Trip cancellation insurance coverage reimburses up to 100% of your pre-paid, non refundable travel costs when an unforeseen and covered event causes you to cancel your trip.
Let us tell you a story
Rob and Jennifer planned a Colorado ski trip with their two children. They pre-paid for a ski package that included rooms at a lodge right at the base of the lifts. Their ski package also included lessons for the kids and lift tickets for the parents.
Just four days prior to departure, the kids woke with high fevers and sore, scratchy throats. A trip to their pediatrician revealed they had strep and canceling the trip was recommended by the doctor.
With trip cancellation coverage on their travel insurance policy, Rob and Jennifer were able to recover their pre-paid non refundable costs – even the lift tickets. They could take the kids skiing another time.
What does Trip Cancellation insurance cover?
Trip cancellation insurance coverage reimburses you (up to the covered amount) for pre-paid non refundable trip costs if you have to cancel your trip for a covered reason.
This benefit also pays the additional cost in the per person rates (known as a single supplement fee) if a traveling companion’s covered trip is cancelled but yours is not.
While each plan defines what its trip cancellation insurance benefit covers, the following are common reasons for trip cancellations:
- Injury or illness – An injury or illness of you, your destination host, your traveling companion, a family member, or business partner.
- Weather or natural disaster – A natural disaster destroys your destination, your intended destination accommodations, or your own home.
- Hurricane – A hurricane destroys your home or your destination prior to your departure.
- Schedule conflicts – Schedule issues may include jury duty, court summons, or school year extensions.
- Traffic Accidents – You or your traveling companion are in a traffic accident en route to your scheduled departure.
- Property damage – Your home, your business, or your destination accommodations are vandalized, burglarized, or damaged through criminal acts.
- Terrorism or mandatory evacuations – A terrorist event that occurs at your destination and results in mandatory evacuations.
- Bankruptcy or financial default – A pre-paid travel supplier completely ceases all operations due to financial default or bankruptcy.
- Assaults – You or your traveling companion are a victim of a felonious assault prior to your scheduled departure.
- Work conflicts – You or your traveling companion are terminated, required to transfer to a new work location, or in the military and deployed to help with disaster relief. (An optional upgrade, ‘cancel for work reasons’, provides coverage for additional employment conflicts.)
- Illness or Death of host – Hospitalization or death of your destination host.
- Labor strikes – Your travel is disrupted or flights are cancelled due to an unannounced labor strike.
- Theft or loss of passport/visa – You cannot travel because your passport or visa has been lost or stolen.
This benefit is distinctly different from trip interruption coverage, which goes into effect after a traveler has started his or her trip.
What’s NOT Covered with trip cancellation insurance coverage?
The trip cancellation insurance coverage of any policy covers the unforeseen events that are listed in the policy. This also means that if the plan doesn’t list the event, then cancellation for that reason won’t be covered.
Trip cancellation coverage will never cover a traveler for:
- Canceling a trip where the purpose of which is to obtain medical treatment.
- Canceling a trip for routine medical treatment for an existing medical condition.
- Canceling a trip because the traveler feels that taking the trip would be unsafe.
- Canceling a trip because the weather is not agreeable.
- Canceling a trip because the traveler decided they couldn’t afford the expense.
- Canceling a trip due to mental or psychological disorders, including anxiety, depression, and more.
- Canceling a trip because the traveler had a change of heart.
- Canceling a trip due to pregnancy, child birth, or an elective abortion other than medical complications of pregnancy that threaten the life of mother or child.
- Canceling a trip due to a government regulation or prohibition.
- Canceling a student trip because the school board canceled the trip.
- Canceling a trip due to civil riots at your destination.
- Canceling a trip due to alcohol or substance abuse.
- Canceling a trip due to mental illness or panic attacks.
- Canceling a trip due to unlawful acts committed by the insured, their traveling companion, or a family member, whether insured or not.
- Canceling a trip due to an intentionally self-inflicted injury, suicide, or attempted suicide of the insured, their traveling companion, or a family member, whether insured or not.
Trip cancellation insurance for “any reason”
It’s important to note, however, that adding the ‘cancel for any reason’ option to your travel insurance plan will help in the situations above when you are not covered.
With Cancel For Any Reason (CFAR) coverage, you can cancel your trip for any reason at all, as long as you:
- Insure 100% of your trip cost
- Cancel more than 48 hours before departure
- Buy it within the required time, usually between 10-30 days of your initial trip deposit date
Waiver of exclusions
Some exclusions can be waived by adding options to your travel insurance policy:
- Canceling a trip due to a pre-existing medical condition.
- Canceling a trip due to travel supplier financial default.
- Canceling a trip because you are required to work. *
* Some plans include cancellations for work reasons benefits in their plans. Specifically, Travel Guard’s Platinum and Gold plans include this benefit automatically. Other plans have ‘cancel for work reasons’ as an option that can be added.
Important notes about this coverage
- The effective date for trip cancellation insurance coverage begins at 12:01 a.m. the day after the premium is paid.
- This coverage ends at the earliest of either: the cancellation of your trip, or the date and time you start your trip
- You must notify the travel suppliers and the plan provider of your intent to cancel prior to trip departure (unless you are incapable of doing so).
What type of policy covers this?
Almost all package plans include some coverage for trip cancellations, but what the coverage covers varies from plan to plan.
Some travel medical plans, specifically the following two from FrontierMEDEX, have trip cancellation coverage:
- TravMed Abroad (as an optional rider)
- TravMed Global (as an optional rider)
Trip Cancellation Insurance Coverage FAQs
Yes, trip cancellation (as part of a trip insurance policy) can cover any pre=paid and non-refundable trip cost.
Yes, hurricanes and sever weather can be covered for trip cancellation. The important part is knowing the details. For example, you cannot cancel a beach trip because it is going to rain. Weather coverage with cancellation is for sever weather that causes flights to be cancelled or resorts to be closed.
In addition, some plans cover NOAA Hurricane Warnings which extends coverage to a mere warning, as opposed to an actual hurricane strike,
Yes, some plans cover pregnancy as a covered reason for cancellation. The pregnancy must occur after the purchase of travel insurance.
Yes, many plans include a waiver to the pre-existing conditions exclusion, making it possible to get cancellation coverage even with a pre-existing condition.
No, a standard trip insurance plan has a list of covered reasons. This covers common things like illness, accident, death in the family, weather, jury duty, terrorism, etc.
There are plans that offer a Cancel For Any Reason upgrade. This will reimburse trip costs up to 75% if you cancel for any reason.
How much trip cancellation insurance coverage does each company provide?
| Policy | Company | Prior to departure | Policy limit | Maximum trip cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deluxe | Allianz | Up to departure ** | 150% of insured trip costs | $100,000 |
| Annual Business Travel Protection (Executive) | Allianz | Up to departure ** | $5,000 (annual plan) | |
| Classic | Allianz | Up to departure ** | 150% of insured trip costs | $100,000 |
| Basic | Allianz | Up to departure ** | 100% of insured trip costs | $10,000 |
| Annual Travel Protection | Allianz | Up to departure ** | $1,000 (annual plan) | |
| Custom Luxe | CSA | Up to departure | 100% of insured trip costs | $40,000 |
| Custom | CSA | Up to departure | 100% of insured trip costs | $40,000 |
| TravMed Global (optional rider) | FrontierMEDEX | Up to departure | $500-$10,000 (medical plan) | |
| TravMed Abroad (optional rider) | FrontierMEDEX | Up to departure | $5,000 (medical plan) | |
| Global Alert Preferred Plus | Global Alert | Up to departure * | 100% of insured trip costs | $50,000 |
| Global Alert Preferred | Global Alert | Up to departure * | 100% of insured trip costs | $50,000 |
| Global Alert Essentials | Global Alert | Up to departure * | 100% of insured trip costs | $50,000 |
| None | Global Underwriters | |||
| TripProtector Preferred | HTH Worldwide | Up to departure | 100% of insured trip costs | $30,000 |
| TripProtector | HTH Worldwide | Up to departure | 100% of insured trip costs | $30,000 |
| TripProtector e-Saver | HTH Worldwide | Up to departure | 100% of insured trip costs | $30,000 |
| Advantage Complete | MH Ross | Up to departure | 100% of insured trip costs | $100,000 |
| Advantage Asset | MH Ross | Up to departure | 100% of insured trip costs | $15,000 |
| Advantage Bridge | MH Ross | Up to departure | 100% of insured trip costs | $100,000 |
| RoundTrip Economy | Seven Corners | Up to departure | 100% of insured trip costs | $20,000 |
| Bordercross Worldwide | Seven Corners | Up to departure | 100% of insured trip costs | $40,000 |
| RoundTrip Elite | Seven Corners | Up to departure | 100% of insured trip costs | $30,000 |
| RoundTrip | Seven Corners | Up to departure | 100% of insured trip costs | $20,000 |
| RoundTrip Choice | Seven Corners | Up to departure | 100% of insured trip costs | $30,000 |
| Travel Lite | Travelex | Up to departure | 100% of insured trip costs | $30,000 |
| Travel Plus | Travelex | Up to departure | 100% of insured trip costs | $75,000 |
| Travel Max | Travelex | Up to departure | 100% of insured trip costs | $50,000 |
| Travel Basic | Travelex | Up to departure | 100% of insured trip costs | $10,000 |
| Travel Select | Travelex | Up to departure | 100% of insured trip costs | $25,000 |
| Platinum | Travel Guard | Up to departure | 100% of insured trip costs | $100,000 |
| Basic | Travel Guard | Up to departure | 100% of insured trip costs | $100,000 |
| Gold | Travel Guard | Up to departure | 100% of insured trip costs | $100,000 |
| My Travel Guard | Travel Guard | Up to departure | 100% of insured trip costs | $100,000 |
| Silver | Travel Guard | Up to departure | 100% of insured trip costs | $100,000 |
| Select Basic | Travel Insurance Services | Up to departure | 100% of insured trip costs | $100,000 |
| Select Elite | Travel Insurance Services | Up to departure | 100% of insured trip costs | $100,000 |
| Select Plus | Travel Insurance Services | Up to departure | 100% of insured trip costs | $100,000 |
| Trip Protector Lite | Travel Insured | Up to departure | 100% of insured trip costs | $50,000 |
| Trip Protector Lite Expanded | Travel Insured | Up to departure | 100% of insured trip costs | $50,000 |
| Worldwide Trip Protector | Travel Insured | Up to departure | 100% of insured trip costs | $50,000 |
| Worldwide Trip Protector Gold | Travel Insured | Up to departure | 100% of insured trip costs | $50,000 |
| Vacation Basic | Travel Safe | Up to departure | 100% of insured trip costs | $10,000 |
| Vacation Classic | Travel Safe | Up to departure | 100% of insured trip costs | $150,000 |
* Cancel within 24 hours of departure if your trip destination is under an NOAA hurricane warning.
** Cancel within 72 hours to qualify for the highest reimbursement. See the policy documentation for details.
Summary
- The reason for cancellation must be listed in the policy for a cancellation to be covered
- Trip cancellation insurance coverage provides 100% reimbursement of pre-paid non refundable expenses
- See why entering a trip cost of $0 is too risky
- Cancellation must occur within the time frame defined in the policy
- You can compare travel insurance using a comparison tool like Squaremouth.com