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Don’t assume travel insurance will cover any injury, illness, inconvenience or loss you experience on your trip. While standard travel insurance policies are designed to compensate you for many types of unexpected events, not all problems you might encounter will be covered.
Whether you just bought a travel insurance policy or are planning to, it’s important to know the major exclusions and common scenarios where travel insurance won’t apply.
Fear of Flying, Change of Mind or Other Foreseeable Reasons
If you want to cancel a trip because you decide you’d rather stay home and go at a later time, you can’t turn to a standard travel insurance plan for help.
The same goes if you have started to feel uncomfortable about flying—standard trip cancellation travel insurance doesn’t cover changing your mind.
In order to get successfully reimbursed for prepaid and non-refundable trip expenses, you must be canceling for a reason listed in your policy, such as the death of a family member, unexpected jury duty or a sudden job loss.
There is a workaround, but it’s a little more expensive.
You can add “cancel for any reason” coverage to your travel insurance policy. True to its name, this upgrade allows you to cancel your trip for any reason. You’ll typically get 50% or 75% of your prepaid, nonrefundable trip costs back as long as you cancel at least 48 hours before your scheduled departure. You usually must purchase this additional coverage within 14 days of making your first trip deposit.
“Cancel for any reason” coverage adds about 50% to the cost of travel insurance but could be worth it to you for the flexibility it provides.
Natural Disasters That Begin Before You Buy Travel Insurance
If you suspect a brewing hurricane will disrupt your trip, you need to buy travel insurance before the storm is named to be covered for related losses.
“Once a storm is named, it’s too late to buy travel insurance to cover it,” says Daniel Durazo, spokesperson for Allianz Travel.
The same is true for other natural disasters. If a volcano is erupting, you’ve missed the window to buy travel insurance that will cover volcano-related trip cancellation. That’s why it’s prudent to buy travel insurance right after you book a trip—you get the maximum length of trip cancellation time.
Some Last-Minute Changes Aren’t Covered by Travel Insurance
Say your cruise itinerary changes at the last minute and you decide you’d rather not sail. Your travel insurance won’t be of any assistance in this scenario.
Even “cancel for any reason” travel insurance requires you to cancel at least 48 hours before your trip, which doesn’t help if your decision to stay home is truly last minute.
Bad Weather and Trip Cancellation, Trip Interruption Insurance
Learning it’s going to rain the entire week of your beach vacation is not a covered reason for canceling your trip with a standard travel insurance policy. Travel insurance usually only covers severe weather that disrupts your trip, for example storms that stall arrivals or departures for a specified amount of time, such as 24 or 48 hours, or that make the destination uninhabitable.
Only “cancel for any reason” coverage would help here, if you make the call to cancel no less than 48 hours before your scheduled departure time.
Another option is to buy “interruption for any reason” travel insurance. This allows you to give up on a trip in the middle and head home early. If you’ve had enough of a soggy vacay, this optional benefit can reimburse you 75% of your prepaid, non-refundable trip expenses.
“Interruption for any reason” coverage generally adds 3% to 10% to the cost of your travel insurance, and you must insure 100% of your trip to be eligible for this benefit. You must also cancel at least 48 hours or more into your trip to be eligible for a claim.
Pre-existing Medical Conditions and Travel Insurance
This is a biggie because many adult travelers have some kind of pre-existing medical condition.
If your asthma starts to act up on your trip, and you don’t have a pre-existing medical condition exclusion waiver—guess what? You may not be covered by your travel medical insurance.
When you file a claim to be reimbursed for hospital bills, the travel insurance company may look at your medical records. If it discovers a history of your medical issue within the “look-back period” (which could be 60, 90 or 180 days before you bought the policy), your claim may be denied.
If you have a waiver in place, you can be reimbursed for X-rays, lab work, medicine, hospital and doctor bills—up to the limits in your policy—if your condition flares up while you’re on your trip.
Each company handles pre-existing medical conditions differently. What’s considered a pre-existing condition at one travel insurance company may not be at another. Always look into the details of waivers when you’re buying travel insurance.
You can generally get a pre-existing medical condition exclusion waiver only within 14 to 21 days of making an initial deposit for a trip and after insuring the full non-refundable costs of the trip. You usually also must be medically able to travel when you buy your travel insurance policy.
Travel Cards That Offer Insurance Benefits
Normal Pregnancy Not Covered by Travel Insurance
Normal pregnancy usually isn’t covered by travel insurance.
You may be able to cancel a trip for pregnancy-related reasons if you got pregnant after you bought a travel insurance policy. But in order for your trip cancellation insurance to reimburse you, you will need to provide medical records proving that the pregnancy started after the purchase date.
If you decide to travel while pregnant, medical costs for normal pregnancy care probably won’t be covered, even if you have a pre-existing medical condition exclusion waiver.
Some policies do cover complications arising from pregnancy. If you have unforeseen pregnancy-related health issues while traveling that are documented by a doctor, you may be able to file a trip interruption insurance claim. But this depends on the company and plan you buy.
If you’re pregnant—or planning a pregnancy while planning a vacation—consider talking to a travel advisor or insurance agent about how travel insurance covers pregnancy. This is particularly important for vacations booked far in advance, like cruises.
Activities That Involve Drinking or Drug Use
Most travel insurance plans won’t cover accidents or injuries that happen as a result of intoxication or drug use.
If you go on a pedal-powered beer bike tour and fall into the street after a few beers, your medical bills won’t be covered by your travel medical insurance.
And if your purse gets stolen while you are enjoying the all-inclusive beverage benefits at a resort, don’t expect to file a successful claim.
Risky Activities and Sports Often Excluded from Travel Insurance
You might be surprised to learn that many travel insurance companies define skiing, jet-skiing, mountain climbing and deep-sea scuba diving as high-risk activities that are excluded from coverage. Read the fine print of your policy before you purchase it so you’re aware of what is and isn’t covered.
If you need coverage for adventure sports and activities, don’t fret. Many travel insurance companies offer sports and adventure add-ons for an extra charge. Or you can find a travel insurance company that specializes in covering adventure sports trips, such as World Nomads.
Also, be aware of your policy’s limits for travel medical insurance and medical evacuation travel insurance. You may not think lounging on a remote island is risky, but it could be costly if you are bitten by a snake and have to be medevaced to the nearest adequate medical facility.
Illegal or Dangerous Activities
You won’t be covered by your travel insurance if you are injured as a result of doing something unnecessarily dangerous, for example traveling in a privately owned aircraft. The reason: You’ve entered a contract with the insurer in which you’ve promised not to expose them to unnecessary risk.
Also not covered? Anything illegal, for instance, operating a motorcycle or scooter without a valid license. If you’re involved in an accident when you shouldn’t have been driving in the first place, you won’t be able to file a travel insurance claim.
Medical Tourism and Travel Insurance
Are you going on vacation for a facelift or a tummy tuck? Don’t look to travel insurance for help with the hospital bills or aftercare. Medical tourism is a common exclusion.
Anything Not Well Documented
When you file a travel insurance claim, you will be asked to include documentation. Without a paper trail of your losses, they may not be reimbursed.
Here are some scenarios that would require documentation:
- Trip cancellation. You get Covid-19 and need to cancel your upcoming trip. Visit a doctor for a test and provide your travel insurance company with a doctor’s note stating you are unfit to travel. A home test is likely not enough for a trip cancellation insurance claim.
- Travel delay. Your flight is delayed overnight and you’d like reimbursement for the last-minute hotel you had to book. Get proof of the delay from the airline to file a travel delay insurance claim.
- Baggage loss. After arriving at your destination, your backpack is stolen and you want to file a baggage loss travel insurance claim. File a police report or request documentation signed by your tour organizer or hotel manager. Collect any receipts you have for lost items listed in your claim and submit those as well.
- Trip interruption. While traveling, you become severely ill and want to go home early. Make an appointment with a local doctor and ask for a written copy of the diagnosis. Your word that you didn’t feel well is likely not enough to file a successful trip interruption insurance claim—you usually must have documentation from a physician.
Not having proper documentation may result in your claim being delayed or denied. James Page, a spokesperson for AIG Travel, says the claims process is often impeded by “the policyholder not providing sufficient documentation to demonstrate their actual financial loss, thereby allowing the insurer to fully evaluate the claim.”
Anything Not Mentioned in the Policy
It’s important to read the fine print of your travel insurance policy. Anything not explicitly mentioned as covered in a travel insurance policy probably isn’t.
Common Travel Insurance Exclusions
Look for the exclusions listed in your plan. Common exclusions include:
- Losses caused by intentional self-harm, including suicide.
- Losses due to nervous disorders like anxiety or depression.
- Losses due to war, civil disorder and riots.
- Mental health care.
- Physical therapy.
- Routine dental care.
- Routine physicals.
Free Look Period for Travel Insurance
Take advantage of the free look period when you buy a travel insurance policy. This period allows a certain number of days for you to cancel the policy and receive a full refund if it doesn’t meet your needs. Use this time to thoroughly read the plan and understand your benefits. If you’re not sure about your coverage, ask your travel professional or insurance agent.
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