Trip Cancellation Coverage

Trip Cancellation

Coverage for your trip investment.  It reimburses those pre-paid and nonrefundable out of pocket expenses if you cancel your trip due to a covered reason prior to your departure date. Cancelling while on your trip is known as trip interruption.  Some plans may even provide a single supplement upgrade if your traveling companion cancels due to a covered reason.

Covered reasons are very specific and can vary from plan to plan.  Some common "covered reasons" are:

• injury, illness, or death of the traveler, the traveler's traveling companion, and family members regardless of whether they are traveling.
• weather conditions however, coverage is very specific and many plans limit coverage to weather that causes your common carrier to be delayed for a specific number of hours.
• your home or destination made uninhabitable due to natural disaster.
• jury duty.

Sometimes the policy does not offer the covered reasons you are looking for.  In those cases you want to look at the plans that offer "cancel for any reason."  

Possible pitfalls

• pre-existing medical conditions - are excluded unless you qualify for the "waiver of pre-existing conditions".
• not a covered reason - covered reasons are specific and your reason for cancelling has to be one of them.
• nonrefundable fees should be in writing when you pay your money.