Will your travel insurance cover monetary fallout from volcanic ash?

With some European air service resuming today or tomorrow, the next few days will likely be dominated by news regarding how travel insurance companies are dealing with what volcanic ash did to people's travel plans. The short answer: Well, there is no short answer.

Several large travel insurance companies said call volume skyrocketed to 50% higher than normal this weekend as stranded passengers grappled with whether their plans would pay out for mounting hotel, transportation and food costs. Some travelers even reported that their hotel costs went up overnight, in some cases leaving them broke.

More popular providers, such as CSA Travel Protection, Access America and USI Travel Insurance Services, said that they would cover trip delays, cancellations and interruptions that resulted from the unprecedented days-long closure of European air space as the ash cloud from Iceland floated southward.