Cancel For Any Reason and Swine Flu
May 1st, 2009Alexia and Becky, Insurance Analysts
At this point travelers have found that their basic travel insurance plans will not cover canceling a trip due to fear of contracting swine flu. The only way that someone can cancel their trip because they simply don’t want to travel right now is if they have a plan with Cancel For Any Reason coverage.
Cancel For Any Reason comes included in some plans, and is offered as an optional add on with other plans. It costs more to get a plan with Cancel For Any Reason coverage, so you should decide if the higher cost will be worth it for you. Travelers who have plans with Cancel For Any Reason coverage can decide not to travel and receive a percentage of their non-refundable trip cost back. Make sure you check out all plans with Cancel For Any Reason, because the percentage of your trip cost that you will get back varies from 50% up to 100%.
The following table explains which providers offer Cancel For Any Reason coverage, and how it works for their plans. To get a quote that highlights plans offering Cancel For Any Reason coverage, click here.
| Provider name | Plan Name | Requirement to meet |
| CSA | Custom Luxe | 70-100% of non-refundable trip cost Requires purchase within 24 hours of Initial Trip Payment |
| Global Alert! | Preferred | 75% of non-refundable trip cost Requires purchase within 15 days of Initial Trip Payment |
| Global Alert! | Preferred Plus | 75% of non-refundable trip cost Requires purchase within 15 days of Initial Trip Payment |
| M.H. Ross |
Advantage Asset | 75% of non-refundable trip cost Requires purchase within 15 days of Initial Trip Payment |
| M.H. Ross |
Advantage Bridge | 80-100% of non-refundable trip cost Requires purchase within 15 days of Initial Trip Payment |
| Travel Guard | Cruise, Tour & Travel | 70% of non-refundable trip cost Requires purchase within 15 days of Initial Trip Payment (Not Available in NY & WA) |
| Travel Guard | My Travel Guard | 75% of non-refundable trip cost Requires purchase within 15 days of Initial Trip Payment (Not Available in NY) |
| Travel Guard | ProtectAssist | 50% of non-refundable trip cost Requires purchase within 15 days of Initial Trip Payment (Not Available in NY & WA) |
| Travel Insured | Worldwide Trip Protector | 75% of non-refundable trip cost Requires purchase within 14 days of Initial Trip Payment (Not Available in WA) |
| Travel Insured | Worldwide Trip Protector Gold | 75% of non-refundable trip cost Requires purchase within 14 days of Initial Trip Payment (Not Available in WA) |
| Travelex | Travel Max | 80% of insured Trip Cost; Includes Cancel for Trip Delay – 100% of insured Trip Cost Requires purchase within 21 days of Initial Trip Payment |
| TravelSafe | Premier | 90-100% of non-refundable trip cost Included, if purchased within 15 days of Initial Trip Payment |
| TravelSafe | Vacation Insurance | 75-100% of non-refundable trip cost Requires purchase within 15 days of Initial Trip Payment |
It’s also important to buy your plan early. In order to be eligible for the Cancel For Any Reason benefit you must purchase your plan within a certain amount of days of your Initial Trip Payment. The companies vary, and some require that you buy your plan within as few as 10 days of the Initial Trip Payment, while others give you up to 21 days from your Initial Trip Payment to purchase. If you are unsure which plan will work for you, just give us a call at 800-487-4722.
See our new Influenze H1N1 (Swine Flu) Information Page
