Trip Cancellation Insurance
At Diversified Insurance Brokers, we know that even the best-planned vacations can be disrupted by events completely outside your control. Flights get canceled, storms close airports, family members get sick, and sometimes life simply changes your plans. When that happens, the financial impact can be just as frustrating as the change in itinerary—especially if you’ve already paid for non-refundable flights, hotels, cruises, or tours. Trip Cancellation Insurance, offered through International Medical Group (IMG), is designed to help protect that investment by reimbursing covered prepaid expenses if your trip is canceled or interrupted for a covered reason. Whether it’s an unexpected illness, an injury, severe weather, or another unforeseen event, this coverage helps you travel with more confidence, knowing your money is not completely at risk.
Trip Cancellation – Int’l Medical Group (IMG)
Safeguard your travel plans with coverage for non-refundable expenses when life’s surprises interrupt your trip.
Why Trip Cancellation Insurance Matters
Today’s trips often involve a series of non-refundable or partially refundable costs—discounted airfares, cruise deposits, pre-paid resort packages, guided tours, and special-event tickets. If you have to cancel, many of these expenses cannot be recovered through the travel vendor alone. Without protection, a family emergency or disrupted flight can mean losing thousands of dollars on a trip you never get to take.
Trip Cancellation Insurance is designed to step in when specific covered events force you to cancel before departure or return home earlier than planned. Instead of absorbing the full loss, you can file a claim for eligible prepaid, non-refundable costs and recoup much of what you’ve invested. For frequent travelers, families, and retirees planning bigger “bucket list” trips, this coverage can be an important part of a broader protection strategy.
Common Covered Reasons
Policies vary by plan, but many Trip Cancellation Insurance options from IMG include protection for situations such as:
- Illness, injury, or death affecting you, a traveling companion, or a close family member, when it prevents you from starting or continuing your trip.
- Severe weather or natural disasters that impact your departure, your destination, or your home, making travel unsafe or impossible.
- Unexpected job loss, mandatory work obligations, or other employment-related events that force a change of plans.
- Delays or cancellations due to strikes, mechanical failures, or other disruptions beyond your control that significantly affect your itinerary.
- Emergency evacuation or government-issued travel advisories for your destination, depending on the policy you select.
The goal is not to cover minor inconveniences, but to help when a major disruption makes it unreasonable or impossible to take the trip as planned.
Key Benefits of Trip Cancellation Coverage
Trip Cancellation Insurance from IMG is built to address several different stages of your journey—not just the moment you book. Key advantages often include:
- Reimbursement of Non-Refundable Costs: Eligible prepaid expenses such as flights, cruises, hotel stays, group tours, and excursions can be reimbursed if you must cancel or interrupt your trip for a covered reason.
- Trip Interruption Protection: If you need to cut your trip short and return home, interruption benefits can help cover the unused portion of your trip as well as additional transportation costs to get you back safely.
- Flexibility for Complex Itineraries: Coverage can be especially valuable for trips involving multiple flights, cruise segments, or prepaid excursions, where a single disruption can cause a chain reaction of losses.
- 24/7 Travel Assistance: Many plans include access to a global assistance team that can help coordinate arrangements, locate medical care, assist with documentation, and guide you through what to do next when something goes wrong.
- Options to Match Your Trip: You can choose plans based on your total trip cost, destination, length of travel, and personal risk tolerance—so you’re not paying for more coverage than you actually need.
Trip Cancellation vs. Travel Medical Insurance
It’s also important to understand how Trip Cancellation Insurance fits alongside other types of travel protection. Trip Cancellation focuses on your financial investment in the trip—your prepaid, non-refundable costs. Travel medical insurance, on the other hand, focuses on emergency medical care and evacuation while you’re outside your home country. Many travelers choose to combine both, using Trip Cancellation to protect what they’ve paid for the trip itself and separate travel medical coverage to protect against unexpected medical expenses abroad.
If you’re already reviewing options for travel medical insurance, adding Trip Cancellation coverage can help round out your protection so both your health and your wallet are better covered when you leave home.
Who Can Benefit Most from Trip Cancellation Insurance?
Almost any traveler can benefit from this coverage, but it tends to be especially valuable for:
- Retirees planning cruises, tours, or international trips booked months in advance.
- Families coordinating multi-ticket itineraries with children, where a single illness can cancel the entire trip.
- Business travelers with non-refundable flights and hotel blocks attached to key meetings or conferences.
- Travelers heading to destinations that are more exposed to hurricanes, storms, or seasonal weather events.
- Anyone building a “bucket list” trip with higher-than-usual upfront costs they can’t afford to lose.
Even if your trip is relatively modest, Trip Cancellation Insurance can deliver peace of mind—especially when work requirements, family health, or airline reliability are concerns.
Why Work With Diversified Insurance Brokers?
At Diversified Insurance Brokers, we partner with International Medical Group (IMG) to offer travelers flexible Trip Cancellation Insurance options that can be tailored to their specific itinerary, budget, and risk profile. Instead of leaving you to sort through the fine print on your own, our team helps you understand what is and isn’t covered, how to calculate the right trip cost to insure, and how this coverage can coordinate with travel medical insurance or other existing protections you may already have.
Whether you are planning a single dream vacation or you travel several times a year, we can walk you through available IMG plans, compare levels of protection, and help you choose an option that aligns with how—and where—you travel. The result is simple: you can look forward to your trip, knowing that if life forces you to change your plans, your financial investment doesn’t automatically disappear.
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Trip Cancellation Insurance — Frequently Asked Questions
What is trip cancellation insurance?
It’s coverage that reimburses your prepaid, non-refundable trip costs if you must cancel for a covered reason (e.g., illness, injury, severe weather). It’s typically purchased as part of a travel insurance plan before final payment or soon after booking.
What reasons are usually covered?
- Unexpected illness, injury, or death of you or a traveling companion.
- Severe weather or natural disaster making your destination or home uninhabitable.
- Common carrier cancellations due to strike, mechanical issues, or weather (per policy terms).
- Jury duty, subpoena, military duty, or required work reasons (if included).
- Destination or home evacuation orders; documented theft of passport/visa.
Exact triggers vary by insurer—review your certificate for the full list and definitions.
What expenses can be reimbursed?
Prepaid, non-refundable items such as flights, cruises, tour packages, hotel stays, event tickets, and certain excursions. Some plans also cover non-refundable taxes/fees and supplier change penalties up to the plan limit.
How is “trip interruption” different from “trip cancellation”?
Cancellation applies before departure when you must scrap the trip. Interruption applies after departure when you must return home early or pause the trip, and can reimburse unused portions plus additional return travel costs (subject to limits).
Are pre-existing conditions covered?
They’re often excluded unless you qualify for a pre-existing condition waiver. Waivers typically require buying the plan shortly after your first trip payment and being medically able to travel when you purchase.
What is “Cancel For Any Reason” (CFAR)?
CFAR is an optional upgrade that lets you cancel for reasons not otherwise covered and receive a partial reimbursement (commonly 50–75%) if you buy within a set window and insure 100% of prepaid costs. CFAR must be purchased before events become foreseeable.
Does trip cancellation cover COVID-19 issues?
Many plans treat a COVID-19 diagnosis like any covered illness with proper documentation. Government travel bans or fear of travel are generally not covered unless you add CFAR. Check your policy’s infectious disease wording.
When should I buy coverage?
As soon as you make your first trip payment. Early purchase preserves eligibility for time-sensitive benefits (like pre-existing waivers or CFAR) and covers subsequent payments if you keep your insured trip cost updated.
How much does it cost?
Plans typically cost about 4%–10% of your total insured trip cost. Price depends on traveler ages, trip price/duration, destinations, and added options like CFAR.
What are common exclusions?
- Known or foreseeable events at the time of purchase.
- Change of mind or fear of travel (unless CFAR is added).
- Unapproved medical procedures or elective surgery timing.
- Financial insolvency of a supplier unless specifically covered.
What documentation will I need to file a claim?
- Proof of loss (doctor’s note, test results, airline/cruise cancellation notice).
- Receipts and invoices for all non-refundable costs insured.
- Refund/credit statements from suppliers showing amounts not returned.
- Proof of payment (credit card statements) and itinerary.
Is coverage primary or secondary?
Some plans pay primary (faster, no requirement to collect elsewhere first), while others are secondary and coordinate with supplier refunds or other insurance. Your certificate will specify which applies.
About the Author:
Jason Stolz, CLTC, CRPC, is a senior insurance and retirement professional with more than two decades of real-world experience helping individuals, families, and business owners protect their income, assets, and long-term financial stability. As a long-time partner of the nationally licensed independent agency Diversified Insurance Brokers, Jason provides trusted guidance across multiple specialties—including fixed and indexed annuities, long-term care planning, personal and business disability insurance, life insurance solutions, and short-term health coverage. Diversified Insurance Brokers maintains active contracts with over 100 highly rated insurance carriers, ensuring clients have access to a broad and competitive marketplace.
His practical, education-first approach has earned recognition in publications such as VoyageATL, highlighting his commitment to financial clarity and client-focused planning. Drawing on deep product knowledge and years of hands-on field experience, Jason helps clients evaluate carriers, compare strategies, and build retirement and protection plans that are both secure and cost-efficient.
