Even if it wasn’t before the pandemic, travel insurance is likely on your radar now for upcoming trips.
Travel insurance can help you recover all kinds of expenses, including lost funds and unexpected costs due to injury or sickness while traveling, trip interruptions or cancellations, lost or delayed luggage and rental car damage.
However, most basic travel insurance plans have a specific list of qualified reasons that allow you to receive reimbursement for a canceled trip. If your reason doesn’t fall under that criteria, you’re not covered.
Enter “cancel for any reason” travel insurance or CFAR. This is an optional add-on coverage you purchase with a basic travel insurance policy so that you can, well, cancel your trip for any reason.
“The decision to purchase CFAR really comes down to the level of concern a traveler has for things that can disrupt a trip that aren’t covered under a standard plan,” said Stan Sandberg, co-founder of TravelInsurance.com.
Here’s what to know about how CFAR policies work, what’s covered, how much they cost and how to figure out if CFAR makes sense for your next trip, especially if you’re traveling on a budget and trying to pay attention to costs.
“Cancel for any reason” (CFAR) coverage allows you to cancel your trip for any reason up to two days prior to your scheduled departure.
Depending on your plan, you’ll be reimbursed up to 50% or 75% of the insured prepaid, nonrefundable trip cost.
CFAR is an add-on to a standard travel insurance plan and can’t be purchased separately.
CFAR must be purchased within a specific time frame — which varies depending on the policy — from when you make your first trip deposit.
