Why travel insurance is insufficient

As a result, travelers who miss part or all of their trip may not be reimbursed by their insurance company for a variety of non-refundable expenses such as flights, hotels, tours, etc. For those stranded abroad, out-of-pocket costs for additional meals and hotel accommodations may not be covered.

“There are many situations where travel insurance won’t cover you,” says NerdWallet travel expert Sally French.

But experts say a lot depends on the specific insurer and policy details.

For example, the “domino effect of military action” such as delayed flights or missed connections may be covered by certain policies with travel delay benefits, Lauren McCormick, a spokeswoman for travel insurance comparison site SquareMath, said in an email to CNBC.

Airspace was shut down across much of the Middle East after the United States and Israel launched a coordinated attack on Iran on Saturday, killing the country’s supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei and other senior officials.

Iran has launched counterattacks against several cities in the Middle East, including Qatar and Dubai.

“As a result, major airlines have suspended flights to and from the region and closed major global travel hubs including Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha,” McCormick said in a post on his website on Monday.

It is unclear how long the military conflict will last.

President Donald Trump said Monday in his first public appearance since the conflict began that the conflict is expected to last four to five weeks but could last “much longer than that.”

Travel disruptions come less than a week after Mexican troops killed the cartel leader known as “El Mencho,” with airlines suspending flights to certain areas and cruise lines rerouting ships. They also come about two months after the U.S. operation to extract Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, which disrupted air traffic around the Caribbean.

“Two months into 2026, there have already been three major U.S. military operations in Venezuela, Mexico, and Iran, each boiling over and impacting regions and travel routes,” McCormick wrote.

Experts say standard travel insurance does not cover military actions, acts of war, political instability or government-related airspace closures.

This means many travelers affected by attacks in the Middle East may not be eligible for financial compensation, experts said.

However, each policy and travel situation is different, McCormick told CNBC.

In some cases, he said, it is important to read the fine print of a policy to see what applies, such as when the policy covers military operations.

For example, these coverage limits often apply specifically to trip cancellations and interruptions, which means when a traveler wants to cancel a trip completely before the trip or interrupt the trip midway through, respectively, McCormick said.

McCormick said some travelers may be covered by insurance if military action forces airlines to reroute flights due to factors such as hub airport disruptions, crew schedule changes or mechanical problems due to tighter turnaround schedules.

Additionally, travelers who purchase certain benefits (“cancel for any reason” or “suspend for any reason”) may be able to recover a portion of their trip cost.

Cancellation for any reason coverage applies to those who have not yet departed, while interruption for any reason coverage applies to those who are midway through their trip.

These policies are generally expensive and have caveats such as refund amounts and restrictions on when travelers can cancel.

“If you have questions about your coverage, we recommend that you contact your insurance company directly and save all communications with both your insurance company and the airline,” McCormick wrote in an email.

Airlines are obligated to refund customers if they cancel a flight and the traveler chooses not to rebook.

But many airlines are also giving passengers “very flexible opportunities” to change their flights due to the turmoil in the Middle East, French said.

For example, some kind of united airlines Passengers scheduled to fly into Dubai or Tel Aviv airports through March 7 can reschedule their trips without paying change fees or fare differences, according to United’s Travel Alert.

The flexibility applies to a wide range of airports in Abu Dhabi, Beirut, Dubai, Erbil and Tel Aviv for people planning to travel between March 8 and March 31, United Alert said.

The French government recommends that travelers who are able to take advantage of such offers do so.

“This is a better option than travel insurance anyway,” she said. “Please visit our website and select your new flight.”

However, this coverage does not necessarily cover all out-of-pocket costs incurred by the traveler, such as waived tour fees or hotel fees.

“If you miss your safari, the airline won’t help you,” French says. “That’s where things like travel insurance become important.”

Such travelers should call their travel companies, such as hotels or tour operators, to see if they are willing to be flexible in such cases, French said.