Trip Cancellation & Interruption Insurance

Yes, travel insurance with trip cancellation and interruption benefits can cover hotel costs in certain situations:

• Before Your Trip: If you cancel your trip for a covered reason before it starts, you can be reimbursed for pre-paid, non-refundable hotel costs.
• After Departure: If your trip is cut short due to a covered reason, you can get money back for pre-paid (non-refundable) portions of hotel bookings. Additionally, you may be reimbursed for extra costs like new hotel stays and meals, up to certain limits.

Travel insurance may provide reimbursement for non-refundable flight costs if you cancel your flight for a reason that's covered under your policy, such as a medical emergency or severe weather conditions. However, if the airline offers you a credit for future travel as compensation for the canceled flight, this is considered a form of reimbursement. In this scenario, your travel insurance provider may not offer additional reimbursement, as the credit from the airline is deemed to fulfill that obligation. It's important to note that this applies even if you did not request the credit or choose not to use it.

Trip cancellation insurance helps cover the cost of your trip if you can't go for a reason covered by your policy, like a family member's illness or bad weather. This is for expenses you paid before your trip that you can't get back (i.e. non-refundable expenses). Trip cancellation insurance will not reimburse for expenses that you can get a refund or credit for.

Trip interruption insurance, on the other hand, is for problems that happen after you've started your trip. For example, if you need to end your trip early or extend it because of a covered reason, this insurance can pay you back for these costs, up to a certain limit.

A valid reason for trip cancellation is usually an unexpected event that's listed in your travel insurance policy. If one of these events happens, you might be able to claim insurance for cancelling, delaying, or cutting short your trip. It's important to read your policy to know all the reasons. Some common examples include:

• Sudden illness, injury, or death of you or a family member.
• Being unable to join a sports event due to a medical issue, if the trip was for that event.
• Natural disasters at your home or destination.
• Legal duties like jury service or being a court witness.
• Military, police, medical, or fire personnel being called to duty.
• Losing your job unexpectedly and without a valid reason.

Your policy documents will outline exactly what is covered by your trip cancellation coverage and under what conditions the insurance will respond.