Probably not, but you will need to check each policy's certificate of insurance to be completely sure. Nearly all travel insurance policies exclude war and civil war, declared or undeclared, from covered events. This means that if your trip is delayed or you must cancel it entirely because of war or civil unrest, you will not be entitled to a payment from your travel insurance provider.
A few policies offer upgrades of coverage that include "political evacuation." Others may include "riot" under covered reasons for Travel Delay. For example, as of this writing, the MH Ross Advantage Complete policy includes "riot" under its covered reasons for trip delay benefits. Travel Guard’s Basic (Essential) policy specifically names "riot," "insurrection" and "civil unrest" in its General Exclusions list; losses relating to wars, riots, uprisings and the like are not covered.
Issues to Consider When Traveling to an Area Experiencing Civil Unrest
- You cannot cancel your trip because you feel that you will be unsafe at your destination unless you purchase Cancel For Any Reason Coverage.
- You must typically purchase Cancel For Any Reason coverage within 30 days of your first deposit payment.
- Expect to pay more for a travel insurance policy that includes Cancel For Any Reason coverage.
- You may not purchase Cancel For Any Reason coverage if your departure date is within the required cancellation period. This period is typically two or three days before your trip begins, but policies vary.
- Cancel For Any Reason policies pay you a percentage of the amount you have spent on your trip. You will not be able to recover the entire amount with this type of policy, but you will be able to cancel without having to explain why.
- Military members who have leave orders revoked due to war may or may not covered under Cancel For Work Reasons or Trip Cancellation policies. Each policy is different.
The Bottom Line
If you are traveling to an area where civil unrest is likely or already occurring, the only way you can be sure you can recoup some of the costs of your trip if you cannot travel is to purchase Cancel For Any Reason coverage. Even then, you must cancel your trip within the prescribed period or you will lose your benefits.
You must read your policy's certificate before you buy travel insurance. Do not read a summary of benefits. Read the certificate of insurance itself and pay close attention to the exclusions and limitations of the policy.
