Does Travel Insurance Cover Cancellation Due to Bad Weather?
Note: to understand what is covered by a particular travel insurance policy, read the applicable Travel Insurance Policy Wording document. This blog offers a general overview of what you might expect from your insurer if a relevant transport provider cancels a departure, or if you need to cancel your trip for a covered reason.
We Brits love to complain about the weather, but occasionally it can cause serious problems in our lives - particularly when it comes to holidays or business trips. It's not pleasant to have unforeseeable adverse weather ruin your getaway - be it a family Christmas holiday or a romantic beach escape with your partner.
Does travel insurance cover for bad weather?
But where do you stand with your travel insurance if you miss your departure due to bad weather conditions? What if you have to delay or even abandon your trip? Will your travel insurance cover cancellation due to weather?
When weather scuppers your travel plans
Heavy snowfall and storms don’t make for good travel weather: they can play havoc with the British transport network - sometimes causing coaches, trains, ferries and of course planes to be delayed or cancelled altogether.
Such situations can sometimes make it impossible to reach airports in time for a planned departure. If you've bought a non-refundable ticket, this can mean you're out of pocket. And if you've booked a two or three day break, it could mean you decide to abandon the entire trip.
What is the meaning of 'Cancellation' in a travel insurance policy?
In travel insurance jargon, the term "cancellation" is technically used if you have to cancel a trip due to an event such as the death or illness of you or someone you planned to travel with; or you being required to attend jury service.
Technically, a "cancellation" would not be caused by bad weather.
Cancellations to transportation
However, due to bad weather, your transport provider may cancel a departure or service (e.g. a flight), or the public transport needed to reach your departure point may be cancelled (e.g. a train to the airport). In this case, your travel insurance may cover you against a missed departure, delay - or having to abandon your trip. Read on to learn more.
What if my flight is cancelled due to bad weather?
If your scheduled flight is cancelled due to bad weather, in the first instance, you should contact your airline. You may be entitled to compensation. You may also be entitled to food, drink and accommodation in the event of a long delay.
Read on to see how your travel insurer might be able to help with additional costs related to flight cancellations.
Missed departure (caused by cancellation of connecting transport)
The good news is that most travel insurers cover you for a missed departure when caused by adverse weather (among other events).
In the case of Start Travel, you'll be covered up to the sum insured if adverse weather means you can't reach your last departure point in time (e.g., the train to the airport being cancelled due to heavy snow).
Problems with private vehicle
As well as delays to public transport, you may be covered if you can't reach your departure point because the private motor vehicle you’re travelling in breaks down or is involved in an accident (which may or not be indirectly caused by bad weather).
Road closures and congestion
And if the vehicle you're travelling to the departure point in is affected by road closures or heavy traffic, you may also be covered (again, such a delay may be caused by severe weather). Road closures or heavy traffic - whatever their causes - must have been bad enough to be reported on a recognised motoring association website, the Highways Agency website, on TV, news bulletins or in a newspaper.
What if you need to book an overnight stay or another ticket?
In such circumstances, you may be able to claim for any additional travel and accommodation costs incurred in the process of reaching your destination, catching up with your planned itinerary, or, if you're on the way back to the UK, if you miss your departure from your last departure point on your homeward journey.
Naturally, you'll need to allow enough time to reach the departure point (be it an airport, train station or port etc).
Travel delay
Most travel insurance policies include cover for costs associated with delays caused by adverse weather (among various other events).
Travel delay cover from Start Travel
With Start Travel, you're covered up to the sums insured with a travel delay benefit for each complete 12 hours of delay. You may also be covered if your transport provider cancels your departure (which may have been caused by adverse weather) and you make alternative travel arrangements.
How are travel delay benefits calculated?
The travel insurance travel delay benefit would be based on the time between your original planned departure and the earliest alternative travel replacement offered by your transport provider. For example, if your airline offers you seats on another flight 13 hours after the original planned departure, you would meet the 12-hour delay criteria.
Travel abandonment
Under Start Travel, if you decide to abandon your trip altogether (e.g. due to a flight being cancelled*), you can make a claim for unused and non-refundable costs such as airline tickets, hotel stays, airport parking and car hire, among other services.
In the event of travel abandonment, such items may be claimed whether you've already paid - or are contracted to do so in the future.
*please refer to our policy wording for full terms conditions and policy exclusions
Making a claim process as smooth as possible
If bad weather (or another acceptable reason) has caused you to miss your departure, caused delays or even made you abandon your trip altogether, to make a travel insurance claim you would need to provide evidence - such as written confirmation from the travel provider regarding the reasons for delay, and when they offered replacement travel arrangements.
Do note that a successful travel insurance claim payment would be minus the policy’s excess.
Get a Quote