Is Travel Insurance Refundable?
Yes, travel insurance can be refunded if you decide to cancel your travel insurance policy within the Free Look Period. Also referred to as a Money Back Guarantee window, this is the time frame immediately after you buy a policy in which you can cancel for a 100% refund of premium.
If you decide to cancel your travel insurance plan after the free look period is over, it may be too late to receive a refund. In either case, it’s important to speak directly with your travel insurance provider if you wish to cancel your policy.
How Long Is a Free Look Period?
Depending on the policy, the free look period typically lasts between 10 and 14 days. During this time, you can cancel your policy for any reason for a full refund. Your refund will typically be issued to your original form of payment, such as a debit or credit card.
All policies on Squaremouth, from single-trip policies to annual policies, come with a free look period. The purpose of this benefit is to give travelers extra time to review their policy documentation to be sure it’s the best policy for their coverage needs.
Can You Cancel Travel Insurance?
Yes, travel insurance can be canceled at any time and for any reason. However in order to receive a refund, the cancellation must occur within a policy’s free look period. To cancel a policy, a traveler can contact their travel insurance company directly.
Tips to Avoid Canceling a Policy
Given the average cost of travel insurance, you may lose out on hundreds of dollars if you cancel your travel insurance policy outside of its free look period. Taking your time when you buy travel insurance can significantly reduce your chances of needing to cancel your plan down the road.
Consider the following tips when buying travel insurance to help mitigate the risk of buyer’s remorse:
- Assess Your Travel Needs: Take into account your itinerary, destination, and personal comfort with risk to determine how much travel protection you need. This will help you narrow down your search to policies that include the travel insurance benefits and coverage limits you require.
- Compare Plans: There are more travel insurance policies available now than ever before. Take time to compare plans from various insurance providers, paying attention to how they compete on cost and coverage.
- Review Exclusions: A common reason plans are canceled is because a traveler discovers an activity or pre-existing medical condition isn’t covered. By reviewing exclusions and the fine print, you’ll be informed exactly which travel scenarios are covered by your plan.
Travel Insurance With Trip Cancellation Coverage
Many travelers that cancel their travel insurance coverage do so because they canceled their trip and no longer need insurance. However, travelers that made prepaid, nonrefundable travel expenses may have a tough time recouping their trip costs without proper coverage.
Getting a travel insurance plan with the Trip Cancellation benefit is the best way to add flexibility and peace of mind to a vacation.
Purchase a Comprehensive Plan
If you’re taking an expensive trip, it may be best to purchase a comprehensive travel insurance policy. These plans often include Trip Cancellation and Trip Interruption coverage. These benefits offer up to 100% reimbursement of your prepaid trip payments if you need to cancel your trip or end your trip early for a covered reason.
Common nonrefundable trip costs that can be reimbursed by Trip Cancellation insurance include:
- Airfare
- Hotel bookings or vacation rentals
- Ground transportation
- Tours and excursions
- Concert, show, or sporting event tickets
Get the CFAR Add-On
Cancel for Any Reason, or CFAR for short, is an optional travel insurance add-on offered by many of the top-rated travel insurance providers. With CFAR, you may cancel your trip for any reason for partial reimbursement of your prepaid, nonrefundable trip expenses.
Cancel for Any Reason travel insurance covers any cancellation motive not covered by Trip Cancellation. Many travelers opt for this add-on for optimal flexibility to cancel their travel plans leading up to their departure date.
Keep in mind that CFAR travel insurance can be expensive, and may add up to 50% to your total premium.
The Bottom Line
It is possible to cancel your travel insurance and receive a full refund. Just make sure you contact your provider and cancel your policy within the free look period, which is usually 10-15 days. It’s possible to cancel outside of this review period, but it’s unlikely that you’ll receive a refund as a result.
A common reason people cancel plans is due to policyholders canceling their travel plans altogether. If you want to be eligible for reimbursement for any prepaid, non-refundable expenses, we recommend purchasing a comprehensive plan that includes Trip Cancellation coverage.