Trip Cancellation Travel Insurance

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If you enjoy traveling often—or you book expensive vacations—you may have considered purchasing a travel insurance policy in case you have to cancel your trip.

While trip cancellation insurance can help reimburse you if you have to cancel your trip, it won’t cover every possible problem. Before you purchase a policy it’s important to understand what it does and doesn’t cover.

What Is Trip Cancellation Insurance?

If you’re unable to take a trip due to an unforeseeable event, a trip cancellation policy will reimburse you for your prepaid, forfeited and non-refundable costs. These can include expenses for tours, excursions, hotel reservations, airline tickets and more.

Trip cancellation insurance usually reimburses you for 100% or 150% of your insured trip costs. Depending on the travel insurance plan, your policy will help cover costs up to the time and date of your departure.

Trip cancellation benefits are usually included in a standard travel insurance policy, but some travel insurance companies sell trip cancellation as a stand-alone policy.

You can also buy add-on coverage called “cancel for any reason” travel insurance. A CFAR upgrade typically reimburses 75% of your trip costs, as long as you cancel at least 48 hours before your departure.

See more: Best CFAR Travel Insurance

What Does Trip Cancellation Insurance Cover?

While rules and coverage limits vary by policy type and insurer, here are some examples of problems commonly covered by trip cancellation insurance:

• Any serious injury or unforeseen medical condition that makes you or your travel companion unfit for travel (by order of licensed physician).
• The death of you or your traveling companion, or the death of a non-traveling family member.
• Strikes or severe weather that result in travel services being unable to operate.
• Unforeseen natural disasters at home or at the destination that make them uninhabitable.
• A legal obligation such as jury duty or being served with a court order or subpoena.

Also noteworthy is that some trip cancellation insurance policies may include a trip delay or trip interruption benefit. With trip delay insurance, the policy can pay for short-term unexpected delays to your travel, which can include meals, accommodations and transportation costs. A trip interruption benefit may help cover costs in the event your trip is cut short due to a problem covered by the policy.

Since policies can vary drastically, it’s wise to carefully review the reasons covered by the policy, to avoid surprises later. You’ll also want to understand the definition of terms in the policy. For example, “immediate family member” and “family member” may mean two completely different things under the policy’s guidelines.

What’s Not Covered By Trip Cancellation Insurance?

While every traveler may have a unique circumstance for canceling a trip, not every problem is covered. Generally, trip cancellation insurance doesn’t cover problems that arise from foreseeable events. A foreseeable event is a situation that may have been known or was expected before it happened. Essentially, if you’re purchasing a policy with a certain situation in mind or an expected problem, it’s likely a foreseeable event.

Foreseeable events are not the only events excluded from trip cancellation insurance. Here are a few other examples of some problems typically not covered:

• A storm that has been named before you bought your policy.
• Intentional self-inflicted harm, suicide or attempted suicide.
• Normal pregnancy, fertility treatments, childbirth or elective abortion.
• Alcohol or substance abuse or use.
• Mental or nervous health disorders such as depression, anxiety or psychosis.
• War (declared or undeclared), acts of war and military duty.
• Participation in amateur or professional sporting events and training.
• Financial default of a carrier (such as an airline).

How Much Does Trip Cancellation Insurance Cost?

You can expect to pay between 4% and 6% of your trip costs if you purchase a policy that includes trip cancellation coverage. The average travel insurance cost is $200 for a $5,000 trip, based on our analysis, and the range of rates is from $131 for a basic policy up to $291 for a policy with generous coverage.

Buying a policy with a “cancel for any reason” travel insurance upgrade typically adds 50% more to your travel insurance cost.

There are several other factors that can influence the cost of a policy.

	Age of Travelers   Typically, older people pay more for coverage. Older travelers are seen as riskier because they often have more health problems and are more likely to make a claim.
	Trip Expenses   A policy’s price is based on your non-refundable or prepaid travel expenses. Therefore, it’s important to calculate all of the costs you’ll incur before your departure when searching for a policy. This can include airfare, hotel and excursion deposits.
	Travel Insurance Policy Selection   Basic policies with fewer coverage options will cost less. For example, basic plans tend to have lower travel medical insurance limits and trip cancellation limits. That said, it’s important to select only the benefits you need so you’re not paying for coverage options you won’t use.
	The Number of Travelers   The more people you insure, the higher your premium.
	Trip Length   The length of the trip will make a difference in the cost of a policy. The longer the trip, the higher the likelihood you may file a claim.

Is Trip Cancellation Insurance Worth It?

If you’ve paid a lot of money toward non-refundable trip expenses, it’s worth taking a look at trip cancellation insurance.

But if you’re on a tight budget, buying trip cancellation insurance can give you some peace of mind for unexpected events leading up to your departure.

“If a comprehensive plan isn’t in the budget, buying a trip cancellation policy is better than not buying a policy at all,” says Brooklyn.

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How Do I Get Travel Cancellation Insurance?

Buying a standard travel insurance policy that includes trip cancellation benefits is one of the easiest ways to get trip cancellation coverage. These policies also provide compensation for medical emergencies, delays, interruptions and lost, stolen or damaged baggage. They are available from:

• Airlines
• Travel insurance company websites
• Travel insurance comparison sites
• Tour operators

It’s more challenging to find stand-alone trip cancellation policies because not all travel insurance companies offer them. But if you want coverage just for cancellations, you can find policies that primarily cover cancellation. Here are three examples:

• The Trip Cancellation Package by Battleface provides cancellation coverage and compensation if you incur extra expenses because your traveling companion cannot make the trip.
• The Go Ready Trip Cancellation plan from Aegis provides cancellation and interruption benefits.
• The OneTrip Cancellation Plus plan from Allianz includes cancellation, interruption and delay benefits.

Buying travel insurance online can be done in a matter of minutes by entering your:

• Age
• Destination
• Trip cost
• Length of trip

Trip cancellation insurance is also offered as a benefit on some premium travel insurance credit cards.

When shopping for a trip cancellation policy, it’s smart to get quotes from multiple travel insurance companies. This way you can select a plan that is cost-effective yet provides the most value.

If you do purchase trip cancellation insurance and change your mind shortly after, you may be able to get your money back. Many travel insurance companies offer a “free look” period, meaning you can cancel the policy within a certain time frame and get a full refund. The time frame will depend on the travel insurance company, but we’ve found policies that give a 10-day free look and others that allow up to 21 days.

How to File a Claim for Trip Cancellation

Here are tips for filing a trip cancellation claim:

• Check your policy details. Familiarize yourself with how your benefits work. For example, if you’re canceling because you’re ill, you usually must have a doctor verify that you can’t travel because of your condition.
• Notify your travel insurance company immediately. You usually have to notify your travel insurance company within 72 hours of deciding you’re canceling your trip. If that’s not possible, you need to contact the company as soon as you are able.
• Organize your documents. You will typically need to provide proof that you canceled for a reason listed in your policy. For example, if you cancel because you were in a bad car accident, you’ll need the police report. You’ll also want to provide the amount of non-refundable trip costs for which you want reimbursement.
• Submit your paperwork. Most travel insurance companies allow you to file a claim and submit your documentation online. Your claim will be reviewed and processed, and if approved, you’ll be reimbursed by the method of payment you choose.

Trip Cancellation vs Trip Interruption

Trip cancellation applies to problems that arise before your departure. Trip interruption insurance applies to unexpected events that occur after you start your trip.

Trip interruption insurance compensates you for prepaid, non-refundable trip costs if you have to miss a portion of your trip or return home due to a reason covered by your policy. It can also pay for a last-minute flight home.

The eligible reasons for trip interruption claims are generally the same as those for trip cancellation. Trip interruption benefits typically reimburse 100%, 150% or 200% of your insured trip costs.

Trip Cancellation Travel Insurance Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)