Travel Insurance

How Trip Insurance Can Protect Your European Travel Investment

How Trip Insurance Can Protect Your European Travel Investment

As the situation in Ukraine worsens, individuals and countries all over the world have expressed their concerns and heartbreak for the Ukrainian people. And as travelers around the world grieve and worry for the safety of innocent civilians in Kyiv and surrounding cities, they must also think about their own. 

Many who’ve booked European trips for the summer are now wondering if it’s even safe for them to take these trips. Many others who are thinking about booking, now have the added threat of expanding violence to consider. The decision to travel or not to travel is made easier when you have travel insurance. Read on to find out how a suitable policy can help reduce your emotional and financial stress in these difficult times. 

Cancel For Any Reason Insurance

Most trip insurance plans come with basic cancellation coverage. This means that they may cover cancellation costs related to a limited number of covered reasons like inclement weather, traveler sickness or death of a loved one. However, basic trip insurance won’t cover cancellation for reasons related to fear or anxiety regarding travel. 

If you’ve booked travel plans or are thinking about booking soon but are apprehensive about traveling amid so much uncertainty in Europe, a suitable travel insurance policy with a Cancel For Any Reason coverage allows you to cancel your plans for literally any reason and still recoup up to 70% of your total prepaid travel expenses. Due to the ongoing situation in Ukraine, certain exclusions may apply to Ukraine, Russia and Belarus.

Interruption For Any Reason Insurance

This benefit allows you to interrupt your travel plans for any reason. As the war in Ukraine remains unpredictable there may be a chance that while you’re vacationing in surrounding countries, you might suddenly feel unsafe. If you have Interruption For Any Reason Insurance (IFAR) you can cut your trip short and recoup certain prepaid travel expenses, like hotel cost reimbursement for unused days. 

Flight Cancellation Insurance

Rising fuel prices and increasing no-fly zones due to the war in Ukraine are now coinciding with a resurgence of flight bookings. This has caused higher air fare, longer flights due to re-routes, overbookings, delays and outright cancellations. Trip insurance generally will not cover the financial fallout from airline-caused flight cancellations. The reimbursement responsibility falls on the airline. If, however, the airline does not offer compensation, trip insurance may be able to make a difference.   

Traveling to and from Ukraine

The U.S. State Department classes the security threat in Ukraine at a Level 4, which is its highest alert level. This means that travelers are strongly advised to avoid Ukraine. If you buy travel insurance for Ukraine, it will likely not cover you if you need to cancel or interrupt your trip. It’s a war zone and a known high-risk area, which means that current travelers to Ukraine who file a Cancel For Any Reason (CFAR) claim or sustain an injury whether related or unrelated to the war may be committing insurance fraud. If you’re traveling to Ukraine, you’re doing so at your own peril. Learn how travel insurance is impacted in light of the Ukraine situation.  

Travel Insurance Stipulations to Consider

If you do purchase a travel insurance policy with Cancel For Any Reason or Interruption For Any Reason benefits, certain restrictions apply. 

  • Your travel insurance policy must be purchased within the requisite time window (usually within 15 to 21 days of booking your trip itself). 
  • If you do decide to cancel your trip, you need to do it within 48 hours before your departure date. 
  • You can’t purchase Interruption For Any Reason coverage once you are already on your trip. 

Depending on your plan these restrictions may vary and there may be other exclusions and eligibility requirements to consider as well. Read your policy documents carefully and if there’s anything you don’t understand, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our team of licensed travel insurance experts for help. 

While the world hopes for a swift, decisive end to Russia’s military strike against Ukraine, uncertainty and unpredictability are part of our day-to-day. No one knows when or how the war will end. We don’t know whether the invasion will move beyond Ukraine’s borders. Trip insurance with CFAR and IFAR was designed to reduce the anxiety and stress that come from uncertainties like these. With the right coverage you can book your European trips with confidence.