Travel insurance with cancellation cover

Standard travel insurance generally won’t cover costs related to cancelled or missed flights. However, you can usually add a level of cancellation cover, which includes cover for prepaid, non-refundable costs (including flights) if you need to cancel your trip due to circumstances outside your control, such as serious illness, injury or a family emergency.

It's worth noting that cancellation cover doesn't apply if your flight is cancelled or delayed by the airline itself. That's usually the airline's responsibility to resolve through rebooking or compensation.

With RACV Travel Insurance, cancellation cover is included on most International and Domestic plans, with flexible limit options. Cover begins from the moment your policy is issued and includes prepaid, non-refundable flight costs where your trip is cancelled or cut short for a covered reason.

Whether travel insurance covers accommodation costs depends on why your flight was cancelled and which type of cover you have.

• If your flight is cancelled by the airline, any additional travel delay expenses you incur are generally the airline's responsibility. Most carriers are required to provide meals and accommodation for significant delays.
• If you need to cancel your trip entirely due to circumstances outside your control – such as a serious illness or family emergency – cancellation cover can reimburse prepaid, non-refundable accommodation you've already booked.
• If your trip is disrupted mid-way by a covered event, flight delay accommodation cover can help with additional costs you couldn't have anticipated.

With RACV Travel Insurance, cancellation cover is available on most International and Domestic plans, giving you peace of mind for prepaid accommodation costs and unexpected expenses along the way.

The short answer is no. War is a standard general exclusion across travel insurance policies and cover does not apply to cancellations, losses, injury or expenses arising from any act of war, whether declared or not, including rebellion, revolution or military insurrection. This is consistent across the industry.

Insurers assess claims individually, so it's worth contacting your insurer directly.

Learn more about what you should do if you’re travelling to a conflict zone. For the latest travel advice, check the Australian Government's Smartraveller website before and during your trip.

Illness is one of the most common reasons people need to cancel or cut short a trip and it's one of the core situations travel insurance cancellation cover is designed for.

In general, if you or a travelling companion become seriously ill and are certified unfit to travel by a doctor, cancellation cover can reimburse your prepaid, non-refundable trip costs. The same applies if a close family member becomes seriously unwell, even if they're not travelling with you.

There are a couple of important things to keep in mind. Cover only applies to unexpected illness. If you were already aware of a medical condition that could affect your travel plans at the time you purchased your policy, that condition may not be covered unless it has been declared and approved. Cancellation due to illness also needs to be supported by a letter from your treating doctor.

With RACV Travel Insurance, cancellation due to illness is covered on most International and Domestic plans. RACV Travel Insurance also automatically covers 38 medical conditions at no extra cost.^~ If you have a medical  condition you'd like covered, you can complete an online medical assessment at the time of purchase.

For more information, check the Travel Insurance for Medical Conditions and Travel Insurance page.

COVID-19 cover is now a standard consideration when buying travel insurance, and many policies extend cancellation cover to COVID-19 related events.

To claim for a COVID-19 related cancellation, you'll generally need a formal diagnosis from a registered medical practitioner or treating doctor confirming you're unable to travel. A positive home test alone is unlikely to be sufficient.

It's also worth noting that COVID-19 cancellation cover only applies to an unexpected diagnosis. If border closures, travel restrictions or government mandates prevent your trip from going ahead, that's typically treated differently and may not be covered under cancellation benefits.

With RACV Travel Insurance, COVID-19 cancellation cover is available on Comprehensive, Essentials, Annual Multi-Trip and Domestic plans.⋄ This means you have cover for eligible prepaid, non-refundable trip costs if you receive a formal COVID-19 diagnosis and are unable to travel.

There is a maximum benefit of $10,000 per adult on Comprehensive and Annual Multi-Trip plans, and $5,000 per adult on Essentials and Domestic plans. COVID-19 cancellation cover is not available on the Basics plan.