Trip cancellation insurance compared

Swiss travel insurance policies typically consist of either some form of trip cancellation protection and/or some form of personal assistance (trip interruption) coverage. The trip cancellation insurance provided covers losses incurred when paid-for travel bookings are cancelled ahead of a trip due to unexpected circumstances.

What does trip cancellation insurance cost?

The cost of an annual trip cancellation insurance policy varies from around 50 to 225 francs per year for minors and around 75 to 240 francs for adults. Families can expect to pay from 80 to 350 francs per year for family coverage. This price often includes comprehensive travel insurance coverage.

How much coverage do you get?

Depending on the insurance provider, the sum insured for trip cancellations may be as high as 120,000 francs (TCS) or as low as 3000 francs (ERV easytrip) for individuals (120,000 to 7500 francs for families).

Depending on how expensive your travel bookings are, the sum insured may or may not cover the full cost. Make sure to use an insurance policy that provides ample coverage.

Cancellations: what losses are covered?

Generally, the following costs are covered by trip cancellation insurance:

• The costs of cancelled airline, rail or ship travel bookings.
• The costs of cancelled activities, holiday home rentals, hotel bookings and car rentals. Travel activities booked on location (rental cars or activities, for example) are not always covered, or are only partially covered. Cembra TravelProtect Plus, for example, has a 1000-franc cap on coverage for the cost of excursions interrupted as a result of an eligible hazard.
• The price difference between the cost of cancelled bookings and the cost of rescheduled bookings.
• Prepaid travel services which are not delivered.
• Administrative fees charged for a cancellation.
• Prepaid tickets or bookings for events you could not attend due to a covered hazard: Only around half of Swiss travel insurers provide this coverage. Benefits are often limited (to a maximum of 500 francs per incident, for example).
• You can easily filter policies based on the benefits they offer on the results page of the moneyland.ch travel insurance comparison tool.

What hazards are covered?

• Cancellations due to unexpected accidents, illness or death are covered by all Swiss providers.
• Pregnancy: Certain policies will not cover trip cancellations resulting from complications related to pregnancy.
• Strikes and civil unrest: These events are not covered by all insurers. Example: Cembra Money Bank does not cover cancellations resulting from civil unrest or strikes.
• Natural hazards, unexpected water or fire damage to your home: All Swiss insurers cover cancellations resulting from natural hazards damaging your home. If you have to cancel a trip in order to attend to unexpected damage to your home caused by fire or water, your travel losses will be covered.
• Unexpected change of employment status: These events generally qualify as acceptable reasons to cancel a trip.
• Workplace substitution: If you are unable to make a trip because your substitute at work becomes sick, has an accident or dies, many (but not all) insurers will consider you eligible to receive a benefit. 
• Missed flights or other prepaid trips - due to a delay in transportation while traveling to the airport, for example – are covered.
• Pets: Most insurers will not accept accidents, illnesses or death of pets as sufficient ground for cancelling a trip.
• You can easily find policies which offer the coverage you need by filtering the results of the moneyland.ch travel insurance comparison tool by various criteria.

More on this topic:
Travel insurance: Compare premiums and services
Travel insurance: What does it cost?
Travel insurance: Additional insurance
Travel insurance: Useful tips
Personal assistance travel insurance policies compared