Travel insurance unexpected event cover reviews

What is unexpected-event travel insurance?

By definition, all events covered by travel insurance are unexpected. But by 'unexpected events cover' we mean disruption that can indirectly affect large groups of travellers, from pandemics to strikes to natural disasters.

Most policies cover some unexpected events but not all. In some cases, cover for unexpected events is only available at extra cost.

Here we reveal the best policies for covering unexpected events, and what cover to look for in your policy.

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FCDO warnings

The Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO) - formerly the Foreign and Commonwealth office (FCO) is the government department responsible for the UK's international relationships with countries around the world. 

One of the services it provides for UK travellers is advice on the entry requirements, safety and security, and travel warnings, for hundreds of foreign destinations.

Sometimes, the FCDO issues advice against travelling to certain countries or regions, either entirely or for all but essential reasons. 

You can choose to ignore this advice and go anyway - but most travel insurance policies won't cover you if you do. 

There are exceptions: Some may still cover your trip - but not for claims related to the reason the advice was given. So for example, if the FCDO advised against travelling to an area because of an outbreak of infectious disease, some policies may cover you to travel there, but you wouldn't be able to claim for treatment if you contracted the disease.

Cancelling your trip because of FCDO advice

Most of us would probably consider an FCDO warning to be a compelling reason to change our travel plans. Fortunately, most package holiday tour operators will give you the opportunity to claim a refund or rebook if this happens - though some online travel agents won't. 

We found that most travel insurance policies allow you to make a cancellation claim if the FCDO advises against your trip after you've booked or insured it. However, cover is never all-encompassing. 

Most policies provide cover for this under some scenarios (for example, if the cause is a natural disaster) - but will often exclude other causes - such as terrorism, war or pandemic.     

Best policies for FCDO cover

Members can log in to see which policies provide the most extensive FCDO cancellation cover. If you're not already a member, join Which? and get full access to these results and all our reviews.

What unexpected events do insurers cover?

By 'unexpected event' we mean disruptive events with the potential to affect large groups of people. In some of the cases below (particularly with natural disasters, civil unrest, war, terrorism, or pandemic) cover may only apply if an FCDO warning has been issued. 

Holiday failure

This is whether the policy can pay out if you lose money because a holiday firm went bankrupt, such as a hotel or tour operator. Just one in 10 policies we analysed provide this cover. These were from The AA, Avanti, Barclays, Jet2 Insurance, M&S Bank, Nationwide Building Society, NFU Mutual and Worldwide Internet Insurance Services.  

You may have other protection - see our guide to your rights if a holiday goes wrong

Airline failure

Also sometimes referred to as 'Safi' (Scheduled Airline Failure Insurance) this cover protects you if you've booked a flight with an airline that goes bust before you fly. However, the cover is vanishingly rare - available in just 10% of policies we checked. These are from The AA, AllClear, Avanti, Barclays, M&S Bank, Nationwide Building Society and NFU Mutual.

Strike cover

Strike cover provides protection if your flight, and holiday, was delayed or cancelled due to industrial action. Fortunately, the majority of policies we examined contain this cover - though it's worth double checking the policy wording to be sure yours does.

Volcanic ash

In 2010, plumes of ash from the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland disrupted flights across much of Europe. It was an unusual event, and resulted in thousands of travellers having flight plans disrupted.

The Financial Ombudsman Service adjudicated that the volcanic ash-related disruption was as a result of 'poor weather conditions', meaning many travel insurance policyholders got redress.

As a result, many insurers have added a provision to their policies that covers disruption caused by volcanic ash. In our last analysis, over eight in ten policies had cover for this. 

Terrorism

Policies may allow you to make a claim to cancel if your destination has been affected. 

However, this may depend on whether or not the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) issued a warning against travel to the region after you booked the trip.

Around half of policies we reviewed cover an FCDO cancellation claim in this situation.

Civil unrest

Some insurers cover this eventuality, making it worth considering if you are travelling to a potential hot spot.

War

War is commonly excluded from the cover in travel insurance policies - with some providing it as part of optional 'disruption' cover. 

Pandemic

Pandemics are excluded from cover in about four fifths of policies - while some will cover pandemics but exclude Covid-19 or outbreaks of similar respiratory illness.

Natural disaster

'Natural catastrophes' - such as fires, floods, hurricanes or earthquakes - were covered in most policies we assessed (though not always as standard).

Do I need unexpected events cover?

You don't necessarily need to be fully protected by your insurance against certain events to have some peace of mind.

If you've booked with a package holiday firm, for example, you will benefit from ATOL protection if it goes bust, and it will also have to refund you if it cancels your holiday because of a major disruptive event.

If you've paid for your bookings using a credit card, you'll be able to claim with the card provider if the holiday firm hasn't been able to provide the service you've paid for or refund you.