Travel insurance is sold on what it covers and declined on what it excludes. The exclusions are not hidden — they are in the policy wording, in a section most buyers never open — and they cluster into a small number of recurring categories.
1. Known events
This is the largest single trap and it is the one that ruins hurricane-season claims. A policy covers unforeseen events. The moment a storm is named, or a strike is announced, or a volcano begins erupting, it stops being unforeseen — and cover for it typically ends for policies bought after that point.
The rule: buy the policy when you book the trip, not when you pack for it. The cover you are paying for is largely cover against things that have not happened yet, and every week you delay is a week of events that can be declared known.
2. Undeclared pre-existing conditions
The second most common declined claim, and the most expensive when it happens. Insurers require declaration of existing medical conditions, and the definition is broader than most people assume: it usually includes anything investigated, medicated or monitored in a stated look-back window, even if it turned out to be nothing.
Two failure modes. Not declaring, which can void the medical section of the policy entirely — including for something unrelated. And declaring to the comparison site but not to the underwriter, which is not the same act.
The point that costs the most money. A voided medical section does not merely mean paying your own hospital bill. Medical repatriation from a ship or a remote destination runs into five and occasionally six figures, and is the single largest financial risk in travel. It is the reason to have the policy at all.
3. Alcohol
Most policies exclude claims arising while under the influence, and the threshold is often lower and vaguer than a legal driving limit — some wordings simply say the insurer may decline if alcohol was a contributing factor.
On a cruise, where a drinks package makes consumption continuous and the ship has stairs and wet decks, this exclusion does more work than anywhere else.
4. Unattended possessions
"Unattended" is defined more harshly than in ordinary speech. A bag beside your sun lounger while you swim is unattended. A camera on a café table while you visit the toilet is unattended. Luggage left in a car, even a locked boot, is excluded outright by many policies.
Also standard: single-item limits that are far below the value of a camera or laptop, and a requirement to report theft to police within 24 hours and obtain a written report. No report, no claim — and in some countries obtaining one takes half a day.
5. The cruise-specific gaps
- Missed departure. Standard policies cover missed flights generously and missed ships poorly. A cruise-specific policy or extension covers the cost of catching up with the ship at the next port, which is the actual risk.
- Itinerary change. If the line swaps a port for weather or operational reasons, that is almost never covered. It is the line's contractual right and you agreed to it.
- Medical on board. The ship's doctor is a private practice, bills accordingly, and expects payment at the time. Your insurer reimburses later, if at all.
- Evacuation. Getting a patient off a ship at sea is the largest bill in travel medicine. Check the cover limit explicitly, and check it is a limit and not a 'reasonable costs' formula.
6. The activity list
Every policy has a schedule of covered activities. The exclusions are not only extreme sports: scooter and moped hire is excluded by many policies unless you hold the correct licence category — which catches enormous numbers of people on Greek and Italian islands, where hiring a scooter is the normal way to get around.
Others commonly excluded or requiring an upgrade: quad bikes, horse riding, scuba beyond a shallow depth, and any trekking above a stated altitude.
How to check a policy in ten minutes
- Open the wording — the full document, not the summary — and search for "exclusions", "pre-existing" and "unattended". Read those three sections only.
- Find the medical repatriation limit. If it is not a clear number, look for a better policy.
- Find the single-item limit and compare it to the most valuable thing you are packing.
- Check whether missed departure covers reaching the ship at the next port, if you are cruising.
- Check the activity schedule against what you actually intend to do, scooters included.
The short version
- Buy when you book. Cover for a named storm ends the moment it is named.
- Declare everything medical, to the underwriter, in writing. A voided medical section is the worst outcome in travel.
- Unattended means beside you but unwatched. Police report within 24 hours or no theft claim.
- Cruise cover is different cover: missed departure, evacuation limits, and the ship's doctor billing privately.
- Check the activity list for scooters before you hire one.
This is a guide to what to look for, not advice on a particular policy. Wordings differ between insurers and between countries; read your own.