Cancelling a trip for illness or a family member's sickness or death

Who counts as a family member?

Each plan lists the relationships. Across our plans the list includes your spouse or domestic partner, children, parents, siblings, grandparents, grandchildren, in-laws, step-relatives, aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews.

• Cousins are not listed in any of the definitions.
• Trawick's definition refers to relatives who reside in the United States, Canada or Mexico. If your relative lives elsewhere, ask a licensed agent before relying on a Trawick plan for that situation.
• Go Ready Choice: also lists ex-spouses, fiances, caregivers, guardians, foster children and wards, and its definition has no residence condition.

What if a family member who isn't traveling gets sick or dies?

Sickness, injury or death of a family member is a listed trip cancellation reason on our plans, even when that person is not traveling with you, if the plan's conditions are met.

• The plan document defines who counts as a family member. Trawick's definition refers to relatives who reside in the United States, Canada or Mexico, so ask a licensed agent first if your relative lives elsewhere.
• If the family member's condition existed before you bought the plan, the pre-existing condition rules can apply, so buying within the time-sensitive period matters.
• Go Ready Choice: the non-traveling family member's sickness or injury must be life-threatening or severe enough to require your care. Its pre-existing condition definition covers only family members booked to travel with you.
• The insurance company will ask for medical documentation and decides each claim.

If one of us gets sick, can the whole family cancel?

It can be. Sickness, injury or death of a family member or traveling companion is a listed cancellation reason on our plans, if the plan's conditions are met.

• The sickness must not be excluded, for example as a pre-existing condition.
• A physician must examine the person before you cancel and certify the medical restriction.
• Each traveler who cancels must be insured.

Only the insurance company decides a claim.

What if there is a death in the family before the trip?

The death of a family member, as defined in the plan, is a listed reason to cancel or interrupt a trip on all of our plans, including a family member who was not traveling with you.

• Trawick's definition refers to relatives who reside in the United States, Canada or Mexico, so ask a licensed agent first if your relative lived elsewhere.
• The insurance company will ask for a copy of the death certificate.

Tell the airline or program you are cancelling as soon as you can.

Do I need a doctor's note to cancel for illness?

Yes. For a medical cancellation, a physician must examine or treat the person and certify that the condition prevents travel. See the doctor before you cancel.

• WorldTrips requires the physician's certification before cancellation.
• Trawick requires the physician's advice to cancel on or before the scheduled departure date.
• Only Travel Insured Deluxe and Platinum allow for cases where seeing a physician first is not reasonably possible.
• Go Ready Choice: the sickness or injury must require examination or treatment by a physician, who must state in writing that it prevents the trip.

The insurance company's claim form includes a section for the attending physician to complete.

My parent lives outside the United States. Does their illness or death count as a covered reason to cancel?

It depends on the plan, because the plans define "Family Member" differently.

• Trawick Pathway: the definition covers relatives who reside in the United States, Canada or Mexico. A parent who lives elsewhere does not meet it, so their illness or death would not be a Family Member reason on that plan.
• Travel Insured, WorldTrips and Go Ready Choice: the definitions list the relationships and do not add a residence condition.

Even where the relative qualifies, the usual conditions still apply, such as a physician's certification, the pre-existing condition rules and the plan's cancellation deadlines. Please ask a licensed agent about your situation before you buy: info@travallamains.com.

A relative who lives abroad has an existing condition that suddenly gets worse and needs hospitalization. Would cancelling be covered?

Two questions decide it: is the relative a Family Member under your plan, and does the plan's pre-existing condition exclusion apply.

1. Family Member: on Trawick the relative must reside in the United States, Canada or Mexico. The other plans do not add a residence condition.

2. Pre-existing condition: a condition that showed symptoms, was tested or treated, or was on a prescription in the look-back period before your coverage began is excluded unless you qualify for the plan's waiver. The plans word this differently, including whose conditions count, so the plan document matters here.

The waiver removes the exclusion; it does not make someone a Family Member. A physician must also certify that the condition prevents the trip, and only the insurance company decides a claim. Email info@travallamains.com and a licensed agent will compare the plans for your situation.

Are step-parents, in-laws and adopted or foster relatives counted as family?

Yes, on all of our plans the definitions include these relationships.

• Travel Insured and Trawick list step-parents and parents-in-law, and Travel Insured also lists step-children, siblings-in-law and children-in-law.
• WorldTrips says its list includes adoptive, foster, step and in-law relationships.
• On Trawick the relative must also reside in the United States, Canada or Mexico.

The relationship is only one condition. The reason for cancelling, such as a covered sickness, injury or death, must also meet the plan's terms.

Do grandparents, grandchildren and great-grandparents count as family?

Grandparents and grandchildren are listed on Travel Insured, Trawick and WorldTrips plans. WorldTrips also lists great-grandparents and great-grandchildren.

Trawick limits the definition to relatives who reside in the United States, Canada or Mexico. Please check the plan document for the plan you choose, and ask a licensed agent if your situation is unusual: info@travallamains.com.

Do aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews count as family?

Yes on Trawick, WorldTrips and Travel Insured's New York plan: aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews are listed. Trawick's definition applies to relatives who reside in the United States, Canada or Mexico.

Each plan has its own list, so check the Family Member definition in your plan document before you buy. Cousins are not listed in any of our plans' definitions.

Are cousins, close friends or business partners covered reasons to cancel?

Cousins and friends are not in the Family Member definition of any of our plans.

• Trawick's definition includes a Business Partner. WorldTrips includes Caregiver and Child Caregiver, and Go Ready Choice lists caregivers and fiances.
• If your reason is not a listed covered reason, an optional Cancel for Any Reason upgrade (where your state allows it) can reimburse part of your prepaid cost, but it has its own deadlines and conditions.

Please ask a licensed agent about your situation: info@travallamains.com.

My relative lives in Canada or Mexico. Does Trawick count them as family?

Yes. Trawick's Family Member definition covers listed relatives who reside in the United States, Canada or Mexico, so a parent or sibling who lives in Canada or Mexico meets the residence condition.

A relative who lives anywhere else does not. The sickness, injury or death must still be a covered reason under the plan, and a physician must certify it where required.

Does it matter where my relative lives on Travel Insured, WorldTrips or Go Ready plans?

Their Family Member definitions list the relationships and do not state a residence condition, unlike Trawick. A relative's country of residence is therefore not what decides eligibility on those plans.

The relative's condition must still be a covered reason, a physician must certify it, and the plan's pre-existing condition rules apply. Always confirm in your plan document: info@travallamains.com.

Does a relative of my traveling companion count as family?

On Travel Insured, Trawick and WorldTrips, the Family Member definition covers the relatives of you or your traveling companion. So a covered sickness, injury or death of your companion's close relative can be a covered reason.

Go Ready Choice defines a traveling companion as a person traveling with you whose name is on the same trip booking, so check its plan document. Each traveler who cancels must be insured.

Does my relative need to be insured or traveling with me for their illness to be a covered reason?

No. The sick, injured or deceased relative does not have to be insured or traveling. Sickness, injury or death of a Family Member is a listed reason to cancel on our plans, if the plan's conditions are met.

• The travelers who cancel must be insured.
• Go Ready Choice: a non-traveling relative's sickness or injury must be life-threatening or severe enough to require your care.
• A physician must certify the condition where the plan requires it.

If a relative abroad gets seriously ill while I am already on my trip, is that covered?

Trip interruption can reimburse unused prepaid costs and additional transportation to return home if you must cut your trip short for a covered reason, and sickness, injury or death of a Family Member is a listed reason on our plans.

The same Family Member definition applies, so on Trawick the relative must reside in the United States, Canada or Mexico. Contact the plan's 24/7 assistance line and report the claim promptly. Only the insurance company decides a claim.

Does a relative's illness have to be serious for me to cancel?

Generally the sickness or injury must be unforeseen and a physician must say it prevents the trip. Go Ready Choice is stricter for a family member who is not traveling: the sickness or injury must be life-threatening or severe enough to require your care.

A minor illness that does not prevent the trip is not enough. See Trip Cancellation in your plan document, and ask a licensed agent about a specific situation: info@travallamains.com.

My relative lives where a plan's family definition does not reach. What can I do to be protected?

Choose a plan whose definition fits your family before you buy.

• Plans that do not state a residence condition (Travel Insured, WorldTrips and Go Ready Choice) may fit better than Trawick for a relative who lives abroad.
• Cancel for Any Reason, where your state allows it, can reimburse part of your prepaid cost for reasons that are not covered, with its own deadlines and conditions. New York residents can ask about Cancel for Fortuitous Reasons on WorldTrips Atlas Journey.

Email info@travallamains.com and a licensed agent will compare plans for your family.

What medical documentation will I need if I cancel because a parent has a medical emergency?

Expect to provide:

• A completed claim form with the attending physician's statement. The physician must have examined or treated the person and advised that the condition prevents the trip. Trawick requires that advice on or before the scheduled departure date; WorldTrips requires the certification before you cancel.
• Hospital or medical records supporting the diagnosis and dates.
• For a death: a copy of the death certificate.
• Proof of your relationship to the person, if the insurance company asks for it.
• Your trip invoice, proof of payment, and the airline's or supplier's statement of what was refunded or credited. A refund, credit or voucher reduces the claim.

Cancel with your suppliers promptly and report the claim within the plan's notice period. Only the insurance company decides a claim.

Does the doctor have to see my relative before I cancel?

Yes, see the doctor before you cancel. For a medical cancellation, a physician must examine or treat the person and certify that the condition prevents the trip. Trawick requires the physician's advice to cancel on or before your scheduled departure date, and WorldTrips requires the certification before you cancel.

Only Travel Insured Deluxe and Platinum allow for cases where seeing a physician first is not reasonably possible.

What documents do I need if my relative dies?

Send a copy of the death certificate with your claim form. Plans can also ask for proof of your relationship to the person, your trip invoice and proof of payment, and the airline's or supplier's statement of what was refunded.

Will I need to prove my relationship to the person who is ill?

The insurance company may ask for proof that the person is a Family Member under the plan's definition, for example when the relationship is not obvious from the documents. Ask the claims team what it accepts, and keep documents that show the relationship.

What if I cannot get a physician to see my relative before I cancel?

Only Travel Insured Deluxe and Platinum allow for cases where seeing a physician first is not reasonably possible. Other plans expect the physician's examination and certification before or at the time of cancelling.

If you are in this situation, contact the insurance company's claims team before you cancel, and email us at info@travallamains.com.

My relative is treated in another country. Are foreign medical records and translations accepted?

The plan documents we reviewed do not say whether foreign-language records must be translated. Before you submit, ask the insurance company's claims team whether translations are needed, and keep the original documents.

A physician's statement, hospital records, and a death certificate where relevant are the usual items. Only the insurance company decides what it accepts.