Travel Insurance with Holiday Cancellation Cover

Having holiday cancellation insurance in place when you book is an important precaution to take. After all if you end up having to cancel your trip at the last minute, at least with having holiday cancellation insurance there is some comfort knowing you're protected against financial loss. There are so many reasons why you might have to cancel your holiday, but you should feel safe in the knowledge that you can be covered by your insurance policy, provided the reason emerges after you take out the policy.

The purpose of a travel insurance policy is to insure against the unexpected. So if you need to cancel your holiday because of unforeseen circumstances, it's important to know what qualifies as unforeseen and if you're covered.

travel cancellation insurance

If I have to cancel my holiday, what is classed as an unforeseen circumstance?

Here are some examples of the kind of circumstances under which you may be eligible to make a claim:

  • Either you, a travel companion, a family member, business colleague or the person you were going to stay with has a sudden, unexpected illness, became injured or died
  • Being called up for jury service or to act as a witness in a court of law (other than in a professional or advisory capacity)
  • Having to abandon your trip after a delay of more than 8 hours in the departure of your outward international departure, by plane, sea vessel, coach or train.
  • If theft, accidental damage, fire or flooding affects your home while you are away or within 48 hours of the trip, and your presence is required by police
  • If you, or a travelling companion were made redundant before the start of your trip
  • If you, or a travelling companion as members of HM Forces had your leave orders cancelled.
  • If you have to undergo a compulsory quarantine

If any of the these things occurred before you take out your policy with us, you will not be able to make a claim.

Is cancellation insurance the same as curtailment?

The kinds of reasons and circumstances under which you can make a claim are similar to those of holiday cancellation insurance. To save confusion, here's a description of the difference between trip cancellation insurance and trip interruption insurance, in plain terms.

Cancellation insurance:

  • Covers you if you can't go on your holiday before the intended departure date.
  • It allows you to get your money back should you need to cancel non-refundable travel tickets and accommodation before your trip begins, due to the specified reasons listed by your insurer.

Curtailment, or trip interruption insurance:

  • Is where you are forced to cut your holiday short due to unexpected and unforeseen circumstances during the trip.
  • It protects the money you have spent on non-refundable travel and accommodation expenses, should anything happen to cut your trip short while you're away.

So as well as getting cover in case you need to cancel before your holiday begins, you'll be glad to know that you are protected even if something should happen during the course of the trip.

Compare different levels of cancellation insurance

All our travel insurance policies come in either single trip or annual travel insurance and with three cover levels to choose from: either Bronze, Silver or Gold.

Take a look at the levels of cover and decide which one would be suited for you:

Bronze
Silver
Gold
Cancellation cover
£1,000
£2,500
£5,000

Does travel insurance cover cancellation due to illness?

Our travel insurance cancellation cover extends to those who need to cancel their holiday plans due to unexpected illness. This means that you can claim for cancellation only if the illness you experience was entirely unanticipated. When making a claim on your travel insurance policy, you will need to provide a certificate detailing your illness from your doctor or the relevant medical consultant.

If the illness is due to a pre-existing medical condition that you were aware of and failed to declare when taking out your policy, you will not be able to make use of the the cancellation cover.

How to book Holiday Cancellation Insurance

To book online, or to get a quote, simply click below and consider the following information:


  • - Region: UK, Europe or Worldwide?
  • - Date: When will you be going?
  • - Money: The total cost of the holiday including travel?
  • - Health: Any pre-existing medical conditions?
Book online

For full information regarding the ins-and-outs of your travel insurance policy, take a look at our policy documents.

Holiday Extras Travel Insurance is sold and administered by Holiday Extras Cover Limited who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority under registration number 828848.

Holiday Extras™ is a Trading Name of Holiday Extras Cover Limited

Holiday Extras Travel Insurance is provided by Taurus Insurance Services, an insurance intermediary licenced and authorised in Gibraltar by the Financial Services Commission under Permission Number 5566 and authorised to passport general insurance intermediary services into the UK and registered with the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK under registration number 444830.

The insurance is underwritten by Great Lakes Insurance SE. Great Lakes Insurance SE is a German insurance company with its headquarters at Königinstrasse 107, 80802 Munich. UK Branch office: 10 Fenchurch Avenue, London, EC3M 5BN, company number SE000083. Great Lakes Insurance SE, UK Branch, is authorised and regulated by Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht. Deemed authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority. Firm Reference Number: 769884. Subject to regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and limited regulation by the Prudential Regulation Authority. Details of the Temporary Permissions Regime, which allows EEA-based firms to operate in the UK for a limited period while seeking full authorisation, are available on the Financial Conduct Authority’s website.