In most cases NO. War events are excluded in standard insurance contracts (e.g. Allianz, UNIQA).
Exception: The only insurance company on the market that explicitly includes “emergency situation” coverage, including armed conflict, in its terms and conditions is Union. As part of the insurance, SOS reimburses the medical costs incurred by the client as a result of an emergency situation, as well as increased costs for accommodation and alternative transport home.
What happens to my travel insurance if it expires and I’m still abroad?
All contacted insurance companies (Allianz, Generali, Union, UNIQA) confirmed that in such a crisis situation automatically and free of charge extend the validity of the travel insurance until your safe return home. So you don’t have to call, write or perform other administrative steps.
I have bought a tour, but I’m afraid to travel. Am I entitled to a free cancellation?
it depends when are you supposed to fly and what is the official risk level at the destination.
Travel agencies
Many travel tickets they are currently canceling planned departures to risk areas themselves, while allowing clients to cancel the trip free of charge with a full refund of the amount paid, as well as the possibility of changing the destination according to their preferences.
- Kartago Tours: Cancels the next departure dates until March 6, 2026.
- SATUR: Cancels all scheduled charter flights up to and including March 15, 2026.
Note: Decisions regarding the implementation of specific tours or the recognition of cancellations due to the deterioration of the security situation are taken by travel agencies with regard to their business conditions and applicable legislation.
“Passenger safety is always the highest priority of the tourism industry and the aviation industry. Decisions to suspend or delay flights are made based on analyzes carried out by international aviation authorities,” says Kristína Štefánková, spokeswoman for the Invia travel agency, which mediates tours from over 340 travel agencies.
Insurance companies
Cancellation insurance in most insurance companies only covers health or family reasons, significant natural damage to property and more. Deteriorated security situation or threat of conflict is standardly included in insurance exclusions.
“In such cases, we recommend that the client contact the travel agency where he bought the tour, which can cancel the tour itself due to the objective impossibility of its implementation,” explains Helena Kanderková, spokeswoman for the Allianz insurance company.
The exception in this regard is again the insurance company Unionwhere the right to cancellation arises if the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issues a 3rd or 4th level recommendation for the given area (recommendation not to travel or leave the country). “The above applies on the assumption that the situation was not known at the time the tourism services were purchased,” Union explains.
Will the insurance company help me if I am injured in the country during an attack?
In the terms and conditions of travel insurance, events directly caused by war events, civil unrest or interventions by state authorities are excluded from insurance coverage by default.
In practice, this means that insurance companies will reimburse you for the treatment of a broken leg or other common injury, but if your injury is war-related, it is not certain whether the insurance company will help you.
UNIQA aj Allianz they stated that they would approach such cases individually and do not rule out coverage, but only if the recommendation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs not to travel was not valid at the time of travel.
V Union is this risk directly covered in the emergency package.
You can check the current travel recommendations at this link:
Am I entitled to compensation for a canceled flight?
gives passengers strong rights to compensation of up to 600 euros in many cases: for example, if their flight is delayed by more than three hours to the destination, if the airline cancels the flight less than 14 days before departure, or if the airline sells more tickets than the capacity of the plane and you cannot fit on it even though you have a valid reservation.
However, in the context of the current situation in the Middle East, this aid has two hooks.
The first of them is geographical scope. You are only covered if:
- your flight takes off from an airport in the EU (regardless of which airline operates it),
- your flight departs from a country outside the EU (e.g. Israel or Jordan) and goes to the EU, but only if it is operated by an airline based in the EU (e.g. Austrian Airlines, Smartwings, Lufthansa).
If you flew to a country with an airline that is not based in the European Union (for example, local Middle Eastern carriers) and you get stuck in a country outside the EU, European protection does not apply to you.
The second catch is the fact that the airline does not have to pay financial compensation, if the flight cancellation is due to “extraordinary circumstances”which could not be prevented. A military conflict, the closure of airspace or the threat of a missile attack are considered extraordinary circumstances.
The UNIQA insurance company therefore recommends clients who did not travel or whose flight was canceled to first contact:
- travel agency, if they have purchased a tour package,
- airline, if they had purchased a separate ticket.
