99.4 percent of WestJet flight attendants authorised strike action. Insurers are treating the possible walkout, which the union says could begin on Aug. 2, as a known event and may exclude strike-related claims from policies bought after the announcement. That stance puts households with prepaid bookings, travel agencies and tour operators who resell non-refundable packages at risk, and could ripple through the airline sector if about 4,400 CUPE Local 8125 members walk off. Consumers should check when their policy was bought and whether it specifically names labour strikes as covered.
Insurers are already denying strike-related claims, because they regard the WestJet strike vote as a known event and can lawfully exclude losses tied to it. Manulife told travel professionals that benefits "related to this potential strike wouldn't apply." Martin Firestone, owner of Travel Secure in Toronto, told reporters insurers now see the risk as a reality and will remove strike exposure from new policies, though he added that coverage for unrelated events such as illness or death may still apply depending on the policy.
Will a policy bought now cover a WestJet walkout?
No. Most travel insurers are treating the union vote and the union's notice of a potential Aug. 2 walkout as a known event, so policies purchased after those announcements are unlikely to pay for cancellations caused by a strike. That means buying a policy after the vote will usually not protect you from losses tied directly to the labour dispute.
Policies purchased before the union announced the voting results are more likely to respond, because the disruption wouldn't have been a known event at the time of purchase. Trip cancellation and trip interruption coverage that expressly include labour strikes and were bought before the vote can protect both the cost of airfare and consequential losses like prepaid cruises or tour packages.
If you already have strike-inclusive coverage bought before the vote, it may protect you. Industry sources point to the example of a traveller who paid $1,000 for a flight to reach a $6,500 cruise: interruption insurance bought before the vote could protect the larger cruise cost, while limited coverage sold at an airline checkout might not.
If you booked without insurance that covers strikes, remedies are limited. Airlines typically must rebook passengers or issue full refunds when flights are cancelled, and travel agencies say customers may be entitled to refunds if a carrier curtails service for labour reasons, but recovering downstream losses such as missed cruises or non-refundable hotels depends on the type of insurance held and when it was purchased.
Agencies warn that changing plans before a strike can limit losses, but that choice can itself trigger fees and forfeitures. Because either side in the talks must give 72 hours notice before a strike or lockout takes effect, passengers may have a narrow window to rearrange travel once formal notice is given.
Travel businesses that handle prepaid non-refundable bookings are watching closely, since mass cancellations would hit tour operators and agents who are responsible for reselling reservations. The airline dispute mirrors a large labour disruption last summer at another carrier, so operators and customers alike are attentive to how rebooking and refund policies are applied in practice.
Finally, check the exact wording of any policy memo or contract. Manulife's advisory to agents, and commentary from brokers such as Martin Firestone, show how insurers are already communicating exclusions to the trade.
That paperwork, not sales blurbs, will determine whether a claim is payable.
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The next concrete milestones are the union confirmation that members could legally begin a walkout on Aug. 2 and the 72 hours notice either side must give before action starts. If your policy was bought before the voting results, it may respond; if it was bought after, insurers have signalled they will treat strike losses as excluded. Originally reported by cbc.ca.
This article was created with AI assistance.
