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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.