Travel insurance glossary

Policy wordings use terms that mean something more specific than they do in everyday speech. These are the 40 you are most likely to meet, in plain English. A policy's own definition always takes priority over ours, so check its definitions section as well.

Accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D): A fixed sum paid if an accident during the trip causes death or the loss of a limb or sight. It is not medical cover, and it does not pay your hospital bills.
Actively at work: A condition found in some policies, especially for cancellation triggered by job loss. You must have been working at the required hours when cover began, so check it if you are between jobs.
Adventure sports rider: An add-on that extends cover to activities a base policy excludes, such as scuba diving beyond a set depth or high-altitude trekking.
Annual multi-trip policy: One policy covering every trip you take in a year, subject to a maximum length per trip. It can be cheaper than buying single-trip cover several times.
Assistance company: The 24-hour team that works for your insurer. It finds hospitals, guarantees payment where it can and arranges evacuations. Call it early in any serious emergency.
Baggage delay: Pays for essentials such as clothes and toiletries when your bags arrive late. A delay threshold applies, often measured in hours, and you normally need receipts.
Beneficiary: The person who receives a payout if the insured person dies, for example under an AD&D benefit.
Benefit limit: The most a policy will pay for a particular type of claim. It can apply per person, per trip or per item, so read which.
Cancel for any reason (CFAR): An optional upgrade letting you cancel for reasons not listed in the policy and recover part of your costs, commonly up to 50% to 75%. Strict buying and cancellation deadlines apply.
Certificate of insurance: A document proving your cover, its dates and its limits. Visa offices and some border officials may ask to see one.
Claim: Your formal request for the insurer to pay under the policy. It usually needs a form, proof of the event and proof of your loss.
Coinsurance: The percentage of a bill you still pay after the deductible. On an 80/20 plan the insurer pays 80% and you pay 20%, often up to a stated cap.
Comprehensive plan: A package that combines trip protection, such as cancellation and baggage, with medical and evacuation benefits. Exact contents differ by insurer.
Covered reason: An event a policy specifically lists as a valid reason for a claim. If your reason is not listed, a standard cancellation claim will normally fail.
Declaration: Medical or other information you give the insurer when you buy. Getting it wrong, even by accident, can put a later claim at risk.
Deductible: The first part of a claim you pay yourself. It is called an excess in the UK, Australia and many other markets.
Direct billing: When the hospital bills your insurer directly so you do not pay up front. It is not guaranteed, so ask the assistance company to arrange it.
Evacuation: Emergency transport to the nearest hospital able to treat you. Medical need, rather than preference, usually decides whether and where you are moved.
Excess: The term used in many countries for a deductible: the part of each claim you pay yourself.
Exclusion: Something the policy will not pay for, even if it would otherwise look covered. Common examples are undeclared conditions and alcohol-related incidents.
Foreseeable event: Something you knew about or could reasonably have expected when you bought cover, such as a named storm. Claims tied to known events are often refused.
Free look period: A short window after buying when you can cancel for a full refund, provided you have not traveled or claimed. Its length varies by policy and location.
Look-back period: The period before your policy starts that an insurer examines for signs of a pre-existing condition, often 60 to 180 days.
Medical repatriation: Getting you home for treatment or recovery once you are stable enough to travel. It is different from evacuation to a nearby hospital.
Non-refundable cost: Money you cannot recover from the airline, hotel or tour operator. It is what trip cancellation cover is designed to protect.
Pre-existing condition: A health issue that existed before cover began. The exact definition varies between policies and can include symptoms that were never diagnosed.
Pre-existing condition waiver: A US-market term for a benefit that removes the pre-existing condition exclusion if you meet conditions, usually including buying soon after your first trip payment.
Premium: The price you pay for the policy.
Primary coverage: Cover that pays first, without you having to claim from another insurer beforehand.
Reasonable and customary: A limit on medical payouts to what is normally charged for that treatment in that area. Bills above that level may not be reimbursed in full.
Reimbursement: Being paid back after you have spent the money. Many travel benefits work this way, so you may need funds available during the emergency.
Repatriation of remains: Paying to return a person's body home if they die abroad. Schengen visa rules specifically require cover for this.
Secondary coverage: Cover that pays only after other insurance has paid, such as your health plan or a credit card benefit.
Single-trip policy: Cover for one journey with fixed dates, usually from your departure until you return home.
Sub-limit: A smaller cap inside a larger benefit. A baggage benefit of $2,000 might only pay $500 for any single item, for example.
Travel medical insurance: Cover focused on emergency medical costs abroad. It usually has little or no protection for your trip costs.
Trip cancellation: Reimburses prepaid, non-refundable costs when a covered reason stops you from leaving.
Trip delay: Pays for meals and accommodation when a covered delay holds you up beyond a set number of hours.
Trip interruption: Pays for the unused part of a trip and often the extra cost of getting home when a covered reason cuts it short.
Underwriter: The company that actually carries the risk and pays claims. It can differ from the brand on the website, so check who it is.