Stiftung Warentest
Just in case: Which travel cancellation insurance really protects you on vacation
Despite good planning, sometimes things go wrong when traveling…
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The anticipation of the vacation was great – and at the last moment you had to cancel it. So that you don’t have to pay for the trip you miss in this case, it’s worth taking out travel cancellation insurance. Stiftung Warentest has selected the best providers.
Sudden illness, unexpected death or an unplanned pregnancy – there are many reasons for canceling a planned trip at short notice. In many cases, the costs will be covered by travel cancellation insurance if you have taken out the right one. Because: There are sometimes big differences in the price-performance ratio, like this Stiftung Warentest shows in a current comparison.
It is therefore particularly worthwhile to combine travel cancellation insurance directly with trip interruption insurance. Since the coronavirus pandemic at the latest, we have known that it can also happen at your travel destination that you have to leave earlier for personal reasons. In this case, the tour operators rarely cover the costs. If you have cancellation insurance, you will at least not be stuck with the costs despite the negative end of your vacation.
What travel insurance covers
In general, you should find out more about the conditions before taking out travel insurance. If you book a package holiday, the tour operator often already has some cancellation cases covered. These primarily include natural disasters and crises that lead to a travel warning from the Foreign Office or affect the feasibility of the booked trip.
In all other cases, if in doubt, you must rely on the goodwill of the travel provider. Unless you have taken out travel insurance in advance. Then you are also covered in the event of a job loss, pregnancy, illness or the death of a relative. Here, the experts at Stiftung Warentest recommend taking out insurance regardless of the trip you booked, because it is often cheaper. The test result also shows that it is worth reading the small print.
Be careful when choosing insurance
Of the 54 combined tariffs without deductibles tested, only two providers performed very well. Travel cancellation insurance from TravelSecure and Europ Assistance are particularly recommended. Most tariffs are well in the middle range with their test grade. The biggest differences were in the handling of concerns and the comprehensibility of the insurance policy. By the way: If it only rains at the holiday destination, not a single insurance company will reimburse the travel costs – in bad weather only the right clothing helps.
You can read the entire test here for a fee