Compare cancellation insurance

With some annual cancellation policies, yes. Tickets for a concert, festival or sports match then fall under the same reasons as a trip, even without an overnight stay and even in the Netherlands. Bad weather only counts with code orange or red. A separate event policy hardly exists for private individuals; if you have no annual cover, it is often better to resell a ticket. We check per insurer whether events are included.

Add up the cost of your most expensive trip per person and look at the total of all trips in a year. Common choices are 1,500, 2,000 or 2,500 euros per person per trip, with an annual maximum of 6,000 to 10,000 euros. If you exceed that, the insurer reimburses pro rata. For a one-off long-haul trip, a single-trip policy for the actual trip cost is often more suitable than increasing the annual cover.

Single-trip cover is taken out per trip for the actual trip cost; the premium is a percentage of that, as an indication 5 to 7 percent. Annual cover insures all trips in a year up to a fixed maximum per person and per year for an annual premium. If you travel two or more times a year or also want to insure events, annual cover is often the better option. If you make one expensive trip a year, single-trip cover.

With standard annual policies, within fourteen days of booking; after that, that specific trip is not covered. Single-trip policies often apply seven to fourteen days. A deposit already counts as a booking. Circumstances already known when you take out the policy, such as an ill family member, are not a covered reason even within the deadline. So take out the insurance on the day you book.

That differs per policy and is an important point of comparison. Some insurers reimburse 75 percent of the cancellation costs in the event of serious illness or death of third-degree relatives, friends or a loved one; others limit cover to first- and second-degree relatives. A travel companion dropping out also only counts if they have their own cancellation insurance that pays out. If you often travel with friends, let us compare on this point.

Usually not. Trips to an area with a code orange or red travel advisory from the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Buitenlandse Zaken) are excluded under most cancellation policies, even with all risks. With a package holiday you then have rights against the tour operator, with separate bookings you do not. Business trips also fall outside a private cancellation policy. So compare the exclusions too, not just the list of covered reasons.