Does my travel insurance cover trip cancellation?

The short answer

A standard travel insurance policy in the Netherlands usually doesn't cover cancellation costs - you need separate cancellation cover (annuleringsdekking) for this. This cover only applies to specific causes such as sudden illness, death of family members, unemployment, or serious damage to your home. You can often add cancellation cover to your travel insurance or purchase it as a standalone policy. The costs are usually 4-8% of your trip value, depending on the coverage and insurer.

What does Dutch law say?

Cancellation insurance policies in the Netherlands fall under the Financial Supervision Act (Wet op het financieel toezicht - Wft) and must comply with certain rules for transparency and information provision. Insurers are required to clearly state what is and isn't covered, and may only refuse claims for excluded causes. As a consumer, you have the right to a 14-day cooling-off period after taking out the insurance. For disputes, you can contact Kifid (Financial Services Complaints Institute).

What should you watch out for?

Pay close attention to which cancellation reasons are and aren't covered, as this varies between insurers. Often stress, fear of flying, or simply changing your mind are excluded from coverage. Timing is also important: you usually need to take out cancellation insurance within a few days of booking your trip.

Example from practice

Sarah books a summer holiday to Greece in January for €2,500 and immediately takes out cancellation insurance for €150. In May, she suddenly becomes seriously ill and must cancel her trip. Because sudden illness is a covered reason and she can provide all medical documents, her insurer compensates the full travel costs minus €50 excess. Without cancellation cover, Sarah would have had to pay the full €2,500 herself.

What can you do?

Take these steps to be well prepared for possible cancellation of your trip.