People often think travel insurance covers absolutely every risk you may encounter while traveling. It doesn’t.

When you purchase Allianz Travel Insurance, the plan names specific covered reasons for trip cancellation, trip interruption, and other benefits. If a situation’s not named, it’s not covered.

Why does it work like this? If your travel insurance policy covered every possible scenario, the cost to customers would be too high. Here’s what you need to know about covered reasons and trip cancellation/interruption insurance.

Allianz Travel Insurance products are designed to include a broad range of covered reasons, because we want to protect our customers from the most common situations that can affect your trip.

Depending on the plan you choose, there may be up to 28 covered reasons for canceling your trip and up to 20 covered reasons for interrupting your trip. These covered reasons vary by plan, so read your plan documents to see what’s covered. Here’s a list of the covered reasons for trip cancellation/interruption that are included in some of our most popular plans. (Specific requirements and/or exclusions may apply.)

Note that some covered reasons apply only to trip cancellation and some only to trip interruption. Please refer to your plan for details on where each applies.

• Serious illness or injury: You or a traveling companion becomes ill or injured, or develops a medical condition disabling enough to make you cancel your trip (including COVID-19 or another epidemic or pandemic).
• Family medical emergency: A family member who is not traveling with you becomes ill or injured, or develops a medical condition that’s life-threatening or requires hospitalization.
• Death: You, a traveling companion, or family member dies.
• Quarantine: You or a traveling companion is quarantined before your trip because you were exposed to a contagious disease.
• Car accident: You or a traveling companion is in a traffic accident on the departure date, resulting in one of you needing medical attention or damage to the vehicle that requires repair for safe operation.
• Uninhabitable house: Your primary residence is uninhabitable.
• Legal proceeding: You are legally required to attend a legal proceeding during your trip.
• Military duty: You, a traveling companion, or a family member serving in the U.S. Armed Forces is reassigned or has personal leave status changed.
• Long travel delay: Your travel carrier cannot get you to your original itinerary’s destination for at least 24 consecutive hours from the originally scheduled arrival time due to a reason listed in your plan, such as a natural disaster.
• Job loss: You or a traveling companion is terminated or laid off by a current employer after you purchase your policy.
• Unable to get vaccination: You or a traveling companion is unable to receive a vaccination required for travel to, from, or within your destination due to your or your traveling companion’s illness, injury, or medical
• Mandatory evacuation: Government authorities order a mandatory evacuation due to a natural disaster at your destination that is in effect within 24 hours prior to your departure date.
• New job: You or a traveling companion secures new permanent, full-time, paid employment, after your policy’s purchase date, that requires presence at work during the originally scheduled trip dates.
• Job relocation: Your or a traveling companion’s primary residence is permanently relocated by at least 100 miles due to a transfer by your or a traveling companion’s current employer, or your spouse’s current employer.
• First responder called for duty: You or a traveling companion serving as a first responder is called in for duty due to an accident or emergency to provide aid or relief during the originally scheduled trip dates.
• Adoption proceeding: You or a traveling companion receive a legal notice to attend an adoption proceeding which occurs during your trip.
• Stolen passport or other documents: Your or a travel companion's travel documents required for the trip are stolen.
• Uninhabitable destination: Your destination is uninhabitable.
• Separation or divorce: You or a traveling companion legally separates or divorces on or after your policy’s Coverage Effective Date but before your scheduled departure date.
• Hosts can’t accommodate you: Family or friends outside the United States cannot accommodate you during your trip, as planned, because someone in their household has died, become seriously ill or injured, or developed a serious medical condition.
• Refused a visa: You or a traveling companion is refused a tourist visa by the authorities of the destination or transit country, through no fault of your own.
• Pregnancy: You find out you are pregnant after purchasing this policy.
• Birth in the family: You need to attend the birth of a family member’s child.
• Vehicle breakdown: Your or a traveling companion’s vehicle experiences a mechanical breakdown on the way to the departure point of your trip.
• Stolen vehicle: Your or a traveling companion’s primary vehicle, intended for transporting you or the traveling companion to the point of your trip’s departure or intended to be the primary mode of transportation during your trip, is stolen.
• Tour or event cancellation: Your tour operator or commercial event organizer cancels your multi-day tour or multi-day event that is the main purpose of your trip and was purchased prior to your departure date due to a natural disaster or severe weather. (Trip cancellation only)
• Terrorism: A terrorist event is carried out by an organized terrorist group within 30 days of your departure date and within 100 miles of any city you are traveling to during your trip.
• Hijacking: You or a traveling companion is a traveler on a hijacked aircraft, train, vehicle, or vessel.
• Missing half your trip: You miss at least 50% of the length of your trip due to a reason listed in your plan.

Keep in mind that your plan might include more, fewer or different covered reasons. That’s why it pays to read your plan documents!

Covered reasons: Read the fine print

Another reason to read your plan carefully: Most covered reasons have specific definitions and requirements attached to them. For example, if you’re considering canceling your trip because a family member is sick, make sure you understand:

1. Who is defined as a family member.
2. The severity of the illness, injury, or medical condition. To be a covered reason for trip cancellation, it must be considered life-threatening by your family member’s doctor or require hospitalization.

Covered reasons and existing medical conditions

Pre-existing medical conditions are excluded from coverage unless you meet the requirements for a Pre-Existing Condition Exclusion Waiver. If you insure your full nonrefundable trip costs within 14 days of paying your first trip deposit, and you're medically able to travel when you do so, you can be covered for most existing medical conditions. Learn more.

Covered reasons vs. foreseeable events

Travel insurance does not cover losses that arise from expected or reasonably foreseeable events or problems — even if that event or problem is listed as a covered reason. A foreseeable event is an outcome that a reasonable person in similar circumstances would expect to occur.

For instance, let’s say you purchase travel insurance for your Bahamas vacation when a named hurricane is already barreling toward your destination. If your beach house loses its roof, insurance can’t cover your trip cancellation. Yes, the list of covered reasons for your plan includes a natural disaster making your destination uninhabitable. However, you knew the storm was coming when you bought the plan.

Covered reasons vs. exclusions

Your plan also includes a list of general exclusions. These are the situations and circumstances that are not covered by your travel insurance plan. They include participating in extreme, high-risk sports and activities; acts of gross negligence by you or a traveling companion; the use or abuse of alcohol or drugs; and more.

Even if a situation is listed as a covered reason, your losses won’t be covered if general exclusions apply. For example, serious injury can be a covered reason for trip interruption, but not if you got hurt skydiving during your trip.

Not sure which plan is best for your situation? Have questions about how travel insurance works? Call us at 1-866-884-3556, and our travel insurance experts will walk you through the plan documents and explain your benefits. If you’re not satisfied with the coverage, you have 15 days (or more, depending on your state of residence) to request a refund, provided you haven't started your trip or initiated a claim. After this review period, your premium is nonrefundable.