What Buyers Need to Know About Terrorism and Travel Insurance: Squaremouth

Travelers concerned about terrorism may look to purchase travel insurance policies that include cancellation coverage for future terrorist attacks.

According to travel insurance comparison site Squaremouth, in order for travel insurance to cover a terrorist attack:

• The event must be deemed as “terrorism” by the U.S. Department of State or the reasonable local authorities where it took place.
• It must have occurred at a time and place that would reasonably impact a traveler’s trip—i.e., a city listed on the traveler’s itinerary or within 120 miles of one, and within 30 days of their arrival.

If these requirements are met, the traveler may be covered to cancel their trip and be reimbursed 100 percent of their nonrefundable trip costs.

Squaremouth notes that some travel insurance policies also offer an optional “Cancel for Any Reason” upgrade, which allows travelers to cancel their trip if they are uncomfortable traveling due to recent terrorist attacks or threats. This benefit increases the price of the policy by about 40 percent and provides up to 75 percent reimbursement of nonrefundable trip costs.

Squaremouth’s Terrorism and Travel Insurance Information Center offers official provider position statements, answers to frequently asked questions, and current government travel alerts and notices related to terrorist attacks.