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Travel insurance unexpected-event cover reviews
From ash clouds to strikes to pandemics, unexpected events can push travel insurance policies to their limits. Find out what you're covered for
Dean is an award-winning personal finance writer who’s spent over 15 years helping consumers navigate the tangled and fascinating world of insurance.
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Get a quoteWar and travel insurance
The escalation of hostilities in Iran in April 2026 has caused widespread disruption to travel.
While there are a few exceptions, most travel insurance policies exclude war altogether.
- Find out more about the protections you have if you have travel plans for an affected country.
What is unexpected-event travel insurance?
By definition, all events covered by travel insurance are unexpected. But by 'unexpected-events cover' we mean disruption that can indirectly affect large groups of travellers, from wars to strikes to natural disasters.
Most policies cover some unexpected events but not all. In some cases, cover for these events is only available at extra cost.
Here we reveal the best policies for covering unexpected events, and what cover to look for in your policy.
Best policies for unexpected events
The table below shows a selection of unexpected events with the potential of causing significant travel disruption and which providers cover them.
Many insurers will cover cancellation due to some, but not all, of these unexpected events. You can find details of which provider covers what in our travel insurer reviews.
best buy | Plus - Annual Multi-Trip | 82% | Covered | Covered | Covered | Covered | Not covered |
best buy | Plus - Single Trip | 81% | Covered | Covered | Covered | Covered | Not covered |
best buy | Flex Plus | 79% | Covered | Covered | Covered | Covered | Not covered |
best buy | Travel Pack / Barclays Travel Plus Pack | 79% | Covered | Covered | Covered | Covered | Not covered |
| Travel Insurance | 78% | Covered | Covered | Covered | Covered | Not covered | |
best buy | Standard - Annual Multi-Trip | 77% | Covered | Covered | Covered | Covered | Not covered |
Leisure Guard Direct | Premier Plus | 76% | Covered | Covered | Covered | Covered | Covered |
Tesco Personal Finance | Premier | 75% | Covered | Covered | Covered | Not covered | Covered |
best buy | Standard - Single Trip | 75% | Covered | Covered | Covered | Covered | Not covered |
Tesco Personal Finance | Backpacker - Premier | 75% | Covered | Covered | Covered | Not covered | Covered |
best buy | Platinum | 74% | Covered | Covered | Covered | Not covered | Covered |
best buy | Signature | 74% | Covered | Covered | Not covered | Covered | Not covered |
Travel Insurance Saver | Backpacker Gold | 72% | Covered | Not covered | Covered | Covered | Covered |
Leisure Guard Flexi | Gold | 71% | Covered | Covered | Covered | Covered | Covered |
| Platinum | 71% | Covered | Not covered | Covered | Covered | Covered | |
Travel Insurance Saver | Gold | 71% | Covered | Not covered | Covered | Covered | Covered |
Leisure Guard Direct | Premier | 70% | Covered | Covered | Covered | Covered | Covered |
best buy | Platinum | 70% | Optional extra | Covered | Optional extra | Not covered | Not covered |
best buy | Platinum | 70% | Optional extra | Covered | Optional extra | Not covered | Not covered |
Tesco Personal Finance | Gold | 70% | Not covered | Covered | Covered | Not covered | Not covered |
Travel Insurance Saver | Gold (Aggregator) | 70% | Covered | Not covered | Covered | Covered | Covered |
best buy | Gold | 70% | Covered | Covered | Covered | Not covered | Covered |
best buy | Platinum | 70% | Optional extra | Covered | Optional extra | Optional extra | Optional extra |
Cedar Tree | Platinum | 70% | Optional extra | Covered | Optional extra | Not covered | Optional extra |
Insure & Escape | First | 69% | Optional extra | Covered | Optional extra | Not covered | Covered |
NatWest | Black Account Travel Insurance | 69% | Covered | Covered | Covered | Not covered | Not covered |
Halifax | Ultimate Reward Account Travel Insurance | 69% | Covered | Not covered | Covered | Not covered | Not covered |
Leisure Guard Flexi | Silver | 69% | Covered | Covered | Covered | Covered | Covered |
CoverForYou | Platinum | 69% | Optional extra | Covered | Optional extra | Not covered | Optional extra |
Axa | Gold | 69% | Covered | Not covered | Covered | Covered | Covered |
RBS | Black Account Travel Insurance | 68% | Covered | Covered | Covered | Not covered | Not covered |
best buy | Diamond | 68% | Optional extra | Covered | Optional extra | Optional extra | Optional extra |
Travel Insurance Saver | Silver | 68% | Covered | Not covered | Covered | Covered | Covered |
best buy | Comprehensive | 68% | Covered | Covered | Not covered | Optional extra | Not covered |
| Gold | 68% | Covered | Not covered | Covered | Covered | Covered | |
best buy | Platinum | 68% | Optional extra | Covered | Optional extra | Optional extra | Optional extra |
best buy | Gold | 68% | Covered | Covered | Covered | Covered | Not covered |
best buy | Gold Plus | 68% | Optional extra | Covered | Optional extra | Not covered | Not covered |
Tesco Personal Finance | Standard | 67% | Covered | Covered | Covered | Not covered | Covered |
NatWest | Silver Account Travel Insurance | 67% | Covered | Covered | Covered | Not covered | Not covered |
NatWest | Platinum Account Travel Insurance | 67% | Covered | Covered | Covered | Not covered | Not covered |
RBS | Silver Account Travel Insurance | 67% | Covered | Covered | Covered | Not covered | Not covered |
RBS | Platinum Account Travel Insurance | 67% | Covered | Covered | Covered | Not covered | Not covered |
best buy | Black | 67% | Optional extra | Covered | Optional extra | Not covered | Not covered |
Explorer | Level 5 | 67% | Covered | Not covered | Covered | Not covered | Not covered |
Travel Insurance Saver | Silver (Aggregator) | 67% | Covered | Not covered | Covered | Covered | Covered |
Outbacker | Platinum | 67% | Optional extra | Covered | Covered | Not covered | Covered |
Leisure Guard Direct | Standard | 67% | Covered | Covered | Covered | Covered | Covered |
| Essential - Single Trip | 66% | Covered | Covered | Covered | Covered | Not covered | |
best buy | Gold | 66% | Optional extra | Covered | Optional extra | Not covered | Not covered |
Travel Insurance Saver | Backpacker Silver | 66% | Covered | Not covered | Covered | Covered | Covered |
Just Travel Cover: Fit 4 Travel | Gold | 66% | Not covered | Covered | Covered | Not covered | Not covered |
Leisure Guard Flexi | Bronze | 66% | Covered | Covered | Covered | Covered | Covered |
Post Office | Premier | 66% | Optional extra | Covered | Optional extra | Optional extra | Not covered |
best buy | Gold | 66% | Optional extra | Covered | Optional extra | Optional extra | Covered |
Axa | Silver | 65% | Covered | Not covered | Covered | Covered | Covered |
CoverForYou | Gold | 65% | Optional extra | Covered | Optional extra | Not covered | Optional extra |
Cedar Tree | Gold | 65% | Optional extra | Covered | Optional extra | Not covered | Optional extra |
Great Cover | Platinum | 65% | Optional extra | Covered | Not covered | Not covered | Not covered |
best buy | Gold | 65% | Optional extra | Covered | Optional extra | Not covered | Not covered |
Free Spirit | Super Duper | 65% | Not covered | Not covered | Not covered | Not covered | Not covered |
Explorer | Level 4 | 65% | Covered | Not covered | Covered | Not covered | Not covered |
best buy | Gold | 65% | Optional extra | Covered | Optional extra | Not covered | Not covered |
Outbacker | Gold | 65% | Optional extra | Covered | Covered | Not covered | Covered |
best buy | Premier Plus | 65% | Optional extra | Covered | Optional extra | Optional extra | Optional extra |
Insure & Escape | Premium | 64% | Optional extra | Covered | Optional extra | Not covered | Covered |
best buy | Silver | 64% | Optional extra | Covered | Optional extra | Optional extra | Covered |
best buy | Silver | 64% | Covered | Covered | Covered | Not covered | Covered |
Tesco Personal Finance | Economy | 64% | Covered | Covered | Covered | Not covered | Covered |
best buy | Max | 64% | Optional extra | Not covered | Optional extra | Not covered | Not covered |
Just Travel Cover: Select | Gold | 64% | Covered | Covered | Covered | Covered | Not covered |
Tesco Personal Finance | Silver | 64% | Not covered | Covered | Covered | Not covered | Not covered |
TravelTime | Premier Plus | 64% | Covered | Not covered | Covered | Not covered | Not covered |
Just Travel Cover: Avion | Gold | 63% | Not covered | Covered | Covered | Not covered | Not covered |
Tesco Personal Finance | Backpacker - Economy | 63% | Covered | Covered | Covered | Not covered | Covered |
Alpha | Zero | 63% | Optional extra | Covered | Optional extra | Optional extra | Optional extra |
| Premier | 63% | Optional extra | Covered | Optional extra | Optional extra | Optional extra | |
| Silver | 63% | Covered | Covered | Covered | Covered | Not covered | |
Multitrip | Premier Plus | 63% | Optional extra | Covered | Not covered | Not covered | Not covered |
Axa | Bronze | 62% | Covered | Not covered | Covered | Covered | Covered |
| Silver | 62% | Optional extra | Covered | Optional extra | Not covered | Not covered | |
ATI (Annual Travel Insurance) | Super Plus | 62% | Optional extra | Covered | Not covered | Not covered | Not covered |
Post Office | Standard | 62% | Optional extra | Covered | Optional extra | Optional extra | Not covered |
Explorer | Level 3 | 62% | Covered | Not covered | Covered | Not covered | Not covered |
Travel Plus | Travel Plus | 62% | Not covered | Not covered | Not covered | Not covered | Not covered |
Just Travel Cover: Free 2 Travel | Gold | 62% | Not covered | Covered | Covered | Not covered | Not covered |
Travel Insurance Saver | Bronze | 62% | Covered | Not covered | Covered | Covered | Covered |
Alpha | Alpha 50 | 62% | Optional extra | Covered | Optional extra | Optional extra | Optional extra |
World First | Premier | 62% | Optional extra | Covered | Optional extra | Optional extra | Not covered |
CoverForYou | Silver | 61% | Optional extra | Covered | Optional extra | Not covered | Optional extra |
Insure & Escape | Economy | 61% | Optional extra | Covered | Optional extra | Not covered | Covered |
| Sapphire | 61% | Optional extra | Covered | Optional extra | Optional extra | Optional extra | |
World First | Standard | 61% | Optional extra | Covered | Optional extra | Optional extra | Not covered |
TravelTime | Premier | 61% | Covered | Not covered | Covered | Not covered | Not covered |
Travel Insurance Saver | Bronze (Aggregator) | 61% | Covered | Not covered | Covered | Covered | Covered |
Free Spirit | Super | 60% | Not covered | Not covered | Not covered | Not covered | Not covered |
| Gold | 60% | Optional extra | Covered | Optional extra | Optional extra | Optional extra | |
Outbacker | Silver | 60% | Optional extra | Covered | Covered | Not covered | Covered |
Alpha | Alpha 75 | 60% | Optional extra | Covered | Optional extra | Optional extra | Optional extra |
| Pro | 60% | Optional extra | Not covered | Optional extra | Not covered | Not covered | |
World First | Classic | 60% | Optional extra | Covered | Optional extra | Optional extra | Not covered |
Explorer | Level 2 | 60% | Covered | Not covered | Covered | Not covered | Not covered |
Alpha | Alpha 100 | 60% | Optional extra | Covered | Optional extra | Optional extra | Optional extra |
| Silver | 60% | Optional extra | Covered | Optional extra | Not covered | Not covered | |
Just Travel Cover: Select | Silver | 60% | Covered | Covered | Covered | Covered | Not covered |
World First | Backpacker Gold | 60% | Optional extra | Covered | Optional extra | Optional extra | Not covered |
Just Travel Cover: Free 2 Travel | Silver | 60% | Not covered | Covered | Covered | Not covered | Not covered |
Travel Insurance Saver | Backpacker Bronze | 60% | Covered | Not covered | Covered | Covered | Covered |
Just Travel Cover: Good2Go Extra | Gold | 59% | Not covered | Covered | Not covered | Not covered | Not covered |
Cedar Tree | Silver | 59% | Optional extra | Covered | Optional extra | Not covered | Optional extra |
Just Travel Cover: Fit 4 Travel | Silver | 59% | Not covered | Covered | Covered | Not covered | Not covered |
| Bronze | 59% | Covered | Covered | Covered | Covered | Not covered | |
| Bronze | 59% | Optional extra | Covered | Optional extra | Optional extra | Covered | |
Explorer | Level 1 | 59% | Covered | Not covered | Covered | Not covered | Not covered |
Tesco Personal Finance | Bronze | 59% | Not covered | Covered | Covered | Not covered | Not covered |
Alpha | Alpha 150 | 59% | Optional extra | Covered | Optional extra | Optional extra | Optional extra |
Elect | Platinum | 59% | Not covered | Not covered | Not covered | Not covered | Not covered |
ATI (Annual Travel Insurance) | Super | 59% | Optional extra | Covered | Not covered | Not covered | Not covered |
World First | Backpacker Silver | 59% | Optional extra | Covered | Optional extra | Optional extra | Not covered |
Lloyds Bank | Platinum Travel Insurance | 59% | Not covered | Not covered | Not covered | Not covered | Not covered |
Bank of Scotland | Platinum Travel Insurance | 59% | Not covered | Not covered | Not covered | Not covered | Not covered |
Just Travel Cover: Cover4Insurance | Gold | 58% | Not covered | Covered | Covered | Not covered | Not covered |
| Emerald | 58% | Optional extra | Covered | Optional extra | Optional extra | Optional extra | |
| Backpackers Max | 58% | Optional extra | Not covered | Optional extra | Not covered | Not covered | |
| Backpackers Core | 58% | Optional extra | Not covered | Optional extra | Not covered | Not covered | |
Travel Insurance 4 Medical | Superior | 58% | Optional extra | Covered | Optional extra | Not covered | Not covered |
| Standard | 58% | Optional extra | Covered | Optional extra | Optional extra | Optional extra | |
Just Travel Cover: Avion | Silver | 58% | Not covered | Covered | Covered | Not covered | Not covered |
TravelTime | Economy | 58% | Covered | Not covered | Covered | Not covered | Not covered |
| Silver | 58% | Optional extra | Covered | Optional extra | Optional extra | Optional extra | |
Lloyds Bank | Silver Travel Insurance | 57% | Not covered | Not covered | Not covered | Not covered | Not covered |
Bank of Scotland | Silver Travel Insurance | 57% | Not covered | Not covered | Not covered | Not covered | Not covered |
Travel Insurance 4 Medical | Standard | 57% | Optional extra | Covered | Optional extra | Not covered | Not covered |
Multitrip | Premier | 57% | Optional extra | Covered | Not covered | Not covered | Not covered |
World First | Economy | 56% | Optional extra | Covered | Optional extra | Optional extra | Not covered |
| Admiral | 56% | Covered | Not covered | Not covered | Covered | Covered | |
Just Travel Cover: Cover4Insurance | Silver | 56% | Not covered | Covered | Covered | Not covered | Not covered |
Travel Insurance 4 Medical | Backpacker Extra | 56% | Optional extra | Covered | Optional extra | Not covered | Not covered |
Just Travel Cover: Free 2 Travel | Bronze | 56% | Not covered | Covered | Covered | Not covered | Not covered |
Just Travel Cover: Fit 4 Travel | Bronze | 56% | Not covered | Covered | Covered | Not covered | Not covered |
World First | Backpacker Bronze | 56% | Optional extra | Covered | Optional extra | Optional extra | Not covered |
| Core | 55% | Optional extra | Not covered | Optional extra | Not covered | Not covered | |
Elect | Gold | 55% | Not covered | Not covered | Not covered | Not covered | Not covered |
Travel Insurance 4 Medical | Backpacker | 55% | Optional extra | Covered | Optional extra | Not covered | Not covered |
| Bronze | 54% | Optional extra | Covered | Optional extra | Not covered | Not covered | |
| Basic | 54% | Covered | Covered | Not covered | Optional extra | Not covered | |
Just Travel Cover: Good2Go Extra | Silver | 54% | Not covered | Covered | Not covered | Not covered | Not covered |
Just Travel Cover: Avion | Bronze | 54% | Not covered | Covered | Covered | Not covered | Not covered |
ATI (Annual Travel Insurance) | Economy | 54% | Optional extra | Covered | Not covered | Not covered | Not covered |
Great Cover | Gold | 54% | Optional extra | Covered | Not covered | Not covered | Not covered |
| Budget | 53% | Optional extra | Covered | Optional extra | Not covered | Not covered | |
Just Travel Cover: Cover4Insurance | Bronze | 53% | Not covered | Covered | Covered | Not covered | Not covered |
Travel Insurance 4 Medical | Economy Extra | 53% | Optional extra | Covered | Optional extra | Not covered | Not covered |
Free Spirit | Standard | 52% | Not covered | Not covered | Not covered | Not covered | Not covered |
Post Office | Economy | 52% | Optional extra | Not covered | Optional extra | Optional extra | Not covered |
Multitrip | Essential | 52% | Optional extra | Covered | Not covered | Not covered | Not covered |
Elect | Silver | 52% | Not covered | Not covered | Not covered | Not covered | Not covered |
TopDog | Sable | 52% | Not covered | Not covered | Not covered | Not covered | Not covered |
Travel Insurance 4 Medical | Backpacker Lite | 51% | Optional extra | Covered | Optional extra | Not covered | Not covered |
TopDog | Brindle | 49% | Not covered | Not covered | Not covered | Not covered | Not covered |
TopDog | Merle | 45% | Not covered | Not covered | Not covered | Not covered | Not covered |
Just Travel Cover: Select | Bronze | 26% | Not covered | Not covered | Not covered | Not covered | Not covered |
Just Travel Cover: Good2Go Extra | Bronze | 21% | Not covered | Not covered | Not covered | Not covered | Not covered |
Table last updated in May 2026. Next update in May 2027. Average policy score for 163 policies reviewed is 62%. This information is accurate at the time of the research. However, we recommend checking policies before buying.
best buy
Barclays
Barclays' travel pack cover earned some of its impressive score when it came to unexpected disruptive events. FCDO warnings due to natural disasters, outbreak of infectious disease and pandemics are covered, alongside terrorism and volcanic ash clouds.
79%
3
out of 163 policies rated
best buy
Nationwide
Nationwide's FlexPlus cover, part of its packaged bank account, includes robust cover for unexpected events. This includes the bankruptcy of your airline or holiday company, and FCDO warnings from causes including anti-tourism protests and infectious disease.
79%
3
out of 163 policies rated
Admiral
Although not a Best Buy (because of its complaints record), Admiral's policies stood out in our analysis of unexpected events cover.
It's one of a handful of policies that doesn't exclude war, provided the customer isn't actively involved.
It also allows cancellation claims in the event of terrorism, civil unrest, natural disaster, infectious disease and anti-tourism protests.
71%
Policies
- Platinum71%
- Gold68%
- Admiral56%
14
out of 163 travel insurance policies rated
FCDO warnings
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), formerly the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, is the government department responsible for the UK's international relationships with countries around the world.
One of the services it provides for UK travellers is advice on the entry requirements, travel warnings, and safety and security for hundreds of foreign destinations.
Sometimes, the FCDO issues advice against travelling to certain countries or regions, either entirely or for all but essential reasons.
You can choose to ignore this advice and go anyway – but most travel insurance policies won't cover you if you do.
There are exceptions: some may still cover your trip, but not for claims related to the reason the advice was given. So, for example, if the FCDO advised against travelling to an area because of an outbreak of infectious disease, some policies may cover you to travel there, but you wouldn't be able to claim for treatment if you contracted the disease.
Cancelling your trip because of FCDO advice
Most of us would probably consider an FCDO warning to be a compelling reason to change our travel plans. Fortunately, most package-holiday tour operators will give you the opportunity to claim a refund or rebook if this happens (although some online travel agents won't).
We found that most travel insurance policies allow you to make a cancellation claim if the FCDO advises against your trip after you've booked or insured it. However, cover is never all-encompassing.
Most policies provide cover for this under some scenarios (for example, if the cause is a natural disaster), but will often exclude other causes – such as terrorism, war or pandemic.
What unexpected events do insurers cover?
In some of the cases below (particularly with natural disasters, civil unrest, war, terrorism or pandemic), cover may only apply if an FCDO warning has been issued.
Holiday failure
This is whether the policy can pay out if you lose money because a holiday firm, such as a hotel or tour operator, went bankrupt. A quarter of policies we rated provide this cover.
You may have other protection – see our guide to your rights if a holiday goes wrong.
Airline failure
Also sometimes referred to as Safi (scheduled airline failure insurance), this cover protects you if you've booked a flight with an airline that goes bust before you fly. However, this cover is rare – it's only available in less than 10% of policies we checked.
These were from All Clear, Aviva, Bank of Scotland, Barclays Bank, Covered2Go, Halifax, Lloyds Bank and Nationwide Building Society.
Strike cover
Strike cover provides protection if your flight and holiday were delayed or cancelled due to industrial action. Fortunately, seven in 10 policies we examined contain this cover, although it's worth double-checking the policy wording to be sure yours does.
Volcanic ash
In 2010, plumes of ash from the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland disrupted flights across much of Europe. It was an unusual event, and resulted in thousands of travellers having flight plans disrupted.
The Financial Ombudsman Service adjudicated that the volcanic ash-related disruption was a result of 'poor weather conditions', meaning many travel insurance policyholders got redress.
As a result, many insurers have added a provision to their policies that covers disruption caused by volcanic ash. In our last analysis, eight in 10 policies offered cover for this.
Terrorism
Policies may allow you to make a claim to cancel if your destination has been affected.
However, this might depend on whether or not the FCDO issued a warning against travel to the region after you booked the trip.
Only four in 10 policies we reviewed cover terrorism in this scenario.
Civil unrest
Some insurers cover this eventuality, making it worth considering if you're travelling to a potential hotspot. Among the 160 policies we checked, the percentage was 37%.
War
War was excluded from all but 13% of policies we checked. Some provide it as part of optional 'disruption' cover.
Pandemic
Pandemics are excluded quite widely among policies we've examined, though some cover pandemics but exclude Covid-19 or outbreaks of similar respiratory illness.
Natural disaster
'Natural catastrophes' – such as fires, floods, hurricanes or earthquakes – were covered in most policies we assessed (although not always as standard).
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Do I need unexpected-events cover?
You don't necessarily need to be fully protected by your insurance against certain events to have some peace of mind.
If you've booked with a package-holiday firm, for example, you will benefit from Atol protection if it goes bust, and it will also have to refund you if it cancels your holiday because of a major disruptive event.
If you've paid for your bookings using a credit card, you'll be able to claim with the card provider if the holiday firm hasn't been able to provide the service you've paid for or refund you.
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