You’ve spent months planning a Mediterranean cruise for you and your spouse. It’ll be a dream come true: 12 sun-soaked days visiting ports in Italy, Croatia, and France.

And then, a week before you’re supposed to leave, your manager calls you into a meeting. The company has decided to lay off your entire team. Effective immediately, you no longer have a job.

Suddenly, your financial future’s uncertain. If you go on the cruise, you’ll worry the whole time about spending money you don’t have. But if you cancel your trip, it’s too late to get any kind of refund from the cruise line. Luckily, travel insurance may be able to help when you’re dealing with job loss.

Does travel insurance cover job loss?

Yes. Losing your job can be a covered reason for trip cancellation. Allianz Travel Insurance plans that include the trip cancellation benefit can reimburse prepaid, non-refundable trip costs if you or a traveling companion is terminated or laid off by a current employer after your policy’s purchase date.

Certain conditions apply:

• The termination or layoff must not be your or your traveling companion’s fault.
• The employment must have been permanent, not temporary or contract.
• You or your traveling companion must have been in your work position for a certain amount of time: at least one year or three years, depending on your plan.

Which travel insurance plans can cover job loss?

Single-trip plans that include job loss as a covered reason for trip cancellation include:

• OneTrip Cancellation Plus: Trip cancellation maximum limit is $5,000; must have been employed for three years.
• OneTrip Basic: Trip cancellation maximum limit is $10,000; must have been employed for three years.
• OneTrip Prime: Trip cancellation maximum limit is $100,000; must have been employed for one year.
• OneTrip Premier: Trip cancellation maximum limit is $200,000; must have been employed for one year.

Multi-trip (annual) plans that include job loss as a covered reason for trip cancellation include:

• AllTrips Prime: Trip cancellation maximum limit is $3,000 per insured, per year; must have been employed for one year.
• AllTrips Executive: Tiered levels of trip cancellation up to $10,000 per insured, per year; must have been employed for one year.
• AllTrips Premier: Tiered levels of trip cancellation up to $15,000 per insured, per year; must have been employed for one year.

What about “cancel for any reason” travel insurance?

Most travel insurance plans have a list of covered reasons for trip cancellation. These are the specific circumstances in which you can file a claim to be reimbursed for a canceled trip—such as serious illness, a natural disaster, etc.

“Cancel for any reason” (or CFAR) travel insurance is different. It can reimburse you for most, but not all, of your lost prepaid expenses when you cancel a trip for any reason that’s not named in your plan.

Allianz Travel Insurance doesn’t offer CFAR plans, but we do offer the Cancel Anytime upgrade for OneTrip Prime and OneTrip Premier plans. Cancel Anytime reimburses 80% of your prepaid, non-refundable trip costs if you cancel your trip for almost any unforeseeable reason your plan does not already cover.

Cancel Anytime can help if you cancel your trip for a job loss that would normally be excluded—for example, if you’ve only been at your job for six months, or if you’re a contractor. However, it does cost more up front than a standard travel insurance plan.

Learn more: What is Cancel for Any Reason Travel Insurance?

How do you file a job loss travel insurance claim?

If you decide to cancel a trip because you lost your job, let your travel suppliers know (such as your airline, cruise line, tour company, etc.) as soon as possible.

Then, you’ll need to file a claim. Before you start, collect all the documentation you need to prove your losses and back up your claim. For a job loss-related trip cancellation, you’ll need:

• A letter from your employer verifying your length of employment and reason for leaving.
• Trip itinerary documents that show your travel plans and trip details: travelers’ names, trip dates, a breakdown of your prepaid trip costs, etc. Don’t forget to include things like cruise excursions or other activities you paid for.
• Receipts, such as credit card statements or cash receipts, for all expenses related to your claim.
• Information on your travel carrier’s refund policy. If you were charged any penalties or cancellation fees, or received any refunds from your travel agency or travel supplier, provide the exact amounts of these fees or refunds, the penalty schedule, and proof that your booking was non-refundable.

If you have trouble obtaining any of this documentation, or you’re not sure what you need, we can help! Contact us.

Are there other cancel-for-work reasons travel insurance can cover?

Yes! Some, but not all, plans can cover a trip cancellation if:

• You get a new job and you’re required to work during your trip: You or a traveling companion get a new permanent, full-time, paid job, after your policy’s purchase date, that requires you to work during the originally scheduled trip dates.

• You have to move because an employer transfers you, your spouse, or your traveling companion: Your or a traveling companion’s primary residence is permanently relocated by at least 100 or 200 miles (depending on the plan) due to a transfer by your, your spouse’s, or a traveling companion’s current employer.

The AllTrips Executive plan, which is designed specifically for business travelers, also includes a few more work-related reasons for trip cancellation:

• You or a traveling companion is required to work during your scheduled trip.
• Your company’s premises are made unsuitable for business by fire, flood, burglary, vandalism, or a natural disaster.
• Your company is directly involved in a merger or acquisition, and you’re an active employee of the company that is merging who is actively involved in the event.

One last piece of advice: Remember that travel insurance can’t protect you from any mishaps that have already happened. If your employer tells you you’re going to lose your job and you haven’t yet purchased insurance for your upcoming trip, then it’s too late to do anything about it.

That’s why it’s smart to buy travel insurance as soon as you make your first trip deposit! Find out why more than 70 million American travelers each year trust Allianz Travel Insurance: Get a quote and buy your plan today.

Related Articles

• When to Choose Credit Card Travel Insurance vs. Travel Insurance
• Diabetes and Travel Insurance: Everything You Need to Know
• What Types of Trips Can Annual Travel Insurance Plans Protect?