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Spring Break Trips: What Does Travel Insurance Cover?

family on spring break vacation at the beach
Allianz - family on spring break vacation at the beach

Why is spring break such a glorious time? Maybe because you’ve been working so hard all year. Maybe because you feel the sun on your shoulders after being cold for months. Or maybe because you get to spend one whole week making great memories with friends or family.

Bad things can happen during even the best-planned trip, however. That’s why travel insurance is an absolute must for spring break trips. Before you forget: get a quote for your vacation right now! 

Does travel insurance cover illness?

Food poisoning. Norovirus. Flu. You never know what nasty bug is out there waiting to ambush you and ruin all your fun. If you get sick on spring break, travel insurance with emergency medical benefits can help you out with covered medical emergencies.

A covered medical emergency means a sudden, unexpected illness or injury during your trip that’s either life-threatening or could cause serious and irreparable harm if it isn’t treated. (For emergency dental benefits, a covered emergency refers to an injury or infection, a lost filling or a broken tooth during your trip that requires immediate treatment by a dentist.) If you’re not sure if your illness qualifies, don’t wait: Contact 24-hour assistance via phone or the Allyz® TravelSmart app. While we can’t diagnose you, we can connect you with the nearest qualified doctor or other medical facility.

Does travel insurance cover a spring break trip cancellation?

You’re so, so ready for your spring break getaway to Aruba. But the night before you’re supposed to leave, your dad is hospitalized for a heart attack. You rush to his side and cancel your trip. Can travel insurance help?

Yes. Travel insurance with trip cancellation benefits can reimburse you for lost, nonrefundable, prepaid trip expenses when you have to cancel for a covered reason, such as a family member becoming seriously ill.

Read more: Trip Cancellation Insurance: Covered Reasons Explained

Does travel insurance cover bad weather?

For spring break, you and five friends rented a condo in Daytona Beach. It’s going to slap! But a few days before you’re supposed to leave, you check the forecast: five days of rain and clouds. Can travel insurance help?

That depends. Travel insurance can reimburse you for covered weather-related travel delays, as well as covered trip cancellations or interruptions caused by severe weather and natural disasters. Travel insurance does not reimburse you if you cancel your trip just because the weather is unpleasant.

If you don’t want to go on a rainy spring break trip, consider buying the Cancel Anytime upgrade from Allianz Travel Insurance. Available as an add-on to our most popular plans, OneTrip Prime and OneTrip Premier, Cancel Anytime can reimburse 80% of your prepaid, non-refundable trip costs if you cancel your trip for almost any unforeseeable reason your plan does not already cover (exclusions still apply; not available in all states).

Read more: Delays & Cancellations Due to Weather: What Does Travel Insurance Cover?

Does travel insurance cover injuries from car accidents?

Whether you stay in the U.S. for spring break or head overseas, the biggest threat to your wellbeing may be a car crash. In Texas alone, there were more than 800 alcohol-related traffic crashes during the 2022 spring break season, killing 44 people and seriously injuring 90.1

The same danger exists when you travel abroad. “Motor vehicle crashes—not crime or terrorism—are the number 1 killer of healthy US citizens living, working, or traveling overseas,” according to the Centers for Disease Control.2

If you sustain covered injuries in a car crash while you’re on spring break, travel insurance with emergency medical and emergency medical transportation benefits can help. These benefits can pay for an ambulance or medevac ride, if medically necessary, as well as hospital bills and the cost to safely transport you home.

One exception is intoxicated driving: If you caused the crash because you were under the influence of alcohol or drugs, losses would not be covered.

Does travel insurance cover adventure travel?

Lying on the beach is nice for a day or two… then you’re ready to get up and go on an adventure. But before you do, be aware that losses resulting from certain activities are excluded from travel insurance coverage.

Travel insurance does not cover losses that result from participating in or training for any professional or amateur sporting competition. If you plan to compete in a triathlon over spring break, for example, and you fracture your tibia during the race, that would not be covered. Losses resulting from flying or learning to fly an aircraft as a pilot or crew member aren’t covered, either.

Also excluded are losses that result from participating in extreme, high-risk sports like:

  • skydiving, hang gliding or parachuting (including parasailing)
  • bungee jumping
  • caving — even if you’re part of an organized tour
  • extreme skiing, heli-skiing or skiing outside marked trails
  • body contact sports (meaning any sport where the objective is to physically render an opponent unable to continue with the competition, such as boxing and full-contact karate)
  • mountain climbing or any other high-altitude activities
  • scuba diving below 60 feet (40 meters), or without a dive master.

Does travel insurance cover Illnesses or injuries resulting from alcohol use?

Getting drunk during spring break may feel like harmless fun, especially in a seemingly safe environment like a cruise ship or a resort—but injuries can, and do, happen. Heavy alcohol use is associated with increased risk of assault, near-drownings, falls, and pedestrian injuries.

Long story short: Don’t get wasted on spring break. When you buy travel insurance from Allianz Global Assistance, your policy clearly states that you are not covered for any loss that results directly or indirectly from the use or abuse of alcohol or drugs, or any related physical complications.

Spring break crimes and assaults: What does travel insurance cover?

Partying spring breakers are often easy targets for criminals, so be careful! Check the travel advisories issued by the U.S. Department of State to find out if your destination has been having problems with crime. The State Department has recommended tourists exercise caution in the Bahamas, Mexico, Jamaica and other popular spring break destinations.

If you’re the victim of a crime while traveling, we can help connect you with local law enforcement, and the American embassy, and arrange interpretation services if needed. We can also assist you with getting emergency cash sent from home. And if your travel insurance plan includes lost/stolen baggage coverage, you may be able to file a claim for your stolen items.

What if you’re the one who commits a crime? Many popular spring break destinations are cracking down on tourists breaking laws. Miami Beach, for example, is instituting a curfew during spring break, plus bag checks on the beach, DUI checkpoints, and more.3

Travel insurance will not cover you for any losses resulting from unlawful acts you commit. If you call 24-hour assistance, we will do our best to connect you with the help you need: legal resources, friends and family, and the U.S. embassy.

Long story short: Have fun, but don’t be reckless. And don’t forget to insure your spring break trip! Compare quotes now.

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