Does Travel Insurance Cover the New Cuba Ban? Not Likely says Yonder Travel Insurance

PR Newswire

MINNEAPOLIS, June 6, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- New restrictions have gone into effect regarding American travel to Cuba. The US Treasury announced it will no longer allow cruise ships or private water vessels to port in Cuba. This is causing quite a stir in the cruise and tour group community as more Americans visit Cuba by cruise ship than another other form of travel. The new restrictions also ban "people to people" trips, the most common method for education and tour groups to visit the island, unless travel was booked prior to June 5.

What does this mean for an estimated 800,000 travelers looking forward to their upcoming cruise to Cuba?

Check with your cruise line regarding their refund policy. Cruise lines with itineraries to Cuba have been responding by offering various refunds or credits. If you're booked on an upcoming cruise to Cuba, check with your cruise line immediately to see what compensation they're currently offering.

If you purchased travel insurance for your upcoming cruise, it's unlikely this is considered a covered reason to cancel and receive a full refund. The cancellation reason (a change in a tour itinerary) would not be listed as a covered trip cancellation reason for most travel insurance policies. The only type of coverage that may issue up to a 75% refund of your nonrefundable trip costs is Cancel for Any Reason coverage. To qualify, you would have needed to purchase this specific coverage within 10-21 days of your initial trip deposit and insure 100% of the nonrefundable costs toward your trip. The cancellation must also occur at least 48 hours prior to the scheduled departure date.

If you haven't purchased travel insurance for your upcoming cruise and you're still within 10-21 days of making your initial deposit, you may still qualify for Cancel for Any Reason coverage! Run a quote or ask a travel insurance expert to see what your travel insurance options are at this time.

The experts at Yonder Travel Insurance have poured over hundreds of policies from the best travel insurance providers in the US to provide the best travel insurance recommendation for how YOU travel. Run a quick quote and compare travel insurance policies for your next trip using our instant quote tool.