One of the major benefits of travel insurance in Malaysia is trip cancellation insurance, aiming to cover against trip cancellation due to external factors out of our control. It reimburses a traveller for up to a certain amount for accommodation, transport charges, additional travel expenses, pre-booked or prepaid excursion charges when his/her trip has to be abandoned for unexpected reasons. Whilst everyone’s circumstances of skipping out their initial travelling plans are unique, not all reasons can be valid for a claim. Here are 8 reasons your trip cancellation insurance won’t cover you.
1. You fell sick at the eleventh hour, right before your travel
There is a flu outbreak in John’s office, and unfortunately one by one, his colleagues become infected. He prays that it will not happen to him, but lo and behold, he comes down with a bad case of the flu, the exact day before he is set to leave. Feeling weak and unable to move, he decides to cancel his plans. He submits a trip cancellation insurance claim but was denied by the insurance company.
If you, your traveling companion or immediate family members are hospitalized due to a serious illness or bodily injury which inevitably force a cancellation, most insurance companies would consider that a reasonable reason for trip cancellation claim.
The reason for John’s claim rejection was due to the fact that there must be a doctor present to examine him and advise him to cancel the trip, before the decision to cancel can be made.
2. You buy your travel insurance at the eleventh-hour
There are only a few universal rules in travel insurance so be sure to read the fine prints of your travel policy to find out the specifics of what is and is not covered. Most importantly, do check that you are within the time limits for a claim to be viable. Unfortunately for most trip cancellation insurance cover in Malaysia, trip cancellation benefit is only claimable when said insurance was purchased at least 2 weeks prior to a canceled trip.
3. Your airline carrier decides to cancel your flight
The most common misunderstanding is that all cancelled flights, for any reason are covered under this trip cancellation insurance. If your flight was unfortunately cancelled due to a mechanical fault, overbooking, maintenance, repairs, rescheduling, service faults or the airline closing down, you cannot claim for trip cancellation benefit. It is the airline’s responsibility to compensate, reimburse, or find an alternative flight for you, and not the insurance company.
4. You buy insurance when there were already early indicators of natural disaster in travel destination
Siti and Ahmad were going on their long awaiting holiday to Taipei, Taiwan. Few days before they were supposed to leave, there were fresh news about typhoon storms hitting Taipei. Siti gets travel insurance immediately as a safety precaution and ended up cancelling their vacation plans due to fears of storm. She then submits a trip cancellation insurance claim and again, is denied by the insurance company.
Some trip cancellation insurance in Malaysia names fire, flood or similar disaster as covered reasons for cancelling a trip, however the circumstance applies only when the serious damage happens on the insured’s home. Once again, I cannot reiterate enough, read them fine prints!
5. Your colleague passes away days before you travel and you decide to stay back
Muthu’s business colleague got into an accident day before his big soloyolo Eurotrip. Devastated, he decided to stay back to pay his due respect and cancels his trip. He then submits a trip cancellation insurance claim and again, is denied by the insurance company.
In most instances, trip cancellation insurance can only be claimed if the trip is cancelled due to death of the insured person, close family members, or travelling companion. Unfortunately pets are not included too.
6. You booked a tour with a travel agency and unfortunately it got cancelled
This is not a covered situation under a trip cancellation insurance as tour cancellation should be dealt with the travel agencies themselves.
7. You missed a flight
Umah was looking forward to her graduation trip, however she was out with her friends till late at night, accidentally missed her alarm to wake up and head to the airport. She arrived at the airport, only to be turned away due to her lateness, and therefore missed her flight. She remembers she bought a travel insurance, and therefore submits a trip cancellation insurance claim, but insurance company tells her that this circumstance is not claimable.
If you turn up to check-in late and miss your flight you will not be covered. Any delays because of your own negligence are not covered under travel insurance.
4. You just don’t feel like it
Hannah is having a cold war with her best friend days before their long awaited travel, and decided to FFK her friends the last minute (Siapa kawan ni?!) She then submits a trip cancellation insurance claim and is denied by the insurance company.
If you cancel your trip just because you decided not to go, travel insurance will not cover the cost. Sorry!
Conclusion
We know that trip cancellation insurance can be a wee bit complicated to comprehend, therefore we hope that we have given you some insights on what it won’t cover you. Therefore, it is imperative that you read all the terms and conditions before you buy any travel insurance.
Choosing a comprehensive travel plan is a wise move in order to protect against unforeseen circumstances. One example is Allianz Travel Care, with prices as low as RM50 for trips to worldwide destinations, Allianz Travel Care covers all the travel inconveniences from minor to major, including medical expenses for personal accidents and of course, trip cancellation. Allianz Travel Care’s trip cancellation benefit covers situation of death, hospitalization and serious damage of homes happening to insured person, immediate family members and travelling companions. The insured nominees can claim up to RM200,000 for accidental death or permanent disability.
Through PolicyStreet, you may sign up for an individual plan, family plan and a group plan if you are travelling with up to 4 travelling partners, in just one click. Travelling soon and haven’t sorted your travel insurance out? Get yourself protected with Allianz Travel Care now!
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