Travel Insurance in Pakistan

Travel Insurance And Trip Cancellation

Posted by Admin on 19 Jan 2023

Travel is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for some while others can travel every month conveniently. There are expensive trips and trips on a budget but either way, your money should never go to waste, given the flight gets canceled or there is some other sort of fallback in your plan. 

To avoid losing money in situations out of your control, it is important that you have insurance. Travel Insurance will prevent and reimburse the amount you may have lost otherwise and not only that but it also provides cover for emergency situations. 

Let’s take a look at how you can avoid being at loss in case of flight cancellation!

What Is Flight Cancellation Cover?

Flight cancellation cover allows you to get reimbursement for the canceled flight given the unforeseen circumstances. These unforeseen circumstances can range from the smallest inconvenience to the airline canceling itself. It also depends on the insurance company and travel insurance policy you’re buying. If the insurer and the policy align with the conditions you want to cancel then you can cancel the policy and get the mentioned reimbursement for your trip. 

Under What Circumstances Can I Get Reimbursed?

This is a commonly asked question because, as mentioned above, the conditions under which one can be reimbursed for a canceled flight are different for different insurance companies and also for the package you purchased. One thing that is guaranteed is that you are covered for flight cancellation if the airline cancels on you for any reason. This type of cancellation can be due to any reason. It may be a pandemic, emergency evacuation, or due to them not boarding any more passengers. 

Personal Reasons For Flight Cancellation

Other reasons may be personal. Let’s say, you had an unplanned surgery due to any condition that you were not aware of prior to your flight, that makes you unfit to fly. Then most insurance policies will cover for the cancellation of flights due to medical reasons. Other reasons may include injuries that prevent you from flying, pregnancy, death of a travel companion, death of a host, natural disaster, act of terrorism, and many other reasons. 

What If I’m Abandoned In A Remote Place?

Let’s say you’re traveling to the U.S. and your flight stops to stay in the Middle East en route. When you get there, the flight attendant announces that due to pandemic restrictions, all the flights to the U.S. have been canceled. This forces you to stay at a hotel. Since you have travel insurance, your stay at the hotel is covered along with food expenses and any other urgent services you need till you are placed on the next flight to your hometown. At this point, you have to inform your insurer about the cancellation of the flight so they can quickly get into action and make it possible for you to get back home safely. In this scenario, you will be reimbursed the rest of the amount or the full amount depending on your insurance company and the package that you purchased. 

When Is Trip Cancellation Not Covered?

The trip cancellation cover comes with some exclusions where the circumstances may seem out of the control of the insurer but the cover will still not be applicable. Some of the circumstances are listed below.

1. Any condition that existed before the insurance that may cause you to cancel the trip will not be entertained. Meaning if you had surgery or you were stitched up and your doctor forbade you to travel by air due to the risk of your stitches being undone during the flight and you still went ahead and booked a flight only to cancel it later, you will not be reimbursed. This does not apply due to the fact that you were already made aware of the risk.
2. The same is true for other conditions, if you were made aware of the situation at your destination and you still chose to risk it and book a flight and decided to cancel it later, you will not be reimbursed.
3. If you fail to inform your travel agency immediately when the cause of cancellation arises and decide to tell them later, you will not be reimbursed. It would be best if you informed your insurer immediately when the issue occurs because later the reason will not be valid.
4. Common carriers caused issues such as announced and organized strikes that forbid all travelers from the same region to cancel their trip and will not be reimbursed.
5. Government regulation or prohibition is not covered.
6. Any fluctuations in the financial condition of the insured, travel partner, or insurer will not be covered. 
    

Now we know why travel insurance is important, especially in a case where you get stranded on an unknown land without any financial aid most of the time. Other than that, it may take you an excruciatingly long time to save up the same amount again for travel. So it is only wise to purchase travel insurance to help you out in case of a fallout. So get your hands on travel insurance now!