The short answer
Trip cancellation insurance reimburses prepaid, non-refundable travel costs when you must cancel before leaving for a reason the policy lists, such as a serious illness, an injury or a death in the family. Trip interruption covers the unused part and the extra cost of getting home if the trip is cut short. Neither pays for medical care. A licensed broker can compare plans and explain the covered reasons and the timing rules.
- Travellers who have paid deposits on a cruise, tour or vacation package
- Families booking a large trip months ahead with non-refundable fares
- People caring for a parent or relative whose situation could change before departure
- Anyone relying on a credit card's trip cover and unsure what it includes
- Groups and wedding guests travelling on a fixed date
No broker in the network handles this yet. You can still prepare and save the request now. It is kept, and requests like it show us which brokers to find next.
Outside Alberta, Canada you can prepare and save a request today; sending opens place by place. Brokers answer with their own quotes. Broker.insure does not quote, advise or take commission.
01 / What it covers
The parts worth understanding
Cancellation before departure
Reimbursement of the prepaid, non-refundable portion of the trip when a listed reason stops you from going. Refunds or credits the supplier offers are usually taken off what the plan pays.
Interruption after departure
The unused, prepaid part of the trip plus reasonable extra cost to come home early, or to rejoin the trip after a delay, when a listed reason applies.
Covered reasons
Commonly the sickness, injury or death of the traveller, a travel companion or a close family member, and sometimes a government travel advisory issued after booking, a job loss or a home made unlivable. The list is fixed in the wording.
Delays and missed connections
Some plans pay extra costs when a covered delay makes you miss a departure, a connection or a cruise boarding. Conditions about the length of the delay and its cause vary between plans.
Conditions that existed before purchase
A condition affecting the traveller or a close family member that existed before the plan was bought may be excluded unless it met a stability rule. This applies to cancellation as well as to medical cover, and a broker can explain the general approach.
Cancel for any reason options
Some plans offer an add-on that pays back part of the cost when you cancel for a reason not on the list. It usually has to be bought soon after the first payment and has its own conditions and deadlines.
02 / Get ready
Bring this, and expect these questions
Gather
- Booking confirmations for every prepaid part of the trip: flights, hotels, tours, cruise and rail
- The date you made the first payment or deposit on the trip
- The supplier's cancellation and refund terms, including any credits offered instead of cash
- The total prepaid cost per traveller and how much of it is non-refundable
- Dates of birth for each traveller, and their home province
- The credit card used to pay, with the card's certificate of insurance or benefit guide
- Any travel medical plan you already hold, through an employer or on your own
- Names of close family members at home whose situation could affect the trip, without any health details
A broker will ask
- When did you make the first payment, and what was booked that day?
- How much of the trip is non-refundable, and does the supplier offer credits instead?
- Who is travelling, and for whom else would you cancel if something happened to them?
- Did you pay with a credit card that includes trip cover, and have you read its certificate?
- Do you also need travel medical cover, or is that already arranged?
- Is this a single trip, or do you travel several times a year?
- Is anything already happening that could affect the trip, such as a family situation or a travel advisory?
- Would a cancel-for-any-reason option matter to you, given its cost and conditions?
Not sure of an answer? Leave it. "Not known yet" is a fine answer, and a broker will help you fill it in.
03 / Build your request
Answer a few questions. Get your own list.
Pick what fits. Your answers shape the list beside them, and they are saved to your request as plain facts a broker can read. "Not sure yet" is always a fine answer.
04 / Three situations
See which one sounds like yours
A couple with a cruise paid in full
A couple in Red Deer paid the full balance on a two-week Mediterranean cruise, flights included, several months before sailing. The cruise line's terms show that cancelling now would return very little of what they paid.
First steps. Gather the cruise contract, the flight bookings and the date of the first deposit. Ask the broker which reasons for cancelling are covered, whether a plan bought this long after the deposit still includes every benefit, and how a cruise line credit would be treated in a claim.
A traveller whose father lives alone back home
A woman booked a tour of Japan to mark a milestone birthday, but her father, who lives alone in Lethbridge, has been in and out of hospital this year. She worries she may need to cancel, or fly home partway through.
First steps. Before buying, she can ask the broker how a family member's existing condition is treated for cancellation and interruption, since that rule can differ from the one for her own health. Bring the booking details and dates, and ask the broker to point to the wording on family members.
A family relying on a credit card
A family of four booked a beach holiday on a credit card that advertises trip cancellation benefits. The parents assumed it was enough until they noticed a per-person limit and a narrow list of eligible family members in the card's certificate.
First steps. Read the certificate for the limit, the covered reasons, who counts as an eligible traveller and whether the whole trip must be charged to the card. Bring it to a broker and ask whether a separate plan would fill the difference without paying twice for the same cover.
05 / Words you will hear
The jargon, in plain words
- Trip interruption
- Cover for the unused prepaid part of a trip and the extra cost of returning home when a covered reason cuts the trip short after departure.
- Non-refundable cost
- The part of a booking the supplier will not give back if you cancel. It is generally what a cancellation plan reimburses, up to the plan's limit.
- Covered reason
- An event the policy lists as a valid cause for cancelling, such as a sudden illness or a death in the family. Reasons not on the list are not paid.
- Certificate of insurance
- The document setting out a credit card's or group plan's travel benefits: limits, eligible people, covered reasons and exclusions. It governs, not the marketing summary.
- Cancel for any reason
- An optional add-on on some plans that returns part of the trip cost when you cancel for a reason not on the standard list, under strict timing rules.
06 / Common mistakes
What trips people up
- Buying cover weeks after the first deposit and missing a window that some plans set for full benefits.
- Assuming trip cancellation will pay a hospital bill abroad; it pays for the trip, not for medical care.
- Relying on a card's trip cover without checking its limit, its eligible travellers or whether the trip was charged to it.
- Insuring only part of the prepaid cost and then expecting the plan to pay back the whole amount.
- Waiting to cancel with the supplier after the reason arose, which can reduce what a plan reimburses.
- Expecting a change of mind, a fear of flying or a work conflict to count as a covered reason.
Ready when you are
Turn this into one clear request.
Save it, add what you know, and choose when to send it. A licensed broker who handles trip cancellation insurance takes it from there.
07 / Questions people ask
Straight answers
What does trip cancellation insurance cover?
It reimburses prepaid, non-refundable travel costs when you cannot leave for a reason listed in the policy, such as the sudden illness, injury or death of you, a travel companion or a close family member. Some plans add other reasons, like a travel advisory issued after booking. Reasons outside the list are not covered, so read the list before buying.
Is trip cancellation the same as travel medical insurance?
No. Trip cancellation and interruption pay for the trip itself: the prepaid costs you lose and the extra cost of returning home. Travel medical pays for emergency care while you are away. They are often sold in a package, but each part has its own limits and exclusions. Check which parts a plan includes, and ask the broker whether you need both.
When should I buy trip cancellation insurance?
Timing matters more than many travellers expect. Some plans require purchase within a set number of days of the first payment for full benefits, and protection generally begins on the day you buy. A reason that already existed before purchase is usually not covered. Ask the broker about the purchase window for the plan you are considering as soon as you book.
Does my credit card cover trip cancellation?
Some cards include trip cancellation or interruption benefits, but the details vary widely. Common conditions include charging the full trip to the card, a per-person or per-trip limit, a narrow definition of family members and a set list of covered reasons. Read the card's certificate of insurance rather than the marketing page, and bring it to a broker if you are unsure it is enough.
What is cancel for any reason cover?
It is an optional add-on, offered on some plans, that pays back part of the trip cost when you cancel for a reason the standard policy does not list. It typically must be bought shortly after the first payment, may require insuring the full trip cost, and sets a deadline before departure for cancelling. Availability can be limited, so ask the broker what exists.
What happens if a supplier offers a credit instead of a refund?
Many plans subtract refunds from a claim and may treat future travel credits differently from cash. Some pay only the part that is truly non-refundable, and some look at whether the credit can realistically be used. Keep the supplier's written offer and ask the broker how the plan wording treats credits before you accept or decline one.
General information, not insurance advice. Broker.insure is a directory and request service: it is not an insurer and does not quote, bind or advise. Policy terms, availability and what is required where you live depend on your situation and on licensed professionals. Updated 2026-10-31.