With the recent alert from the US Department of State regarding the terror alert in Europe, many travelers are unsure of whether or not travel insurance would cover such a situation.
Will travel insurance cover me if I cancel for the European terror alert?
If you have a standard travel insurance policy (without Cancel for Any Reason see below) a terror alert is not a covered reason for cancellation. Every travel insurance policy specifically spells out what is a covered reason for cancellation and what is not, and in general terror alerts are not.
Is there any type of travel insurance plan that would cover the terror alert europe?
As mentioned above, terror alerts and warnings are generally not a covered reason for cancellation with travel insurance. Many companies, however, offer policies with a special feature called “cancel for any reason”. This upgrade, which costs more premium, will allow the traveler to cancel their trip for any reason and receive the majority of their trip costs. There is usually a minimum time period prior to the trip in which you can cancel, such as 48 hours (which is meant to prevent travelers from purchasing the plan specifically to cancel).
What will travel insurance cover in regards to terrorism?
Even though a terror alert or warning is generally not a covered reason for cancellation, there is “terrirism coverage” included with many travel insurance policies. An actual “Terrorist Incident” is generally a covered reason for cancellation.
For example, here is the official language from Travel Guard’s Platinum plan: “Terrorist Incident†means an act of violence, that is deemed terrorism by the United States Government other than civil disorder or riot (that is not an act of war, declared or undeclared) that results in Loss of life or major damage to property, by any person acting on behalf of or in connection with any organization which is generally recognized as having the intent to overthrow or influence the control of any government.
