally excess free. So you won't have to pay any fees to lodge a claim.

What is luggage delay cover?

Luggage delay or baggage delay cover is a benefit of travel insurance policies that lets you make a claim if your luggage is delayed on arrival. The amount paid, and how it's paid, will vary depending on the insurer and policy you get.

Don't confuse this type of cover with travel delay cover. Travel delay cover protects you when you or your transport doesn't arrive. Luggage delay cover is also not the same as general luggage and personal effects cover, which compensates you if your bags are stolen or permanently lost. Luggage delay cover is specifically an allowance for the things you need to buy while waiting for your bags.

Luggage delay won't be included in every travel insurance policy. It's important to check the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) to know if you're covered.

What to do if your luggage is delayed

If your luggage is delayed, you'll need to file a delayed luggage report within 21 days with your airline. This gives you a written record of your delay, and makes sure your airline is liable for any compensation.

Your next steps will depend on whether you've got travel insurance or not.

What if I don't have travel insurance?

Your best option is to make a claim with your airline. Every airline will have its policies related to luggage delay compensation. From our research, most will have a minimum delay time that has to be met before you're allowed to make a claim. This can be 24 hours like with Virgin Australia or as long as 5 days like with New Zealand Airlines. Qantas was an outlier with the airlines we looked at, allowing you to submit a claim right after you've completed your delayed luggage report.

Your airline should get back to you in a few days to discuss compensation if your claim is successful.

Making a delayed baggage claim with insurance

Once you've been made aware that your luggage has been delayed, notify your insurer as soon as possible. Most policies will have a minimum wait time after you've landed before you can make a claim for delayed luggage. After that time is passed, it's time to contact your insurer and make a claim.

Keep in mind, this cover will only help you pay for essentials – which are the things you need to maintain basic comfort, hygiene, and safety while waiting for belongings. Your policy won't pay for non-essential items such as fragrances, alcohol, sporting equipment or entertainment items.
To make sure your allowance is high enough, most policies will typically increase the allowance based on the number of people covered by your travel insurance.

Whether you're making a claim with your airline or insurer it's important to save your receipts for any essentials you've purchased. This is because you'll need to show them how much you spent and that you've bought within the appropriate timeframe. You should also make sure your written confirmation of delay includes the reason for delay and the time your bags eventually arrived.

Travel insurance with luggage delay cover

Brand	Maximum benefit paid for delayed luggage
Medibank	$1,100
Freely	$1,000
Zoom	$500
Fast Cover	$750
Insure4less	$350
Travel Insuranz	$500
InsureandGo	$750
Tick	$400
World2cover	$750
Cover-More	$1,500
Southern Cross	$1,000
Travel Insurance Saver	$500
Easy	$1,100
ahm	$1,100
nib	$500
Stella	$300
Travel Insurance Direct	$500
Travel Protect	$300
Wise and Silent	$300
Australia Post	$1,100
Qantas	$1,600
Kogan	$1,100
AllClear	$100

Note: This information was last updated November 2024

The differences between policies

• Length of the waiting period. Some policies will only pay you out for delays of a full day, while others will reimburse you after only a few hours.
• What you can buy. Some policies will specify the purchases that you can claim. These will usually be common essentials like clothing, phone chargers, and other basic items.
• Limits. You will have limits on the amount you can claim within a specific time period. For example, a policy might let you claim $250 for every 12 hours your luggage is delayed. This will generally cap out at a certain amount, regardless of how long the delay is overall. With certain policies your limits can be increased to as high as $5000.

If your bags never arrive, then you need to start looking at getting reimbursed for what was lost.

When you won't be covered by luggage delays

In certain situations, depending on your insurer and your policy, your claim may be denied. Most insurers won't pay out in the following situations:

• If you're on the way home
• If your bags were detained by customs officials or other authorities
• If you haven't made a delayed luggage report with your airline
• If your luggage was handled by someone other than your transport provider

Our expert says

"My luggage was delayed for just over 24 hours on a trip to Scotland. I could have made a claim to buy some essentials, but I'd have had to pay that $500 excess. Instead, I persevered with what I had in my hand luggage, since there's no way essentials would have cost me as much as $500."

Gary Ross Hunter

Editor, Insurance

Frequently asked questions

• What is covered by luggage delay insurance?

  Luggage or baggage delay insurance covers essential items you need as part of your trip. This includes things like toiletries, phone chargers, towels, and electric converters. It won’t cover non-essentials such as luxury clothes, sports equipment, and jewellery.

• How much compensation do I get for delayed luggage?

  It's typically around $200. But it can go as high as $1,500, depending on the insurer and the number of people on the policy. For example, family travel insurance policies will usually come with a higher allowance for luggage delay cover.

• Do I get compensation for delayed luggage?

  Yes, most comprehensive travel insurance policies can cover you if your luggage is delayed – but not when you're travelling home. It lets you claim essential items after your luggage has been delayed for a specific period of time (often between 12 and 24 hours).

Written by

Gary Ross Hunter

Editor, Insurance

Gary Ross Hunter was an editor at Finder, specialising in insurance. He’s been writing about life, travel, home, car, pet and health insurance for over 6 years and regularly appears as an insurance expert in publications including The Sydney Morning Herald, The Guardian and news.com.au. Gary holds a Kaplan Tier 2 General Advice General Insurance certification which meets the requirements of ASIC Regulatory Guide 146 (RG146). See full bio

Gary Ross's expertise

Gary Ross has written 644 Finder guides across topics including:

• Health, home, life, car, pet and travel insurance
• Managing the cost of living