Travel insurance with cancellation cover

Provided you’re insured by a travel insurance policy with the appropriate cancellation cover, you may be able to receive reimbursement (up to the cancellation benefit limit) for travel costs such as deposits, pre-payments and cancellation charges for:

• Accommodation
• Activities
• Costs for hired equipment
• Transport
• Travel agent cancellation fees.

In short, it can cover the financial losses if an unforeseen event disrupts your travel plans. However, if you cancel because you change your mind, you usually won’t be covered unless you have ‘cancel for any reason’ cover. With this type of cover, a part of your losses will be covered. It’s also important to check with your insurer before cancelling your trip so you understand what you will and won’t be covered for.

Depending on the specific policy, what’s covered may vary significantly. You should always check your insurer’s PDS for a complete outline, and TMD to check if you’re eligible for the policy.

Travel insurance policies with cancellation cover will generally cover cancellation costs arising from circumstances such as:

• You suffer from an unforeseen illness, injury or death. This can extend to your travelling companion (who you booked the trip with) or a close relative as long as they’re an Australian resident
• You’re made redundant from your full-time job
• There’s a fire, storm or burglary at your home within a certain time before your departure date
• There’s a natural disaster or significant weather event at your intended destination
• Your travel documents are stolen just before your departure
• Your pre-arranged leave is cancelled by your employer and you’re in permanent employment or a member of emergency services
• A “Do Not Travel” warning is placed on a destination after you purchase cover.

In all circumstances, you’ll have to provide documentation and evidence (i.e. a medical certificate or police report) that proves what happened for your cancellation claim to be accepted.

Your travel insurer may cover you if your flight was cancelled and the airline company doesn’t or can’t reschedule your flight. Your insurer may also cover you if the airline company doesn’t reimburse you as a result, or only reimburses part of your expenses. In that case, your travel insurance policy may cover you, up to the limits listed in your PDS.

For missed flights, your insurer can cover you if an unexpected event impacts your plans. If you miss your flights because you were disorganised, for example, you are unlikely to be covered. However, if you miss your flights because of the following reasons, you may be covered:

• You were involved in a motor vehicle accident
• A natural disaster, severe weather, riots or civil unrest started after you purchased your policy and caused you to miss your flights
• You have a doctor’s note stating that you are unfit to continue with your trip. The reason you are unfit to continue the trip can’t be because of a pre-existing medical condition, unless this was previously disclosed and covered by your insurer.

If you purchased a flight with frequent flyer points that’s cancelled and your airline doesn’t compensate you, your insurer may also cover the cost of a flight equivalent to the retail price of your missed flight. Keep in mind this may vary depending on your insurer and policy.

Depending on the policy and level of cover in your travel insurance policy, you may be covered for a variety of losses beyond cancellation costs including:

• Medical cover for hospital treatment, injuries and illnesses
• Cover for loss of belongings due to theft, damage or loss
• Personal liability if you damage another person or their belongings
• Repatriation and emergency evacuation
• 24/7 emergency assistance

There’ll be policy limits for everything your policy covers, which will be outlined in your PDS. We highly recommend you understand your policy’s inclusions before you take out cover.

Most insurers won’t cover you if you want to cancel a trip because you changed your mind or didn’t organise it properly.

Other general exclusions to your cancellation cover may include:

• You had to cancel because of a pre-existing medical condition unknown to the insurer
• Your visa is denied, or you don’t have the right documentation with you while you’re travelling
• Your flight is cancelled or delayed due to an event within the airline’s control (e.g. a mechanical issue, rescheduling, overbooking) as the airline will typically compensate or reimburse your travel expenses
• You cancelled a trip because of an unforeseen illness, but you didn’t see a doctor before cancelling the trip
• You missed your flight due to your own negligence in organising yourself and your trip
• You broke up with your partner and no longer wish to travel together
• You tried to claim for snow-related expenses but did not purchase winter sports cover as an additional extra
• COVID-19 related losses, unless you have COVID-19 (coronavirus) cover that includes cancellations.

Before purchasing a policy, you should always check your insurer’s PDS to find policy-specific exclusions as they can vary between insurers.

When submitting a travel insurance claim, it’s important to include documentation that supports your claim. Evidence might include:

• Medical certificates or hospital admissions paperwork
• Police reports
• Reports from your airline or cruise company
• Bank or credit card statements
• Receipts and invoices from pre-paid deposits

Depending on your insurer, they may offer a few different policy options and features for you to choose from for trip cancellation and delay cover, including travel delay cover, cancel for any reason cover and trip curtailment. But keep in mind that the inclusions and exclusions of the cover options will vary depending on the policy and insurer, so not every policy will offer these options. Read the PDS to understand the specifics of what is covered under your policy.

Travel delay cover can provide compensation for flight delays by covering meals or accommodation expenses you incur as a result of the delay. In most circumstances you will need to seek compensation from your airline first.

If your flight is cancelled, this won’t compensate you for the cost of the tickets, as your airline will normally offer you an alternate flight.

Unlike most trip cancellation cover that excludes reasons such as change of mind, this cover doesn’t have as many restrictions. Although this policy may come at a higher price, cancel for any reason travel insurance will cover you for cancellations beyond unforeseen events.

There are a few restrictions on this type of policy. For example, you won’t be able to cancel within a certain amount of time before your departure date (usually 48-72 hours). Furthermore, cancellation cover typically only reimburses part of your holiday costs, though the exact amount will depend on your policy and insurer.

Furthermore, it’s only available if you purchase within a certain number of days of your initial accommodation deposit or the date you purchased plane tickets (usually 10-30 days). Please note, cancel for any reason cover is not offered by most insurers.

If you need to cut your trip short because of an unforeseen event – such as a serious injury, illness or the death of a relative – this policy will cover lost deposits, pre-paid accommodation and other pre-paid travel arrangements. You may even be able to make a travel insurance claim for any additional travel expenses if you need to return home. In most cases you will need to have already paid for your return journey.