PHOTO: Travel insurance pioneer John Noel said of his new venture, “We’ve created simple, inexpensive travel insurance that covers what’s never been covered before.” (Courtesy of AirCare)

Travel insurance pioneer John Noel is at it again. Today he’s officially launching a new insurance product called AirCare sold through a new company, Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection (BHTP), which is backed by none other than investment guru Warren Buffet. Noel serves as president of BHTP.

AirCare is positioned as the first product in a new travel insurance line designed for travelers, travel agencies, tour operators and travel suppliers. It features low-cost, fixed-benefit flight-protection coverage available up to one hour before a flight’s departure.

With coverage priced at $25 per airline trip, AirCare pays $1,000 to travelers stuck on the tarmac for more than two hours, $1,000 if a traveler experiences lost or stolen luggage, $500 if a flight delay causes a traveler to miss a connecting flight, $500 if luggage is delayed for more than 12 hours, and $50 if a traveler experiences more than a two-hour flight delay. Customers can sign up and file claim forms online using their mobile devices.

The product also includes MyAssist, a global-assistance and concierge service that travelers can use to rebook flights or make other travel arrangements by phone, by email or by text if they find themselves stranded. A mobile app also will be available so customers can access the product through their mobile devices.

AirCare can be purchased online at BHTP’s website. It will also is available through travel agents and other travel suppliers. So far it is available only for domestic flights, but the company expects to offer it for international flights in the near future.

“We’ve created simple, inexpensive travel insurance that covers what’s never been covered before,” says Noel. “It’s a real game-changer in the marketplace, and the timing couldn’t be better, with the record number of flight delays and cancellations this past winter combined with the rising cost of air travel. Consumers are desperately seeking assistance when things go wrong.”

Noel himself is best known as the founder of Travel Guard International. He started the company in 1985 and it became one of the country’s largest travel insurers. He sold Travel Guard in 2006 to AIG, but remained as CEO until 2009.

Noel then formed The Noel Group, which included travel agency Marathon Travel; MultiNational Underwriters, a medical-insurance carrier for travelers and expatriates; My Assist, a personal assistance and data-collection service; Compass Properties, a property-management firm; and Insure America, an insurance company serving travel agents.

In January, Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance signed an agreement to purchase the assets of Noel Group’s MyAssist and Insure America. All operations of the company remain in Stevens Point, Wis., and Noel continues to oversee it.

Noel says AirCare was developed in response to what is shaping up to be one of the most disruptive and expensive years for travelers. According to data from flight-tracking website FlightAware, this year has been the worst on record for flight cancellations in the U.S., with nearly 90,000 flights cancelled since December 2013.

masFlight, a data company specializing in airline operations, reports that weather disruptions in January alone resulted in 300,000 flight delays. Thirty million U.S. passengers were impacted by delayed or cancelled flights, costing them $2.5 billion in lost productivity and expenses like hotel rooms and meals. According to Noel, some 74 percent of customers surveyed said they would purchase an insurance product like AirCare to compensate them for these costs.

AirCare is the first of several travel-protection insurance products slated to be released by BHTP over the next several months.