Although a travelling companion suddenly falling ill can upset your plans, travel insurance usually helps in such situations. However, it is important to understand who is entitled to compensation in the event of illness and how the insurer determines the amount in such cases – and indeed whether to award it at all.

Speaking about her own company, Seesam, Travel Insurance Product Manager Marit Raag says that most claims for travel interruption cover come from clients who fall ill themselves or have to cancel a trip due to a companion falling ill or having an accident. “Flight delays and other unexpected events are very much secondary to health issues where this type of cover is concerned,” she explains.

Raag adds that insurance will cover the cost of a trip that has to be cancelled due to illness if the traveller or a family member living with them (their spouse/partner or children) falls ill. Moreover, the cover extends to life-threatening conditions and death in cases where a trip is called off due to the death of a relative or abandoned if it is necessary to go home early. In the case of the latter, the cost of the return journey is reimbursed.

Travel interruption insurance also helps when travelling as part of a large group

It is common for people to travel as part of larger groups, such as with friends or relatives. But what if your nanny or the person you are meant to be staying with abroad falls ill? How does the insurance deal with these kinds of situations?

Raag says that travel insurance covers the cost of cancelling or interrupting a trip even if the person that necessitates you doing so is not an immediate family member. “The assumption here is that the person in question is the only one you are travelling with, be it your girlfriend, your brother, your mother or whoever,” she notes. “If you paid all of your travel expenses jointly, you are reimbursed proportionally. But if each of you paid for your tickets and accommodation separately, reimbursement is based on receipts and invoices. You are also eligible for compensation if you have planned to visit, say, an old friend in Barcelona, but they unexpectedly fall ill. In that case, you need to get a written explanation from the host and a document issued by a doctor and submit them to the insurance company.”

However, if you are travelling as part of a larger group – for example two families with their grandparents – and then one child falls ill and no one wants to go, you need to take into account that these are different families and that the sickness cover only applies to the family affected. “In this case, the family whose child falls ill will be reimbursed,” Raag explains. “If the other family chooses not to go, they won’t be compensated.”

Raag notes that there have also been situations where a nanny is to be taken on a family holiday but falls ill at the last moment. “A nanny is not considered a member of the family, nor are they covered by normal insurance, so in such cases you should contact your insurance company before taking out a policy,” Raag advises. “They will almost always come up with a solution.”

Raag adds that it is also common for people to fall ill whose accommodation was paid for by someone they were meant to be travelling with and where the rest of the group still goes on the trip. “This is covered as well, with the amount of the combined accommodation cost to be reimbursed calculated proportionally to the number of people,” she says. “If flights were also paid for by someone else, the compensation is paid to that person or to the insured person themselves, whichever they prefer.”

So as to feel properly covered when planning a trip involving a larger group or when unexpected situations arise on your travels, Raag recommends that an insurance amount which factors in the cost of accommodation, flights and other transport per person is selected for all of the people on the trip. Since travel interruption insurance only takes effect a few days after the policy is issued, it is important to obtain it as soon as you book your trip.

“It is worth remembering that in the event of falling ill you will have to submit a medical certificate and, where required, a case history of your treatment, as well as documents proving your expenses, like invoices, payment orders, tickets and reservations,” Raag explains.

“If your flight times change, you will need to ask the airline for information about the fault or delay or whatever it was that caused it. You will also have to inform your insurer whether the airline itself will partially compensate the costs related to the changes.”