Best ‘cancel for any reason’ travel insurance of 2023
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BLUEPRINT
Updated 9:02 a.m. UTC Nov. 13, 2023
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Seven Corners has the best “cancel for any reason” travel insurance, based on our analysis of rates and coverage options.
The best “cancel for any reason” travel insurance companies of 2023
Why trust our travel insurance experts
Our team of experts evaluates hundreds of insurance products and analyzes thousands of data points to help you find the best product for your situation. We use a data-driven methodology to determine each rating. Advertisers do not influence our editorial content. You can read more about our methodology below.
- 2,332 coverage details evaluated
- 385 rates reviewed
- 5 levels of fact checking
Top-rated “cancel for any reason” (CFAR) travel insurance companies
Seven Corners
Travel Insured
Trawick International
WorldTrips
Compare the best “cancel for any reason” travel insurance plans of 2023
| Company | Best CFAR plan | Reimbursement amount | Our rating | LEARN MORE | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seven Corners | RoundTrip Basic | 75% | 5 stars | Compare Rates | Via Squaremouth's website | |
| Travel Insured | Worldwide Trip Protector | 75% | 4 stars | Compare Rates | Via Squaremouth's website | |
| Trawick International | Safe Travels First Class | 75% | 4 stars | Compare Rates | Via Squaremouth's website | |
| WorldTrips | Atlas Journey Preferred | 50% or 75% | 4 stars | Compare Rates | Via Squaremouth's website | |
| Cat 70 | Travel Plan | 75% | 3.5 stars | Compare Rates | Via Squaremouth's website | |
| John Hancock | Silver | 75% | 3.5 stars | Compare Rates | Via Squaremouth's website | |
| Nationwide | Cruise Luxury | 75% | 3.5 stars | Compare Rates | Via Squaremouth's website | |
| Tin Leg | Gold | 75% | 3.5 stars | Compare Rates | Via Squaremouth's website | |
| USI Affinity | Ruby | 75% | 3.5 stars | Compare Rates | Via Squaremouth's website | |
| Travelex | Travel Select | 50% | 3 stars | Compare Rates | Via Squaremouth's website | |
| HTH Travel Insurance | TripProtector Preferred | 75% | 1.5 stars | Compare Rates | Via Squaremouth's website | |
| IMG | iTravelInsured Travel LX | 75% | 1.5 stars | Compare Rates | Via Squaremouth's website | |
| TravelSafe | Classic | 75% | 1.5 stars | Compare Rates | Via Squaremouth's website | |
| AXA Assistance USA | Platinum | 75% | 1 star | Compare Rates | Via Squaremouth's website | |
| Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection | LuxuryCare | 50% | 1 star | Compare Rates | Via Squaremouth's website |
Methodology
Our insurance experts analyzed data from the travel insurance comparison website Squaremouth to find the best travel insurance plans with “cancel for any reason” (CFAR) coverage. For this rating, we only scored travel insurance plans that offer a CFAR upgrade.
The benefits we scored out of a possible 100 points include:
Cost: 80 points. We scored the average cost for each CFAR travel insurance policy for a variety of trips and traveler profiles:
- Couple, age 30, for an 8-day trip to Mexico costing $3,000.
- Couple, age 40, for a 17-day trip to Italy costing $6,000.
- Couple, age 65, for a 17-day trip to Italy costing $6,000.
- Couple, age 70, for an 8-day trip to Mexico costing $3,000.
Family of four for a 17-day trip to Italy costing $15,000.
CFAR reimbursement level of trip cost: 10 points. Policies providing 75% reimbursement were awarded full points.
Plans offering an IFAR upgrade: 10 points. Travel insurance plans that offer an optional “interruption for any reason” upgrade received full points.
Why some companies didn’t make the cut
Travel insurance plans that do not offer a “cancel for any reason” upgrade were not considered. Of the 21 plans we scored, those with an above-average cost for CFAR travel insurance did not make the cut
What is "cancel for any reason" (CFAR) insurance?
“Cancel for any reason” (CFAR) coverage picks up where basic trip cancellation benefits included with travel insurance leave off.
It typically reimburses you for up to 75% of your nonrefundable travel costs when you decide to cancel your trip for a reason not listed in your policy.
“While travel insurance will cover a wide array of travel situations, it won’t cover everything,” said Stan Sandberg, cofounder of TravelInsurance.com.
“For trip cancellation coverage, travel insurance plans will only cover you for very specific covered reasons listed in a plan’s description of coverage. If an event is not listed as a covered reason, it won’t be covered unless the consumer opts for a ‘cancel for any reason’ policy,” Sandberg added.
How does "cancel for any reason" coverage work?
“‘Cancel for any reason’ is typically sold as an upgrade to a regular travel insurance plan,” Sandberg said.
Depending on the insurance company, you’ll typically need to buy CFAR travel insurance within one to three weeks of making your first trip payment. You’re also usually required to insure the full value of your nonrefundable trip expenses.
How much does CFAR coverage typically cost?
Travel insurance with “cancel for any reason” coverage costs an average of $611 per trip, according to our analysis of travel insurance plans with a CFAR upgrade.
CFAR coverage can increase the cost of your base travel insurance plan anywhere from 40% to 100%, depending on the company and the policy.
Average cost for travel insurance with "cancel for any reason" (CFAR) coverage
| Company | Top-scoring plan | Average cost of travel insurance with CFAR coverage | LEARN MORE | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seven Corners | RoundTrip Basic | $397 | Compare Rates | Via Squaremouth's website | ||||||
| WorldTrips | Atlas Journey Preferred | $466 | Compare Rates | Via Squaremouth's website | ||||||
| Trawick International | Safe Travels First Class | $500 | Compare Rates | Via Squaremouth's website | ||||||
| John Hancock | Silver | $520 | Compare Rates | Via Squaremouth's website | ||||||
| Travelex | Travel Select | $532 | Compare Rates | Via Squaremouth's website | ||||||
| Travel Insured | Worldwide Trip Protector | $533 | Compare Rates | Via Squaremouth's website | ||||||
| Cat 70 | Travel Plan | $541 | Compare Rates | Via Squaremouth's website | ||||||
| Tin Leg | Gold | $541 | Compare Rates | Via Squaremouth's website | ||||||
| USI Affinity | Ruby | $549 | Compare Rates | Via Squaremouth's website | ||||||
| Nationwide | Cruise Luxury | $591 | Compare Rates | Via Squaremouth's website | ||||||
| HTH Travel Insurance | TripProtector Preferred | $707 | Compare Rates | Via Squaremouth's website | ||||||
| TravelSafe | Classic | $717 | Compare Rates | Via Squaremouth's website | ||||||
| AXA Assistance USA | Platinum | $808 | Compare Rates | Via Squaremouth's website | ||||||
| IMG | iTravelInsured Travel LX | $828 | Compare Rates | Via Squaremouth's website | ||||||
| Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection | LuxuryCare | $942 | Compare Rates | Via Squaremouth's website | ||||||
| Average cost is based on travel insurance quotes for five international trips taken by travelers of various ages. Plans have diffaerent levels of benefits, which can account for price differences. Source: Squaremouth. | ||||||||||
Do you need “cancel for any reason” insurance?
If you want the flexibility to be able to cancel your trip for a reason the travel insurance plan doesn’t cover, you may want to spend the extra money to add CFAR coverage to your policy.
What to know about CFAR insurance
With “cancel for any reason” travel insurance, you typically need to cancel your trip at least 48 hours before your scheduled departure time.
“To take advantage of the CFAR benefit, travelers must cancel their trip in its entirety two to three days before their departure to receive reimbursement,” said James Clark, a spokesperson for Squaremouth, the company behind Cat 70 and Tin Leg travel insurance.
In other words, if you get nervous about your trip and want to cancel the morning your plane departs, it’s too late to use your CFAR coverage.
What is “interruption for any reason” (IFAR) coverage?
Similar to CFAR travel insurance, an IFAR upgrade can reimburse up to 75% of your nonrefundable trip costs if you change your itinerary after departing for a reason your base policy doesn’t cover.
Also similar to CFAR coverage, IFAR coverage is optional and costs extra. Not all travel insurance companies offer it.
If you get sick with COVID-19 before or during your trip, many travel insurance plans will cover losses due to your illness, such as having to cancel or reschedule your trip, provided you are diagnosed by a doctor or a third-party testing service.
However, even with a comprehensive travel insurance policy, the base plan will not cover things like deciding you don’t want to travel because you’re worried about catching COVID. Purchasing optional CFAR coverage would allow you to cancel your trip for these reasons.
You’re unlikely to get “cancel for any reason” coverage through your credit card. If you charge a covered trip to your credit card, you may get some travel insurance benefits.
For example, some credit cards provide trip cancellation and interruption coverage, baggage delay insurance, lost luggage reimbursement, travel, and emergency assistance services, and trip delay reimbursement.
No, CFAR travel insurance will not give you a full refund if you cancel your trip. Most policies that offer an optional CFAR upgrade will refund 50% or 75% of your covered trip expenses, as long as you cancel within the required timeframe. You typically need to cancel at least 48 hours before you are scheduled to travel in order to file a CFAR claim.
Blueprint is an independent publisher and comparison service, not an investment advisor. The information provided is for educational purposes only and we encourage you to seek personalized advice from qualified professionals regarding specific financial decisions. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
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