Cancellation of a trip due to an illness – Cancellation cover

What is cancellation cover under travel insurance?

Cancellation cover under travel insurance provides compensation for expenses arising from the cancellation of travel plans, such as hotel bookings, flight tickets and pre-paid trips, that you are unable to cancel at that point and which the tour operator is not obliged to refund.

You can choose a maximum compensation sum for the cancellation cover flexibly, depending on your travel habits. This way you can ensure that the amount of compensation matches your needs in the event of an accident or loss. Please remember to buy travel insurance at least three days before travelling to be eligible for compensation if your travel plans are cancelled.

Which expenses can I claim from cancellation cover under travel insurance?

The cancellation cover under travel insurance is part of Pohjola Traveller’s Insurance. Whether you have the basic or comprehensive cancellation cover in your traveller’s insurance, we will provide compensation for the cancellation fees of pre-paid travel plans if your trip is cancelled for compelling reasons, such as:

you suddenly fall ill or injure yourself in an accident
your close relative becomes severely and unexpectedly ill, or has a serious accident or dies
significant damage has been caused to your property in Finland and your presence is required to handle the incident.

The comprehensive Travel Cancellation Cover also provides compensation for cancellation fees of pre-paid travel plans in the following cases:

you are laid off or become unemployed
you are invited to a christening, confirmation party, wedding or refresher training event that will take place at the same time with a journey that has already been paid for
you become a witness to legal proceedings that will take place at the same time with a journey that has already been paid for
you are attending a funeral that takes place during a journey that has already been paid for
you and your spouse get divorced

If you are looking for further information on how the levels of cancellation cover differ between the comprehensive and basic cover, you can find a detailed breakdown from the product guide of travel insurance.

Which expenses are not compensated from the cancellation cover under travel insurance?

We will not provide compensation in situations where:

the cancellation is caused by fear of flying or an illness that is caused by abuse of alcohol/medicine or the use of an intoxicant.
the reason for the cancellation became apparent before the journey was booked or paid for or before cancellation cover was taken out or if you took out the policy less than three days before the journey was to begin.

Two examples of cancellation of a trip

Even if it were a normal holiday, you should prepare for possible accidents well in advance before travelling. The reason for the cancellation of the trip does not have to be life-threatening, as your departure may be prevented by a broken leg, for example.

Example 1: We were about to go to the USA, but my husband caught stomach flu a day before departure. We have bought the flights and tickets to an ice hockey match. Can we get compensation?

Please contact a doctor first. If you have taken out travel insurance at least three days prior to the time of travel, insurance will cover your travel-related cancellation fees. If you are unable to cancel your flights and you have pre-bought ice hockey tickets that are non-refundable, the cancellation cover under travel insurance will compensate you for the ticket prices.

Example 2: I was about to go on a holiday in Greece, but I fractured my leg before departure. It is a package tour. Will travel insurance cover expenses from cancelling the trip?

Please contact your doctor first. If the doctor declares that you are unfit to travel, contact the travel agency to find out whether they will refund a pre-paid trip. If the travel agency does not refund a pre-paid trip, the cancellation cover under travel insurance will compensate you for expenses from cancelling the trip. However, please remember that you should have taken out travel insurance at least three days before the departure and before you fractured your leg.

Pohjola Claim Help and Travel Emergency Service at your service at all times

Pohjola Claim Help provides instructions for possible accidents and helps you find one of our partner doctors abroad. If you suddenly fall ill or get in an accident whilst travelling abroad, Pohjola Travel Emergency Service can help you around the clock and on each day of the year.

Check out Pohjola Claim Help

Does travel insurance cover travel interruption?

All sorts of things may happen abroad. You might be so unlucky that a serious illness, injury or accident interrupts your holiday, or your property in Finland is damaged. You can prepare for unpleasant surprises by making sure that your travel insurance is up to date and covers also accidents happening when travelling as comprehensively as possible. If your trip is interrupted and you are unable to use services in your travel destination that you have booked in advance, you might be eligible for compensation from our travel interruption cover.

Cancellation cover under travel insurance – cancellation of a trip due to falling ill or an accident