Best travel insurance for cancelations

Sounds like you need to go through a broker, like insuremytrip or squaremouth. They can sort through, and recommend according to the type of coverage you need. Not all cancellation insurance is the same. And if you want "cancel for any reason" coverage, you need to specify that. Even then there are limits on what is covered.

Every policy is different and you have to read them carefully. You can't assume they cover all reasons for change.

I have an annual policy with Allianz. This year I wanted to know their rules about Covid as I had heard many insurance companies were excluding Covid. They said they did not offer separate Covid coverage but they would not deny due to Covid. They said that I would be covered under my regular limits.

The policy also doesn't cover return for any reason.

If you're seeking travel protection geared towards medical evacuation and repatriation, you might consider COVAC: https://covacglobal.com/. They have very much evolved during the COVID challenges.

Otherwise, for perhaps the most fluid coverage, purchasing a CFAR policy (Cancel For Any Reason) might be your next best option. Note that not all companies offer CFAR protection and the "payouts" are skewed between 50-75% of the coverage amount. CFAR generally has to be purchased within 15-21 days of your initial deposit/payment to provide coverage.

Last, go through a reputable travel protection carrier because your coverage is only as good as the company behind it. Those might include Travelex, Arch RoamRight, Travel Guard, Allianz, and so on. As mentioned, read the policy details and know the limitations.

It is all about the details as you have learned. I am quite surprised that your Allianz policy did not cover trip interruption due to loss of family member. That would be pretty basic to trip interruption coverage. Trip interruption wouldn’t pay your increased costs for returning to the US (last minute airfares,changes), but it should pay for any non refundable costs for the portion of the trip you were not able to finish. What expenses did you try to claim that were denied?

Edited to add: I read your post more closely. It seems you are upset they didn’t pay for your costs home. It is unreasonable to expect a company to pay for costs that were not covered under the policy. The fault here is not the company, but that you didn’t have a clear understanding of your policy. I’m guessing most people don’t really read the policy so no judgement here, just an observation. The take away for all of us is that we need to read the policy prior to buying.

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Reading these 45+ page policies is a challenge. The companies don't want to send print copies, so it's trying to read the entirety of a policy on a computer; it's difficult to look at more than a page at a time, and access the exemptions, usually at the final pages. Also, my home printer can't handle a 45 page print out. I have called with questions, and have not always received correct answers, and the agents won't confirm their answers in an email. So- it's not so easy to understand travel insurance, remembering it's a business that makes more money with the fewest payouts.
I do know that the USAA travel policy considers covid under the standard illness sections, with the same provisions. However, since I have never filed a claim, I can't speak to the ease/success of filing claims.
Safe travels!

I had a good experience with Seven Corners, which I bought via Square Mouth. I had a yearly travel policy for 2020. When I requested, they refunded the unused months. I don't know how reactive they would be with a claim, but the times I called with questions or the request to refund, it was very easy to reach someone.

Allianz or Star Alliance, the airline partnership that includes United, Lufthansa, etc.?

Allianz insurance is offered by some airlines as a part of the ticket purchase, Alaska Airlines for one. I have never figured out what it covers and for what dates, because the one time I “clicked” on the button to check it out, it wasn’t available for residents of Washington State. (I think that may have changed).

But I will say that the right insurance does work as intended. We traveled “bare” on all our trips from 2000 to 2010. But in 2011 we booked a ski trip to Whistler (Canada) with another couple. I prepaid the full cost of a package with condo and lift tickets, and it was non-refundable. So when they offered trip insurance for a small price, I took it. That was a good decision, because on the morning that we were to drive up with our friends, I got an early morning call from the wife, saying that her husband was in the hospital with a pulmonary embolism—-he went to the ER in the middle of the night with chest pain and breathing difficulty, and that was the diagnosis. No question we had to cancel the trip. We submitted the required documents and doctor’s statement to the insurance company and we were reimbursed in full within a month.

I have purchased trip insurance for our foreign travels ever since, using Squaremouth or Insuremytrip to find the right one for our needs. Due to the usual restriction on pandemic coverage, trip insurance did not cover any of our expenses for the 2 trips we canceled in 2020, but I was able to recover nearly all of our expenses from the vendors. One insurance policy was cancelled and refunded, and the was rolled over into credit for a future trip, which I am using for our (hoped for) 2022 travels.

Another recent discussion that might be useful.
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/transportation/refundable-tickets-vs-trip-insurance

If you are able to get USAA, they offer the best travel insurance out there, but you have to have military ties to be eligible.

USAA offers Travel Insured. We use it all the time. You might check to see if Travel Insured serves non-military. I don't think you have to be military to get it, but USAA members get a discount.

We too buy trip insurance through USAA.

We had a trip to Costa Rica booked and insurance purchased. We were not able to go due to foot surgery for me, but we were to out any money except for the trip insurance. They gave us a credit and it is good for just over 2 years, so I have no complaints on that.

I used Squaremouth to purchase trip insurance for a trip taken in 12/2021.

We were stranded in LA (trying to return to SEA) on 12/26 through 12/29. After 4 flight cancellations by Delta/AF we were told the next available flight would be 1/2. At that point, we rented a car and drove.

I have submitted a claim for trip delay with the insurance company. I believe the most I can recover is $500 per person (we spent $1400 and that was being conservative). I'll update this post if/when I get resolution from the insurer.

As others have noted, you do need to read your insurance policies carefully. I did not purchase the policy with this claim in mind. I will be a lot more knowledgeable when purchasing trip insurance in the future, but as others have noted, I am not convinced that there is a "good" one.

Btw, I have trip insurance through one of my premier credit cards as well. Filing a claim with them would be a complete nightmare. I went through the process just in case but they have a clause that says you can't file with them if you bought other insurance. I will always buy other insurance!

I bought a policy for a trip to Spain & France primarily in case of interruption due to Covid 19 (October 27, 2021). Since purchasing this insurance that I found on the Delta Airlines website, the U.S. State Department declared Spain & France level 4 countries. This is an increase since we purchased it. Now they will not allow me to cancel the insurance due to a 15 day time frame to cancel from the date of purchase. We are both vaccinated & have boosters. We live in Arkansas & our current state Covid status is over 100,000 active cases per 7 days. The hospitals are at the highest level in the pandemic. It seems ironic Allianz insurance is excluding any coverage due to Covid, since we will be safer there than in Arkansas.

I first read about this on website! Check it out for yourself. I got double talk from the supervisor, Pedro, and he sent me an Embassy letter that didn't help. Please don't purchase Allianz trip insurance on the Delta website if you need it for a level 4 country & or Covid.