When is an event considered an act of war?

Under most travel insurance policies, war, acts of war, and political unrest are excluded from cancellation coverage, meaning any resulting claims likely will not be paid. However, travel insurance policies typically do not have specific definitions for war.

If travelers are concerned about traveling due to political tension between two countries, each claim will be handled on an individual basis. In general, however, coverage will only be available if the event meets a policy’s specific definition of Terrorism, or if the traveler purchased Cancel For Any Reason coverage when they bought their policy.

In order for an incident to be considered an act of Terrorism, the following conditions typically must be met:

• The attack typically must be deemed an act of terrorism by the U.S. government
• The attack must occur in or near a city listed on a traveler’s itinerary
• The attack must occur within 7-30 days of a traveler’s scheduled arrival
• There have been no other terrorist incidents in the same city within a specified period of time

In order for a traveler to be eligible for Cancel For Any Reason, the following conditions typically must be met:

• They must buy their policy within 14 – 21 days of the first payment towards the trip
• They must insure 100% of their prepaid and non-refundable trip expenses

If a traveler meets these conditions for Cancel For Any Reason, they can be covered for 50-75% of their trip costs, as long as they cancel at least 2-3 days prior to their departure. This coverage varies by policy.

This information is time sensitive and may vary by policy. If you have questions about a specific policy. please contact us directly at 800-240-0369. Our customer service representatives are available from 8am to 10pm ET, seven days a week, and are delighted to help!