Travel insurance may not cover costs if overseas concert is cancelled
Estonians planning to attend Pitbull concert in Riga found that their travel insurance did not cover expenses after the show was cancelled. Experts advise checking policy terms and buying additional coverage if needed.
Travel insurance terms should be carefully reviewed before buying a policy when planning to attend a concert or festival abroad. Recently, Estonian residents who were set to travel to Riga for a Pitbull concert found themselves in a difficult situation after the event was cancelled, as they may have to cover the already incurred costs of accommodation and transport themselves.
Tuuli Pärenson, chair of the management board of the Estonian Insurance Association, explained that if a trip abroad is made specifically to attend a concert, standard travel insurance may only cover a small portion of the costs in case the performance is cancelled. She stressed that in such a situation, relying on the basic minimum coverage is not advisable, as it usually does not include cancellation of such events. Instead, travellers need to deliberately purchase additional protection, though not every Estonian insurance company offers this option.
According to Pärenson, insurers offer coverage for event-related cancellation expenses under different names. Some companies provide it as an extra option attached to travel insurance or trip interruption insurance, while in other cases this clause is already included in the trip interruption policy. In Estonia, LHV and BTA Kindlustus are among those offering additional protection for event cancellation.
Meanwhile, Joonas Kuschwidt from If Kindlustus said that their travel insurance does not reimburse costs in these situations. Specifically in the case of Pitbull, two clients approached them having paid for accommodation and everything else. But since the event was cancelled by the organizer, from the insurer's point of view it does not qualify as an insured event.
