What is the difference between Trip Cancellation and Cancel For Any Reason?
A majority of travelers who buy travel insurance are buying cancellation coverage for their trip costs. For these travelers, there are two benefits that can provide this financial protection: Trip Cancellation or Cancel For Any Reason.
Trip Cancellation can provide coverage for the most common traveler concerns, while Cancel For Any Reason provides travelers with the most possible cancellation flexibility.
It’s important for travelers to understand the difference between these two benefits, and to select the benefit that will provide the coverage they need. Squaremouth breaks down the difference between Trip Cancellation and Cancel For Any Reason.
Trip Cancellation
Travelers who choose to insure their trip expenses when buying their policy will receive a comprehensive travel insurance plan with the Trip Cancellation benefit. Trip Cancellation can reimburse 100% of a traveler’s prepaid and non-refundable trip expenses if they need to cancel their trip for a covered reason.
Trip Cancellation provides coverage for the most common traveler concerns. The most common covered reasons under Trip Cancellation include canceling due to:
- An illness, injury, or death of the traveler, a traveling companion, or a family member
- A hurricane, severe weather, or a natural disaster
- A terrorist incident at the traveler’s destination
- Financial Default of an airline, cruise line, or other common carrier
- A mechanical breakdown of a common carrier
- Work-related reasons, such as an employment layoff or revoked vacation time
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Cancel For Any Reason
Cancel For Any Reason is an optional upgrade that provides the most possible flexibility for travelers. This benefit can reimburse travelers who cancel for most reasons that are not otherwise covered by Trip Cancellation. The most common covered reasons under Cancel For Any Reason include canceling due to:
- The travel supplier canceling the trip, such as an airline or cruise line canceling
- A border closure at the traveler’s destination
- Fear of traveling to a destination
- Loss of enjoyment at the destination, such as closed beaches or a changed cruise itinerary
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The differences between Trip Cancellation and Cancel For Any Reason
The biggest difference between Trip Cancellation and Cancel For Any Reason is how and when coverage is triggered. Trip Cancellation requires the traveler to cancel for a reason specifically listed within the policy, while Cancel For Any Reason can cover other events that are not listed.
In addition to the difference in the covered reasons, there are a couple other notable differences between Trip Cancellation and Cancel For Any Reason.
Eligibility: Trip Cancellation can be purchased at any point up until the day before a traveler leaves for their trip. On the other hand, Cancel For Any Reason is a time-sensitive benefit that must be purchased within 14-21 days of the traveler’s initial trip deposit date.
For both benefits, Squaremouth recommends travelers purchase a policy sooner rather than later. This is because travel insurance is designed to cover unforeseen events. If an event occurs that may cause a traveler to cancel, such as an illness, it would be too late to buy a new travel insurance policy at that point.
Cost: On average, a comprehensive travel insurance policy with Trip Cancellation coverage costs between 5% and 10% of the traveler’s total trip cost. Adding Cancel For Any Reason to a policy typically increases the premium by 40% to 50%.