It's not an option, it's fare price insurance. Essentially airlines have taken the 'insure everything' game that retailers found out was massively profitable years ago. Also they've taken to selling cheap trinkets, charging fees for everything, and recently playing commercials on the plane's loudspeaker forcing every one in the cabin to listen. (Which if they really cared about airline safety/security they wouldn't play as the commercials train me to ignore everything that comes over the loudspeaker)

None of this is good for consumers, the only way the airlines make money off insuring things is if we loose more of it in the long run, and none of these expenses are large enough to justify the payment. Just like the service plans at best buy.