Trip Disruption (including Terrorism, Natural Catastrophe and Air Space disruption)
Safeguard against rare but extreme events that could disrupt your travels. Add this extra protection option to your travel insurance policy and you’re covered for:
Cancelling or cutting short your trip due to a natural catastrophe or terrorist event*
Airspace disruption – including delays due to unauthorised aircraft like drones~
A minimal £50 payout for every day your return is delayed, up to 10 days <
All new policies include coronavirus cover for cancellation, curtailment and medical costs due to Covid-19 in certain circumstances.And you can add extra protection for missed departures or change in testing and quarantine rules with our Covid-19 upgrade.
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Enhanced protection for unforeseen events
Our Travel Insurance policies already provide cover for medical assistance if you’re injured due to a natural disaster or terrorist act. But if you need more reassurance for other disruption they or airspace problems might cause, select this add-on option when you get your quote for all this extra cover.
What’s covered?
Terms and conditions apply. Please see policy wording for full details.
Cancellation of your trip*
If a natural catastrophe or terrorist event happens within 20km of your pre-booked accommodation and within the 14 days before you’re due to leave, you can decide you don't want to go. >
Abandonment before you leave
If a terrorist event or natural catastrophe delays you by more than 12 hours on the outward leg of your journey from the UK, you can make a claim to cancel your trip. >
Disruption once you’ve left the UK~
If terrorist activity, a natural catastrophe or airspace problems stop you getting to your destination or home, we’ll pay a set amount for every 4 hours you’re delayed. Or, if it’s for 24 hours or more, we’ll pay the extra costs to transport you home if your travel provider doesn’t.>
Missed departure and connections<
If such events make you miss your departure from the UK or a departure or connections outside it, we’ll pay your additional travel and accommodation costs. And, if they keep you stuck abroad, we’ll pay up to £100 per day for up to 10 days beyond your original return date.>
Cutting short your trip*
If you’ve reached your accommodation and a natural catastrophe or terrorism event happens within 20km of it, you’re covered for any additional costs to get you home early and for the unused part of your trip.>
Substitute accommodation
If such an event event forces you to move to alternative accommodation that’s not supplied by your travel provider, we’ll cover the extra cost of somewhere of the same standard up to the sum insured.>
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What’s covered?
Terms and conditions apply. Please see policy wording for full details.
Cancellation of your trip
If a natural catastrophe or terrorist event happens within 20km of your arrival point or pre-booked accommodation and within the 14 days before you’re due to leave, you can decide you don't want to go. >
Abandonment before you leave
If a terrorist event or natural catastrophe delays you by more than 12 hours on the outward leg of your journey from the UK, you can make a claim to cancel your trip. >
Disruption after you’ve left
If terrorist activity, a natural catastrophe or airspace problems stop you getting to your destination or home, we’ll pay a set amount for every 4 hours you’re delayed. Or, if it’s for 24 hours or more, we’ll pay the extra costs to transport you home if your travel provider doesn’t. >
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Why choose Post Office?
Easy and simple claims processes
24/7 support available
Trusted brand
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Our awards speak for themselves
Post Office won a "Best Travel Insurance provider" award at the Your Money Awards in 2021.
Our Premier policies are Defaqto 5-star rated.
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Trip Disruption FAQs (including Terrorism, Natural Catastrophe and Air Space Disruption)
What does this add-on cover that a standard policy doesn’t?
All Post Office Travel insurance policies provide a level of protection in the event of cancellation of your trip, missed departures or connections, delays and abandonment, or cutting short your trip when you’re there due to reasons beyond your control, as set out in the policy wording. How much protection they provide for each of these scenarios depends on the level of cover you choose.
However, these policies do not typically provide cover in these scenarios if their cause is a natural catastrophe or terrorism event in the destination you’ll be visiting, or airspace disruption that causes you difficulty getting there. The benefit of the Travel Disruption option is you can easily add it when you get a quote to provide additional protection in the unlikely event of such problems.
What is terrorism cover?
As the unfortunate events of recent years have shown us, terrorist attacks can be indiscriminate and don’t only occur in areas already steeped in conflict. While we hope that no one is the victim of a terrorist attack, we know that it’s important to have the right protection and peace of mind.
Terrorism cover enhances your existing travel insurance cover to include disruption to your travel and alternative travel arrangements if you’re already at your destination when the attack occurs.
If it’s necessary for you to return home after receiving medical attention for shock, due to stress or trauma following a terrorist event, we’ll cover you. It also covers cancellation before departure due or if you decide to call it a day due to excessive delay.
And, should something happen to your baggage as a result of a terrorist act – whether this is damage, loss or even it not arriving at all – we’ll cover this up to certain limits.
Where can I travel with terrorism cover?
Having cover for terrorist events doesn’t mean that you can travel to areas that the FCDO have advised against all travel to. Doing so will likely invalidate your insurance so always check the latest guidelines. You are still limited by the same rules governing travel safety as general travel insurance.
What is natural catastrophe cover?
Nature is unpredictable and extreme weather events are becoming more commonplace. There are certain regions of the world where natural catastrophes are likelier to occur, however it’s impossible to know for certain if or when something significant will occur, such as a volcanic eruption or a hurricane.
Our new add-on can bring peace of mind knowing that you’re covered if you find yourself at the mercy of Mother Nature before you leave, are in transit or while you’re on holiday. If your departure is delayed by more than 12 hours and you decide to call it a day, you can claim. And if you’re in transit or already at your destination and a natural catastrophe prevents you from continuing your holiday, you can claim then, too.
A Natural catastrophe is defined as: Volcanic activity, volcanic ash, earthquake, tsunami, hurricane, cyclone, flooding of more than 50 square km, or wildfire of more than 50 square km.
What is airspace disruption cover and do I need it?
Airspace disruption can take many forms. In recent times, it’s included the use of unauthorised, unmanned aircraft close to departure airports, which creates a safety risk that keeps flights grounded.
More traditional factors are air traffic control restrictions including airspace closure. Airspace closure is when government authorities such as the Civil Aviation Authority close airspace preventing flights from taking off or landing for safety or security reasons.
Other contributing issues could include failure of air traffic control or airport computer systems (except those caused by cyber terrorism) or an event occurring at your departure point that causes its closure or evacuation.
The cause of airspace disruption may not be obvious but, as a traveller, all you’ll want to know is if and when you’ll be able to get your trip underway or return home. Airspace disruption is uncommon but, when it happens, it can cause major delays.
Covering against airspace disruption is a paid add-on to a travel insurance policy that offers cover for your pre-booked travel and accommodation expenses if the closure of airspace exceeds 24 hours. Or, if you have already departed, it offers cover for additional travel and accommodation expenses you incur for every day you cannot reach your destination or return home (up to a limit).
What about return flights?
If you add this optional Trip Disruption cover to your policy, the protection it provides in the event of airspace disruptions applies to both outbound and inbound flights. If you’re prevented from returning to the UK due to airspace closure at your destination airport, and the delay is longer than 24 hours, then you can make a claim there too.
What if I’ve taken off?
If you’re stuck in the air, endlessly circling the airport because the runways are closed or if you are re-routed to a different airport and need to take an alternative means of returning home from the new destination due to airspace closure, then you may be able to claim for additional accommodation and travel expenses incurred.
What isn’t covered?
There are a few exclusions to mention on the Natural Catastrophe and Terrorism Cover. Please refer to the policy wording for full details. If you decide to abandon your holiday before it’s been delayed by 12 hours, we can’t cover you. Similarly, if you buy your cover after a terrorist event or natural catastrophe has been announced in the press, you wouldn’t be covered. In the case of delay and cancellation, you’ll need to try to claim compensation from all other relevant sources (like your airline or holiday provider) before we’ll consider a claim.
You won’t be covered for acts of terrorism that involve nuclear, biological or chemical weapons, or cyber terrorism.
If you're faced with airspace disruption, you'll need to exhaust all other avenues for claiming compensation before making a claim on your travel insurance policy. There are certain situations where airlines have to give you compensation and some where it is discretionary, so they should be your first port of call.
Do I need natural catastrophe cover on travel insurance?
It really depends how much you want to leave to chance and what extra reassurance you need. Especially if you’re travelling somewhere with a higher risk of natural catastrophes such as hurricanes or volcanic eruptions or flooding.
While it’s impossible to predict if and when they’ll occur, Natural Catastrophe cover can provide reassurance that you’ll be covered if such events disrupt your holiday while you’re already there, prevent or delay you getting there by more than 12 hours, or mean you have to turn back home in transit.
Am I covered if Covid-19 is the reason my trip’s disrupted?
The Trip Disruption add on won't provide cover against any Covid-19 related disruptions. We provide limited cover for Covid-19 across all our policies for cancellation, cutting your trip short and emergency medical and repatriation costs should you fall ill with the virus. For extra protection you can upgrade this cover and purchase our Covid-19 upgrade add on for an additional premium. This will extend the cover to include missed departures, or change in testing or quarantine rules.
A Single trip policy will cover you for one trip up to:
365 days for persons aged up to and including age 70.
90 days for persons aged between 71 and 75.
31 days for persons aged between 76 and above.
Under Annual Multi-Trip although you can take as many trips as you want within the policy year, there is a maximum duration for each individual trip. This limit varies depending on the cover level chosen and will be 17 or 31 days. On some policies the limit can be extended to 31, 45 or 60 days for an additional premium.
Small Print
Post Office® Travel Insurance is arranged by Post Office Limited and Post Office Management Services Limited.
Post Office Limited is an appointed representative of Post Office Management Services Limited which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, FRN 630318. Post Office Limited and Post Office Management Services Limited are registered in England and Wales. Registered numbers 2154540 and 08459718 respectively. Registered Office: Finsbury Dials, 20 Finsbury Street, London EC2Y 9AQ. Post Office and the Post Office logo are registered trademarks of Post Office Limited.