We know the last thing you want to think about is the idea you might have to unexpectedly cancel your holiday!
But it’s a good idea to understand what your travel insurance covers you for if something did go wrong.
Let’s talk about trip cancellation cover and travel insurance.
What is holiday cancellation cover?
Trip cancellation cover is designed to have your back if you need to cancel your trip for certain reasons. This could be before you set off or during your trip.
It means you can get back some of the costs you lose out on, like:
- accommodation
- transport
- non-refundable planned activities
Some insurers include cancellation cover as standard. Others sell it as an optional add‑on.
We include it as part of your standard cover, so you don’t need to add it on when you take out your policy.
It’s important to check your policy book to see what your travel insurance includes before you go on holiday.
What are you protected against with trip cancellation cover?
It covers you in a few different situations:
Change in FCDO advice
If there’s been a change in FCDO advice telling you not to go somewhere after you booked your trip.
Armed forces duty
You or someone you're travelling with is in the British Armed Forces or emergency services, and your or their leave has been put on hold.
Pregnancy complications
You've been advised by a medical professional not to travel because of pregnancy complications.
Check your policy book to see what we define as a pregnancy complication.
Jury service
You've been called to court as a witness or for jury service.
Serious illness or death
A close family member, the policyholder or someone travelling with you becomes seriously ill or dies (and it wasn’t linked to a pre-existing illness).
Involuntary redundancy
You’re involuntarily let go from a job you’ve had for over two years.
A little reminder
We’ll cover you for these situations whether you’ve got Single Trip or Multi Trip travel insurance.
Don’t forget, limits and exclusions always apply, so check your policy book to see what you’re covered for.
You can only claim for these if they happen after you’ve booked your trip and bought your travel insurance (whichever is later).
Which cancellation reasons don’t we cover?
We don’t cover certain cancellation reasons, including those below.
Changing your mind
We won’t cover you if you cancel your holiday because you’ve changed your mind and don’t want to go anymore.
This includes if you want to go at a different time instead.
Booking a trip against FCDO advice
If the FCDO advises that you shouldn’t travel to a country and you still do, you won’t be covered if your trip is cancelled.
Booking a trip despite extreme weather
If you booked your trip after a dangerous event was forecast, you won’t be covered. This includes things like storms, floods and wildfires.
Not getting the right documents
You’re not covered if you can’t travel because you don’t have the right travel documents, like a valid passport, visa or ESTA.
Going against medical advice
You won’t be covered if you book your trip against a medical professional’s advice, like your GP.
Not declaring pre-existing conditions
You can’t claim if you want to cancel because of a pre-existing medical condition that you didn’t declare to us.
Someone who’s not on your policy is ill
You’re not covered if you can't travel because of a pre-existing condition of a close relative or someone who’s not on your policy.
Make sure you know what you’re covered for
You can find a full list of what isn’t covered in your policy book.
Does travel insurance cover flight cancellation?
Yes, we’ll cover you if your flight is cancelled and you decide not to go on your trip. But it depends on the situation.
What’s covered?
We cover cancellations of flights leaving the UK. For return flights, our standard cover only includes cover for travel delays.
Our standard insurance covers:
- very bad weather conditions
- strikes or industrial action that you didn’t know about before you bought your policy or booked your trip
- mechanical problems, like a breakdown
If you want cover for extra travel and accommodation costs caused by a delayed or cancelled return flight, you’ll need Enhanced Trip Disruption cover.
What’s not covered?
Unless you have our Enhanced Trip Disruption optional extra, we won’t cover flights that:
- are cancelled for reasons that don’t include bad weather, strikes or mechanical breakdown
- you don’t want to board because you’ve changed your mind
- don't start or end in the UK (connected flights), unless you’ve bought extra cover
- you didn't end up getting on because of a delay under 12 hours
You can read more about what is and isn’t covered in our guide to travel disruption cover.
What to do if your airline cancels your flight
If your airline cancels your flight within two weeks of when you’re supposed to travel, they should offer you a refund or book you on another flight first.
If the airline cancels your flight because of bad weather or security risks, they don’t have to pay you compensation.
If your travel provider cancels your trip
If your holiday was cancelled by your trip provider and not you, it’s important to get in touch with them for refunds or rescheduling.
You can also check out our ATOL and ABTA guide to see if you can get a refund that way.
What to do if your airline goes bust
If your airline goes bust, the first thing you should do is speak to them to see what happens next and if you can get a refund. Unfortunately, our travel insurance doesn’t cover you in this situation.
If you’ve booked a package holiday that includes flights, check to see if it’s ATOL-protected. This means it’s protected by a UK government financial scheme, so you can get your money back.
If it isn’t, contact your bank to see if you can get your money back. Sometimes you can use the chargeback scheme or make a claim to get a refund. It depends on how you paid for your flights.
Read our article on how to get your money back after travel disruption for more advice.
Travel disruption cover
If you'd like cover for connecting flights, you need to add Enhanced Trip Disruption to your policy.
This gives you extra protection for travel problems on top of your standard travel insurance.
Your standard policy covers delays of 12 hours or more. With Enhanced Trip Disruption, you’re covered if your journey to or from the UK is delayed by 6 hours or more. This includes connecting flights.
There are limits to what we cover, and some things aren’t covered. Check your policy book to see what is and isn’t included.
Are UK trip cancellations covered?
You’ll still be covered for UK trip cancellations with your travel insurance, as long as we cover your reason for cancelling.
Don’t forget that limits and exclusions always apply here. If you’re insured with us, check your policy documents in our travel portal to see what you’re covered for.
I need to cancel my holiday – what do I do?
Make sure you contact us before you cancel so we can check if you're covered.
If you're the one who's cancelling your holiday, you can make a claim with us after you've cancelled it. Head to our make a claim page to get started.
For certain situations, you’ll also need evidence to prove that you did need to cancel.
For example, you’ll need written confirmation from your GP if they’ve said you’re not medically fit to travel.
If your trip provider cancelled your holiday, contact them first to check if they’re offering a refund or a new date.
How much trip cancellation cover do I need?
Each insurer has different limits for how much you can claim for after cancelling a trip. For example, our limits per person are:
- Admiral: £1,500
- Gold: £3,000
- Platinum: £5,000
If you’re insured with us, check your policy book to see the limits and exclusions for holiday cancellation.
My trip was cancelled by my travel provider. What do I do?
We’ve got some useful travel FAQs to help you learn more about your cover, claims and more.
