I did a lot of contracts for a living for a long time, so I've got the advantage of knowing what to look for and can skim those things fairly quickly to zoom in on the relevant sections.
Here's an Allianz Travel page "Trip Cancellation Insurance: Covered Reasons Explained":
What Is A Covered Reason?
Covered reasons are certain situations and events that, when they occur, mean you may be eligible to make a claim. At Allianz Global Assistance, we design our travel insurance products to include a broad range of covered reasons, because we want to protect our customers from the most common mishaps that happen while traveling. Depending on the plan you choose, there may be up to 28 covered reasons for interrupting or canceling your trip. These covered reasons vary according to the plan you purchase, but here are some examples:
- A terrorist event happens at your destination within 30 days of the day you're scheduled to arrive.
- The insured traveler, traveling companion or a family member suffers a serious covered illness or injury.
- The insured traveler, traveling companion or a family member dies.
- You or a traveling companion are terminated/laid off from your job through no fault of your own, after your effective date of coverage, after working there at least 12 continuous months.
- Your airline, cruise line or other carrier ceases services for at least 24 consecutive hours due to a strike, natural disaster, bad weather or FAA-mandated shutdown.
- You need to attend the birth of a family member’s child.
- Your destination is rendered uninhabitable because of a natural disaster, fire, flood, burglary or vandalism.
- You or a traveling companion is in a traffic accident on the way to your point of departure, and you or the traveling companion need medical attention or the car needs to be repaired because it's not safe to drive.
- A natural disaster renders your home or your destination uninhabitable.
- You or a traveling companion legally separate or divorce after your insurance effective date but before your scheduled departure date.
We could go on and on… but instead, we advise simply reading your policy. That way, you’ll know which covered reasons are named in your specific plan. Make sure you understand all the definitions, too. For instance, “immediate family member” and “family member” mean different things. And a pet is not considered a family member, although a service animal is.
Covered Reasons vs. Foreseeable Events
Travel insurance does not cover losses that arise from expected or reasonably foreseeable events or problems — even if that event or problem is listed as a covered reason. A foreseeable event is an outcome that a reasonable person in similar circumstances would expect to occur.
In other words, if you're buying travel insurance with a specific scenario in mind — "I'll probably have to cancel this trip because of X" — then it's likely to be a foreseeable event. You're better off planning the trip for another time.
For instance, if you purchase travel insurance for your Bahamas vacation when a named hurricane is already barreling toward your destination, and then your beach house gets smashed, your trip cancellation would not be covered. Yes, the list of covered reasons for your plan includes “a natural disaster renders your home or your destination uninhabitable”; but you knew the storm was coming when you bought the plan.
This was updated just YESTERDAY...
U.S. Coverage Alert – 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Claims due to known, foreseeable, or expected events, epidemics, or fear of travel are generally not covered, and coverage can vary by state. However, until further notice, although not covered under most plans, we are currently accommodating claims for:
- Under Emergency Medical Care and Emergency Medical Transportation Benefits: Emergency medical care and emergency medical transportation for a customer who becomes ill with COVID-19 while on their trip.
- Under Trip Cancellation or Trip Interruption Benefits: Trip cancellation and trip interruption if a customer becomes ill with COVID-19 either before or during their trip.
- Under Trip Cancellation Benefit: Non-refundable, non-transferable trip cancellation expenses for customers who purchased their plan prior to January 22, 2020 for trip components in Mainland China, South Korea, or the Lombardy or Veneto regions of Italy and departing prior to April 1, 2020.
The last thing is never take "No" or "Rejected" from your insurance company as the final decision. That is always their first, reflexive answer. If you keep fighting and making a ruckus, they often will give in.