Travel plans disrupted by the war? Your insurer is unlikely to help
Airlines are telling passengers to act only if they are travelling in the next 72 hours but US President Donald Trump has suggested the attack on Iran could go for a week.
War is something that comes under travel insurers’ “force majeure” clause – meaning it is, usually, explicitly excluded from coverage in travel insurance policies.
Force majeure is an event that happens outside the control of you or your travel operator. It includes terrorist activity, war, civil unrest, industrial disputes, epidemics, natural or man-made disasters, fire, extreme weather conditions or any other event that cannot be predicted but that could disrupt your trip. Volcanoes in Iceland or Bali that halt flights and leave travellers stranded and searching desperately for hotel rooms and wildfires that send holidaymakers fleeing from Greek Islands are force majeure events, and so is the current situation in the Middle East.
Force majeure clauses are commonly found in the terms and conditions of travel suppliers, and these clauses absolve the operator from fulfilling their contractual obligations. When you book a flight with an airline, a hotel room or sign up for a tour, you are agreeing to those T&Cs and Australian common law does not generally override force majeure clauses. According to law firm MinterEllison: “As force majeure is a product of contractual negotiations, parties have the freedom to negotiate force majeure clauses as they see fit.” In fact, there is no negotiation: the traveller accepts whatever the travel supplier sets out as a condition of their travels.
How does travel insurance deal with force majeure?
