Single Trip Holiday Insurance – Valid and Invalid Trip Cancellations

One of the most common reasons people take out single trip holiday insurance is to cover their expenses should an unforeseeable event prevent them from going. This can reimburse money spent on airline tickets, hotel reservations, tour expenses and other prescheduled events.

The problem, however, is determining if your reason for cancelling a trip is valid or not. Here are a few pointers to help you better understand your position:

Mature versus Premature

One of the first things you need to do once you've booked a trip is to obtain appropriate cover as soon as you can. Many travellers choose to pick it up at the last possible minute, but this is not recommended because you never know when you may have to cancel arrangements. If you obtain cover the moment you finish making all your reservations, you won’t need to worry about your coverage being denied reimbursement because it was premature. It also shows that you are seeking coverage in good faith and are not planning to cancel unless something of great importance comes up.

Unforeseen versus Foreseeable Events

One of the first real factors that will determine the validity of your trip cancellation is whether your reason could have been anticipated or not. For example, being called for jury duty is a commitment that a citizen cannot anticipate and prepare for. This is a valid reason because it is a legitimate and unforeseeable event. Other valid reasons include injury, illness, disasters and being a victim of a crime. If a contractual obligation forces you to get back to work, however, then your claim for reimbursement would be invalidated, as the nature of your work is something that you should have foreseen earlier on. If you could have planned and prepared for the event that would cancel your trip, then your single trip holiday insurance will not cover your expenses.

Out-of-Control versus Self-Inflicted Events

Another important factor for validating cancellation reimbursement is whether you have played an active role in it or not. Simply changing your mind about the trip for no reason at all is invalid, because your predisposition about the trip is fully within your control. Illness and injury are two solid examples of valid reasons, however they would only be considered valid if you did not inflict these upon yourself. If you engage in dangerous sport or expose yourself to a harmful environment, chances are your single trip holiday insurance provider won’t pay out.

Close versus Distant Relations

Providers often include a clause that will cover cancellations when a close relative falls seriously ill or figures into an accident. This is only valid for close relatives – typically spouses and those in the first level of consanguinity. This includes parents, siblings or children. The illness or injury of other, more distant relatives will often not be covered. This means that you won’t be reimbursed should your cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents or half-siblings figure into a medical situation.

Oh, and one last thing – always, always document the reasons for cancelling your trip. Single trip holiday insurance will only reimburse your valid claims if you have the documents to prove those claims; so make sure to keep reports, prescriptions and other relevant papers on hand.

Patrick Chong is the Managing Director of Insuremore. We provide low cost travel insurance and offer a range of policies including single trip holiday insurance, annual, multi-trip and family cover. For all your travel cover needs, Insuremore can help you in the quickest and most cost-efficient way.