Four out of five Dutch people do not know exactly when cancellation insurance can be useful and what is reimbursed. Holidaymakers are usually aware that they can rely on cancellation insurance in the event of illness or death of a close relative (86%), but awareness of other valid reasons for cancellation is very low. This is apparent from research by ANWB Travel Insurance.
Ignorance about cancellation insurance coverage is apparent from the top 5 below:
•An unexpected cancellation by the travel companion, provided the travel companion has a valid reason for the cancellation (18% are aware of this)
•A car that cannot be repaired with which one travels (20% are familiar with this)
•Able to accept a new job or become unemployed (21% are familiar with this)
•Divorce after the trip has been booked (22% are familiar with this)
•Discovering a pregnancy after the trip has been booked (25% are familiar with this)
Compensation for rebooking and flight delay biggest misunderstanding
Wanting to rebook a holiday is not reimbursed by cancellation insurance:14 percent think this is wrong. Compensation for a flight delay of less than eight hours is also not covered by a cancellation insurance. Compensation for a flight delay of more than eight hours is covered:56 percent are not familiar with this.
The research shows that almost one in five Dutch people (18%) take out short-term cancellation insurance when they go on holiday and that almost half (46%) have continuous cancellation insurance. More than a third of the Dutch (34%) have no cancellation insurance. The main reason for not closing these is because they do not estimate the risks as high (49%). Men in particular estimate the chance of cancellation to be lower:58 percent versus 40 percent. Men generally know a little better in which cases they can rely on their cancellation insurance.
Illness and accident most common claim
Of all insured persons, 31 percent have at some point invoked cancellation insurance. The most common situations in which holidaymakers try to use their cancellation insurance are:
•Illness or accident of themselves or travel partner (18%)
•Illness or death in the family staying at home (13%)
•Negative travel advice (4%) (this is not a valid cancellation reason.)
More valid reasons for invoking the cancellation insurance can be found here.
