He trip cancellation insurance It covers you in some cases if you are forced to cancel your trip for unforeseeable reasons beyond your control. Put yourself in the situation that you are waiting impatiently for your long-awaited vacation and you break your wrist a week before the date of departure to your desired vacation destination. You can't leave because they have to operate on you, but you don't want to be left without the money you paid for the flight. It is at this moment that you give thanks for having hired a trip cancellation insurance for any reason or even travel insurance.
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What is trip cancellation insurance for?
Everything is ready to start your trip: ticket ready, accommodation, routes, monuments... and, suddenly, you have to cancel it. Not only are you very frustrated that you can't travel, but you also have to deal with the financial impact What does it mean to be throwing all that money overboard without being able to enjoy anything planned and that your operator does not reimburse you. The rate percentage of the flight cancellation insurance or trip differs from tour operator to tour operator and increases depending on how soon you plan to travel. In other words, the closer to the departure date, the higher the cancellation fee and the lower the refund. Please contact the tour operator as soon as you know you need to cancel.
tour operators charge various types of fees of cancellation. For example, depending on when you cancel, you may simply lose your deposit or be charged a percentage of the cost of the trip. Very late cancellation and no-shows usually carry an extremely high trip cancellation fee - it's quite common for 100% of the cost of the trip to be charged.
The cancellation insurance covers the fees charged by the travel agency.
Put yourself in the situation that you bought a ticket for 600 euros. A week before you were supposed to leave, you got sick and had to cancel your trip. The travel agency charges you 75% of the rate, that is, 450. The cancellation insurance will reimburse the total cancellation fee charged by the travel agency, which is 450 euros.
When purchasing a ticket, regardless of departure date, generally from the time of booking and once the ticket is issued, a fine of 100% will be charged. For cruises, for example, high cancellation fees are required for more than 90 days prior to departure.
The reasons for cancellation vary according to the policy. Be sure to read the exclusion clauses! Here are some examples of cancellation scenarios that are often covered:
- Death of a family member
- You or someone in your family gets sick or injured
- Home damage that prevents travel
- Natural disasters
- You are denied the tourist VISA
- You lose your job or start working
- It is identified that the travel ticket is stolen
To benefit from trip cancellation insurance, you have to report the cancellation quickly (usually within 5 days of the event) and provide documentation proving you cannot travel: a medical or death certificate, a certificate from your employer, etc.
Hire a trip cancellation insurance
You can buy cancellation insurance at the travel agency or on the tour operator's website while you book your trip. The cost of insurance is proportional to the cost of the trip and varies depending on the coverage selected. It generally ranges between 4% and 7% of the price of the trip. You can also take out more comprehensive travel insurance with a specialist travel insurer once you have booked your trip. Thus, policies can cover medical expenses, repatriation assistance and lost or stolen luggage, along with cancellation coverage. Since you'll only be covered for cancellation once you've taken out insurance, it's safest to do so soon after you book your trip.
Bank card insurance not enough?
Generally, only “high-end” bank cards include trip cancellation insurance. With Visa Premier and Gold MasterCard, for example, you are covered in case of illness that prevents you from traveling, death of a family member, damage to your home or dismissal. In all other circumstances, the cancellation insurance is invalid. Bank card insurance is not always enough and, depending on the card you have, cancellation insurance may not exist.
If you liked this article, we invite you to read the next one about the free prepaid card.
