Tag Archives: CFAR

Woman holding passport and boarding pass waiting in transit area in the airport, standing by for the next schedule traveling, late delay of the arrival departure, missing checking in

“Cancel For Any Reason” CFAR Travel Insurance: What It Is and How It Works

4 Replies

This article was first published in 2019 and is continually updated as insurance policies change. 

Travel insurance is an important layer of protection anytime you book a trip with nonrefundable, prepaid costs. Trip cancellation is a common benefit of such insurance—but it only pays out if you cancel for a covered reason. Additional “Cancel For Any Reason” (CFAR) coverage allows you to cancel your trip without requiring that you explain why. It may give you the peace of mind you need to book a trip—but there are caveats. Here are the main points travelers need to know about buying and using CFAR insurance.

Cancel For Any Reason coverage is expensive.

Before Covid, CFAR coverage typically added 40% to your insurance premium—but as both interest in and claims against CFAR policies have increased, in many cases their price has too. We looked at six insurance quotes in October 2024 and found that a CFAR clause increased the premiums on five of those products by 50% to 113%. To put this in dollar figures: Standard travel insurance for trip cancellation/interruption and medical expenses on a $20,000 trip may cost $1,000; adding CFAR could bump that up to $1,500 or more.

Don’t expect to get all your money back.

Specifics vary by policy and based on your state of residence, but most plans reimburse 50% to 75% of your nonrefundable, prepaid trip costs. Some have a maximum amount that you can insure (e.g., $10,000 per person).

You can’t add CFAR at the last minute.

To be eligible for CFAR coverage, you must purchase it soon after you make your first trip payment, usually within 14 to 21 days (and in some cases, within just 24 hours of your deposit).

You can’t cancel at the last minute, either.

You’re out of luck if you find out a day before your trip that you must cancel. In order to be reimbursed via a CFAR clause, you must call off your trip at least 48 hours prior to departure.

Covid has impacted the availability of CFAR coverage.

Before Covid, CFAR policies were unavailable to residents of New York State due to state insurance regulations; in light of Covid, New York’s governor announced that travel insurance companies could sell CFAR policies in the state. While several providers saw Covid as a reason to discontinue offering CFAR coverage entirely, others—including Travelex Insurance Services—have added optional CFAR upgrades.

Is it right for you?

CFAR is an option that can provide additional peace of mind, at a price. Whether it’s worth the cost is a personal choice. But most importantly, it is the broadest protection available to cover a wide range of scenarios—many of which you may not even have thought of.

Which insurance company should I choose? 

There are many providers, and in our article How to Buy Travel Insurance: What It Covers, When You Need It, you can learn more about what to look for, what to avoid, and how to choose the right one for your specific needs. Whichever insurance carrier you choose, speak with a representative there first to ensure that you understand what is and isn’t covered, and what is needed to file a claim.

 

Be a smarter traveler: Sign up for Wendy’s weekly newsletter to stay in the know. Read real travelers’ reviews, then use the black CONTACT buttons on Wendy’s WOW List to reach out to the right local fixer for your trip.

stock photo of toy airplane on stack of masks and passport with a globe signifying travel during Covid

Your Biggest Covid Travel Questions Answered

Leave a reply

I’ve spoken with many of you over the past few weeks as you’ve wrestled with whether to go forward with your winter travel plans and, if so, how to smarten them up, given Covid surges and current global events. Most of you are bound and determined to forge ahead with your trips—to Italy, Egypt, Tahiti, the Galapagos Islands, France, Panama, Iceland, Portugal, Belize, Costa Rica, Colombia, Kenya, Rwanda, the Maldives, Antarctica, and more.  I can understand why.  We’re not back in March of 2020:  There are many more tools now for traveling safely and responsibly. And I’m not just talking about the availability of vaccines, boosters, and N95 masks for the airport and plane. Unlike at the start of this pandemic, we’ve also now got at-home test kits for use pre-trip and before boarding your return flight. There’s now evacuation coverage so that, if your worry is the possibility of testing positive overseas and being quarantined, there’s a way you can avoid that and get home. There are also guardian angels who have proven they can keep travelers away from crowds, privately cocooned, and in the open air as much as possible throughout a trip. The proof?  It’s in your trip reviews. Below find the information you need for safe travel now. —Wendy

Wendy’s Travel Advice for 2022

Wendy’s Travel Advice for 2022: Based on everything we’ve learned throughout the pandemic, if you’re looking for the best travel experiences in 2022, here’s my advice.

Covid Testing

How to Get a Quick Covid Test for Travel:  We’ve rounded up several of your best options Covid tests with the last-minute results you need for many destinations: We’ve listed in-person options in select U.S. cities, mail-in test kits that you can do from home (note that some places will not accept results from mail-in tests), and self-administered tests that you can take in a foreign country.

5 Testing Tips for an Easy Return Flight to the U.S.: Air travelers age two and older must still show a negative Covid test when flying back into the U.S. after an international trip. But it doesn’t have to be a hassle. Here’s how to make it easier.

Getting a Covid Test Abroad is Easy:  Don’t let fear of a required Covid test outside the U.S.—either for a return flight to the U.S. or to cross borders during a multi-country trip—scare you away from overseas travel.

What Happens If I Test Positive on a Trip? We Answer Travelers’ Biggest Concerns About Testing, Quarantine, and Insurance:  The biggest concerns we hear from travelers these days are about how to get tested before and during a trip, what happens if they test positive while overseas, and what quarantine rules will apply there. In this FAQ, we answer all of those questions and more.

Travel Insurance

How to Buy Travel Insurance: What It Covers, When You Need It:  Travel insurance can be confusing, especially during Covid. So we’ve created this FAQ that lays out everything from what you can expect it to cover (even now) to when you need it and when you don’t.

“Cancel For Any Reason” CFAR Travel Insurance: What It Is and How It Works:  If you’re concerned about traveling during the time of COVID-19, regular travel insurance won’t help you. CFAR coverage is the only way to be protected.

What Medical Evacuation Coverage Do You Need?:  In years past, we purchased medical-evacuation coverage in case we broke a leg while hiking in the Alps or had a heart attack on a remote island with no decent hospital. Nowadays, though, the nightmare scenario in our minds as we try to plan travel is the possibility of ending up quarantined—or even hospitalized—with Covid-19 far from home. Here’s what you need to know about how to get flown home, and how to protect yourself from a financial disaster.

Where You Can Go and Entry Requirements

The Countries That Are Open to U.S. Travelers and How to Get In:  This is your one-stop resource for all the important details about which countries are opening to U.S. travelers and what their entry requirements are.

Countries With No Covid Entry Requirements: These are the countries where WOW Listers can plan safe, smart trips don’t require any vaccination or pre-trip testing.

Where You Can Travel with No Pre-Trip Test Required:  We’re also keeping a list of countries that are open to vaccinated travelers—with no testing or quarantine requirements.

Air Travel Tips

New Nonstop Flights To Make Your Travels Easier in 2022:  Many airlines are planning to launch long-awaited routes next year, and some have already announced new flights that weren’t even on their minds back in 2020. To help you find inspiration, Brett Snyder of Cranky Concierge rounds up the airline routes to keep your eyes on.

When Is the Best Time to Buy Airfare This Year?: Given the rise in fuel prices that’s happening now, given the surge in people who want to travel this summer, and given the no-fly zone over Russia, when should travelers buy their airline tickets for flights this year? We spoke to two air travel experts to get their insights.

When and Where to Use Your Airline Miles This Year: Frequent travelers want to know the best time to start tapping into that stockpile of credit card points and miles they’ve been racking up during the pandemic, plus the destinations and airlines where those awards will stretch the furthest. We’ve got answers.

The Best Credit Cards for Travelers: Whether you’re actually traveling or working your way toward a trip, the right credit card can be a big help in getting you there. We break down which cards are best for travelers in 2022.

Current Travelers’ Experiences

WOW Travel During Covid: The Trip Reviews That Matter Most Right Now:  Find out what travel is like from real people who’ve just been on trips in the past few weeks. These trip reviews show what it’s really like to travel now in specific places, and how the right destination expert can make it work.

The Trip Planners You’ve Approved

The WOW List: Top Local Fixers in Countries Worldwide:  The WOW List is a collection of exceptionally knowledgeable and well-connected trip planners around the world. They have been rigorously road-tested, based on my decades of experience as a travel journalist and based on the most recent trip reviews from travelers who have used my WOW approach to ensure an extraordinary trip. During the pandemic, I have been watching these Trusted Travel Experts like a hawk, closely monitoring our travelers’ pandemic trip reviews and updating The List accordingly.


Be a safer, smarter traveler: Sign up for Wendy’s weekly newsletter to stay in the know. And read real travelers’ reviews of Wendy’s WOW List and use it to plan your next trip.