Anticipation for a vacation typically conjures up visions of fun times, not what could go wrong. The last thing you want is your trip interrupted due to illness, injury or other issues like severe weather or a sudden family emergency back home.
Cutting your vacation short can be costly, especially when you need to book last-minute flights home and lose nonrefundable deposits. Having trip interruption insurance as part of your comprehensive travel insurance policy can be a saving grace.
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What Is Trip Interruption Insurance?
Trip interruption insurance provides you the ability to seek reimbursement for certain prepaid, unused and nonrefundable trip costs if your trip is disrupted. It is typically part of a comprehensive travel insurance policy. These policies also include important coverage for trip cancellation, medical expenses and other costs.
What Does Trip Interruption Insurance Cover?
Trip interruption insurance covers non-refundable travel expenses—such as flights and hotels— if your trip is interrupted for a reason covered by a policy. Expenses that can be covered include:
Acceptable reasons for a trip interruption insurance claim will vary by policy, but often include:
- An illness or injury to you, your traveling companion or a family member.
- Being directly involved in a documented traffic accident en route to your departure.
- Death of a traveling companion or family member.
- Equipment of mechanical failure of a common carrier, such as an airplane.
- Natural disasters.
- Required evacuation.
- Required quarantine.
- Severe weather.
- Terrorism incidents.
- Your home or destination being uninhabitable due to burglary, fire, flood or natural disaster.
A travel insurance policy will contain lists of reasons that will be covered, and you may find that “trip cancellation“ and “trip interruption” coverage have different lists, but there is some overlap.
Trip Interruption Coverage Limits
Trip interruption insurance typically reimburses between 100% and 150% of the insured trip cost. Dollar caps for trip interruption insurance are generally between $6,000 and $9,000.
Many travel insurance companies sell policies with different tiers of coverage. For example, PrimeCover’s Base provides 100% trip cost reimbursement, its Plus plan is 150%, and its Luxe plan is 200%.
Trip Interruption Insurance from Top-Rated Travel Insurance Companies
The best travel insurance companies sell policies with trip interruption benefits that reimburse at least 150% of the trip cost.
What Is Not Covered by Trip Interruption Insurance?
Trip interruption insurance doesn’t cover every incident. Coverage may exclude travel interruptions connected to:
- Being intoxicated or under the influence of a controlled substance when an injury occurs.
- Committing an illegal or criminal act.
- Injury related to mountaineering, skydiving, hang gliding or deep-sea scuba diving.
- Mental or emotional disorders that don’t require hospitalization.
- Normal pregnancy or childbirth.
- Pre-existing medical conditions.
- Suicide, attempted suicide or intentionally injuring yourself.
- War.
Common Reasons Travelers Cut Trips Short
The most common reasons for trip interruption are injury or sudden illness—to you or a traveling companion—during the trip. The next most common reasons are inclement weather en route or at your destination, a death in the family or a life-threatening situation back home.
“There are numerous other, less common issues, such as a traffic accident as you’re starting out on your trip (causing you to miss your cruise or flight), or assault during a trip,” says Scott Adamski, spokesperson for AIG Travel Guard. For example, Adamski says that AIG Travel Guard’s base travel insurance plans have 20 unforeseen events that would qualify for reimbursement for trip interruption benefits. Additionally, AIG Travel has two optional bundle upgrades (Pet Bundle and Security Evacuation) that would give you additional covered reasons for a trip interruption claim.
Benefits of Trip Interruption Insurance
There are two ways trip interruption benefits can apply if you have to end a trip early:
- Trip interruption benefits will reimburse you for unused, pre-paid, non-refundable trip expenses, such as airfare, hotel nights and side excursions that were booked in advance, if your trip is unexpectedly interrupted while you’re in transit, says Adamski.
- If you are already at your destination and have to return home, your benefits will cover the associated expenses to get back home.
Trip Interruption Insurance for Cruises
In most cases, the same basic rules apply to cruises, says Adamski: If you have to disembark from your cruise early, for a reason covered under your trip interruption insurance, you can be reimbursed for any unused, prepaid, non-refundable trip expenses.
“If the ship has already left port, the expense of the cruise itself could not be said to be ‘unused,’ but other expenses, such as shore excursions which had not yet taken place, may be covered.”
– Scott Adamski, spokesperson for AIG Travel Guard
If you have to book a last-minute flight home, the cost can be covered (even if it’s more expensive than the cost of the original flight home). Check your policy’s rules for exclusions.
“Interruption for Any Reason” Travel Insurance
Some travel insurance plans offer “interruption for any reason” travel insurance (IFAR) as an upgrade. It generally adds 3% to 10% to your travel insurance cost, but allows you to cut a trip short regardless of the reason and be eligible to file a claim.
While you get the greatest flexibility for interruption benefits under IFAR, here is what you need to know if you’re considering buying IFAR coverage:
- You will not be reimbursed as much as 150% of your trip costs, as with standard trip interruption benefits. IFAR reimburses up to 75% of the insured trip costs.
- IFAR is an optional benefit.
- You must typically purchase IFAR within 15 to 20 days of your first trip payment or deposit.
- To be eligible for this benefit, you must insure 100% of your prepaid and non-refundable trip costs.
- IFAR coverage typically doesn’t start until 48 hours or more into your trip.
Review the “Interruption for Any Reason” Rules
If you’re interested in IFAR coverage, make sure you know the rules for making a claim. For example, with Travel Insured International’s Worldwide Trip Protector plan, you can make a claim if your trip has been interrupted 72 hours or more after your departure date. Reimbursement is 75% of your additional travel costs (due to cutting the trip short, such as plane tickets) and the money you lose on unused and non-refundable parts of your trip.
Also consider whether you may actually need IFAR coverage. Check the plan’s list of reasons covered for standard trip interruption insurance—you may find the list is sufficient. It typically includes illness or injury, an evacuation at your destination, a strike, a hurricane warning, a terrorist incident, being required to return to work and more.
What Companies Offer “Interruption for Any Reason” Coverage?
Here are travel insurance plans that offer an IFAR upgrade. All but Nationwide’s cruise plans provide 75% reimbursement of nonrefundable, insured trip costs.
- PrimeCover Luxe. With the Luxe plan of PrimeCover, you must purchase IFAR within 21 days of your initial trip deposit. There’s a 48-hour waiting period after departure before IFAR coverage starts. Benefits include 60% of nonrefundable insured trip costs.
- Nationwide Cruise Universal, Choice and Luxury Plans. With Nationwide, there is a 48-hour waiting period after departure before benefits apply. Benefits for the Universal plan are $250; for Choice, $500; and for Luxury, $1,000.
- Seven Corners Trip Protection Basic and Trip Protection Choice. There is a 48-hour waiting period after departure before benefits kick in with Seven Corners. You must buy IFAR coverage within 20 days of your initial trip deposits.
- Travel Insured International Worldwide Trip Protector. You must purchase your plan and IFAR within 21 days of your initial trip deposit. There’s a waiting period of 72 hours after your trip departure before IFAR benefits start with Travel Insured International.
- WordTrips Atlas Journey Elevate. There is a 48-hour waiting period after departure before benefits start with WorldTrips. Benefits are 50% of prepaid, nonrefundable trip costs.
What About “Cancel for Any Reason” Travel Insurance?
“Cancel for any reason” travel insurance (CFAR) is an upgrade that provides reimbursement if you cancel a trip before you go for any reason not listed in the base policy. CFAR gives you wide latitude to cancel your trip and not lose all your money. It usually provides 75% reimbursement of your non-refundable trip costs.
You generally must cancel the trip at least two days before your departure date to make a CFAR claim. Once your trip is underway, “cancel for any reason” coverage doesn’t apply. And usually you must buy CFAR coverage within the first few weeks of booking your trip. It adds about 50% to the cost of travel insurance.
