From natural disasters to airline strikes and missed connections, having travel disruption insurance protects your holiday against the unexpected. Here’s everything you need to know.
Key takeaways:
- Travel disruption insurance can help cover the costs if your trip is affected for reasons not included in a standard policy.
- It covers unforeseen events like airline strikes, natural disasters, travel bans, and acts of terrorism.
- This type of cover isn’t always necessary, but it’s helpful for frequent flyers and people travelling to high-risk regions.
- Missed connection cover is usually included. But, it doesn't cover flights missed due to poor time management or airport security queues.
What is travel disruption insurance?
Travel disruption insurance is a type of cancellation cover. It protects you financially if your trip gets cancelled due to things like airline strikes, extreme weather, natural disasters, or terrorism.
A lot of standard travel insurance policies already have some type of cancellation cover included in the fine print. But, there are often exclusions and strict limits on what you can claim for.
Essentially, travel disruption insurance fills in the gaps left by standard policies. It’s there to give you peace of mind, ensuring you don't lose out if disaster strikes.
What’s the difference between cancellation cover and travel disruption cover?
The main difference between these two insurance types is that you get a higher level of protection with travel disruption cover than you do with a standard policy.
Terms can vary depending on the provider, but here’s what tends to be included with each type of cover:
| Reason for cancellation | Standard cover | Travel disruption cover |
|---|---|---|
|
"Sudden illness, injury, or death"
|
✅
|
✅
|
|
Unforeseen redundancy
|
✅
|
✅
|
|
Being called for jury duty
|
✅
|
✅
|
|
Severe weather or natural disasters
|
❌
|
✅
|
|
Airline strikes or airspace disruptions
|
❌
|
✅
|
|
Terrorism
|
❌
|
✅
|
|
Missed departure and connections
|
❌
|
✅
|
|
Foreseeable risks or reasons known prior to booking
|
❌
|
❌
|
What does travel disruption insurance cover?
Weighing up whether travel disruption insurance is worth it? To help you reach a decision, let’s dive deeper into what it covers and when it could come in handy:
Airline strikes and airspace disruptions
Typically, when your flight is cancelled because of strikes, it’s up to the airline to provide compensation. But, if it’s baggage handlers or airport staff who are on strike, it’s unlikely the airline will pay out.
The same goes for if there are airspace disruptions due to technical issues - which are often out of the airline’s control.
But, if you have travel disruption cover, you can claim back on your insurance. The specifics of what you can claim vary by policy, but it usually covers the cost of your flight and any other parts of your holiday that were disrupted.
Extreme weather and natural disasters
High winds, lightning, snow, and torrential rain can often cause flights to be delayed, or even cancelled. And while less common, natural disasters can wreak havoc at airports too.
If something happens while you're away and your flight home gets cancelled, having travel disruption cover can help soften the blow. It’ll cover accommodation, extra travel, and any other necessary expenses.
On the flip side, something might happen before your departure. If Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) advice means you have to cancel your trip, travel disruption insurance will cover your losses.
Terrorism and travel bans
If your destination becomes unsafe to visit because of things like war, terrorism or health risks, governments may impose travel bans. As long as you weren't going against FCDO or government advice when you booked your trip, your cover will protect you financially.
It could also be the case that advice changes while you're abroad. In this scenario, your insurer will cover the costs if you have to cut your trip short, since it was unforeseen and out of your control.
Our top tip? Avoid any insurance mishaps by checking the FCDO website for updates before locking in any travel plans.
Missed departures and connections
Here’s the deal when it comes to catching connections. If you booked your journey on a single ticket and you miss your connection because of a delay, the airline should have you covered.
But, if the delay or missed departure was outside the airline’s control, you might have to resort to using your travel disruption insurance.
The same goes if you book your flights separately and miss the second leg of your journey. As long as you gave yourself enough layover time when you booked - usually between 90 minutes to 2 hours depending on the policy - you’ll be able to make a claim.
Unexpected illness, injury or bereavement
Let’s imagine it’s a few days before your holiday start date. You’ve got a standard travel insurance policy in place and you're packed and ready to go.
If you take a nasty tumble which means you can’t fly, or someone in your close family gets seriously ill or dies, you should be able to claim for any non-refundable costs. Think flights, hotels, excursions - you’re covered.
In this case, having travel disruption cover isn’t entirely necessary. However, it’ll come into play if there’s a widespread medical outbreak that stops you from travelling or means you have to quarantine while you’re away.
What travel disruption insurance won’t cover
If you’re thinking of taking out travel disruption insurance, it’s worth knowing what won’t be covered. The specific terms vary between providers, but here are the common exclusions to look out for:
- Known events: Natural disasters, strikes, or other events that were announced or had already happened before you booked your trip.
- Undeclared conditions: Claims related to pre-existing medical conditions or ongoing illnesses that weren't declared when you took out your policy.
- Recoverable costs: Money for cancellations or delays in instances where you would be able to get a refund from your airline, accommodation, or credit card provider.
- Security delays: Missing your flight or travel connection due to long waiting times at airport security or customs.
- Poor planning: Not allowing enough time for a layover, or missing a flight, ferry, or train due to lateness.
- Alcohol and drugs: Cost of alternative accommodation, missed flights, or cancelled excursions caused either directly or indirectly by drug or alcohol use.
- Loss of enjoyment: Not having a good time on your holiday because of things like unmet expectations or experiencing bad weather.
Is travel disruption cover worth it?
In short, it depends. If you travel often or tend to visit high-risk regions when you do go away, having travel disruption cover is worth it.
It can also be helpful if you’ve planned your trip during peak times, when disruptions and delays are more likely. But, for short, off-peak holidays in low-risk regions, your standard policy might cut it.
As far as policy add-ons go, travel disruption cover is pretty affordable. So, if you’re on the fence, it can be a good way of getting that extra peace of mind without breaking the bank.
Does my travel insurance already include disruption cover?
The best way to find out whether you have disruption cover is by checking your policy documents. You can do this by finding the confirmation email you received when you bought your cover, or logging into your account on your insurer’s website.
Policy documents can be quite hefty, so scanning for terms like “travel disruption” or “missed departure” can help you find what you’re looking for.
If you’re still unsure, you can contact your insurer via phone, email, or online chat. Or, if you haven't bought your policy yet, you can compare providers and see what’s included using our comparison tool.
How to add travel disruption cover to your policy
You can get travel disruption cover in 4 easy steps:
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Click: Enter your details and press ‘get a quote’.
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Compare: Browse the best deals across multiple providers.
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Select: Choose the policy that suits you best.
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Upgrade: Add travel disruption cover as an optional extra.
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