If something delays your trip or it’s cancelled or disrupted in any way, it’s important you know what your travel insurance covers.
Read on to find out what counts as travel disruption, what you’re covered for on your travel insurance and what to do next.
What is travel disruption?
Travel disruption is when your trip or journey is affected, or travel arrangements don’t go according to plan, because of an unexpected event.
The term 'travel disruption' can cover a few different events and situations like:
- cancellations or delays
- extreme weather or natural disasters
Your policy book will outline in detail what situations you’re covered for.
Why do I need cover for travel disruptions?
If you’ve booked a package holiday through a travel agent or company, you should be entitled to some holiday disruption cover.
Make sure you choose a company with Air Travel Organiser’s License (ATOL) or the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) protection.
In some situations, you’ll be entitled to compensation or a replacement trip. Keep in mind that ATOL and ABTA will cover certain things like supplier failure, but not all scenarios.
If you’ve booked your travel and accommodation independently, you might not have protection if there are cancellations, delays or things don’t go to plan.
The right travel insurance policy should cover you for costs caused by disruption. Check out our guide on how to get your money back after travel disruption.
Does travel insurance cover cancelled or delayed flights?
International departures (either outbound or return) are usually covered if:
- your transport breaks down
- severe weather conditions cause a delay
- there’s a strike or industrial action (which was not known about beforehand)
We count a delay as anything from 12 hours or more.
You’ll be covered as long as you have already checked in and you eventually go on the trip.
Also, check out our guide on holiday cancellation cover.
What happens if I abandon my trip?
If your flight or transport is delayed by one of the reasons we’ve outlined above (and there’s no alternative offered), you may decide to abandon your trip.
If you do, you can claim up to your policy limits for things like unused:
- accommodation
- pre-booked excursions
- deposits
- car parking fees
You can only claim for these things if you’re unable to get a refund directly through the supplier – for instance, the hotel or the car parking company.
What’s catastrophe cover?
We refer to natural disasters as ‘catastrophes’, but other insurance policies can give them different names, like ‘force majeure’.
This can include things like earthquakes, floods, hurricanes or tsunamis.
You can claim for certain costs caused by natural disasters, like your accommodation being uninhabitable or being forced to return home early, on our Gold and Platinum tier policies.
Read our guide on travel insurance and natural disasters.
What’s hijacking cover?
Some insurance companies will compensate you for any costs related to a hijacking situation.
If you have Platinum travel insurance with us, you can claim for additional travel and accommodation costs to get home if you’re unable to use your original return tickets.
We won’t cover hijacking en route to a destination that the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has said is unsafe.
Policy limits and exclusions apply, so always check your policy book to be safe!
What disruptions am I not covered for?
There are some disruptions we can’t cover you for. These include:
- operational issues
- any form of war (including civil war), rebellion or revolution or any other similar event
- disruptions caused by staff shortages or delays caused by technical issues
- acts or threats of terrorism
- radioactive contamination from nuclear or toxic waste
- anticipated events where you knew something was going to happen or could have reasonably expected it
- disruptions relating to cruises or winter sports activities, if you haven't added the specialist cover for these sort of trips
- disruption to connecting transport, like connecting flights
Policy limits and exclusions apply for all our types of cover, so it’s important you check your policy book carefully to see what you and aren’t covered for.
