The trip cancellation (storno) articles on this site have so far focused on cancellation due to illness, because that is where most claims come from. But life can intervene in other ways too: you are dismissed from your job, a divorce petition arrives, your child has to prepare for a resit exam in the week of the holiday, your visa is refused, or the travel companion with whom you planned the whole trip falls ill. As a broker, I see that some clients count on storno in these situations as if it covered “everything” – yet the insurer pays only for what is an insured event under the contract. Some Hungarian policy conditions name non-medical reasons, while other products do not; and where they do, it comes with conditions in the small print. This article goes through the reasons one by one, showing what the practice is and what you should check before buying.
- Storno pays only for the reasons named in the policy conditions: some Hungarian policy conditions include non-medical reasons – dismissal by the employer, divorce proceedings brought by the other spouse, failing the school-leaving exam (érettségi) or failing at the end of the school year, with a resit exam, a summons as a witness, fire or burglary damage at home, theft of documents – while other products do not.
- Under Hungarian policy conditions, visa refusal is typically an exclusion, not an insured event; and a travel companion's illness is a valid reason only if the policy conditions include the travel companion among the insured persons – often with a limit on the number of people.
- The named reasons also come with conditions – employment for an indefinite period that has lasted at least a year, not during a probationary period, an employer that is not bankrupt – and a deductible may also apply; before buying, it is the “insured events” section of the policy conditions that decides, not the name of the product.
Why does storno not pay for “everything”?
Trip cancellation insurance covers inability to travel: the situation where, because of a reason listed in the policy conditions that arises unexpectedly after the policy was taken out, you cannot set off, and you have to bear the cancellation fee for the booked service. Anything not on the list is not an insured event – changing your mind, cancelled leave, fear or a bad weather forecast are typical examples. The basic logic is described in the articles what storno pays for and inability to travel; what follows here is the non-medical list.
Job loss and divorce: the small print in the policy conditions
One Hungarian insurer's 2026 storno conditions name as an insured event the termination of employment as a result of dismissal by the employer, through no fault of the employee – but only if the employment was established for an indefinite period and for at least 30 hours a week, and had already existed continuously for at least one year at the time of booking. It is excluded if the employer was subject to bankruptcy or voluntary liquidation proceedings, if the employer's rights are exercised by a close relative, if the dismissal took place during a probationary period, if it occurred because of retirement, or if the traveller already knew about the dismissal at the time of booking. Another set of Hungarian conditions, and the Hungarian storno product of an international assistance provider, recognise this reason on similar logic, under the heading “unexpected dismissal by the employer”. Important: termination by mutual agreement, the expiry of a fixed-term contract and your own resignation are not dismissal by the employer. In the case of divorce, the named reason is typically divorce proceedings brought by the other spouse during the period of cover; some policy conditions accept proceedings brought by either spouse against the other, so whether your own petition counts depends on the conditions – the breakdown of an unmarried cohabiting relationship, however, is typically not on the list.
Failed exams, summonses, visas, damage at home
Study-related reasons are narrowly defined: one set of conditions recognises failing the school-leaving exam (érettségi) if the resit falls within the planned travel dates or within one month after them; another recognises failing at the end of the school year in primary or secondary education, subject to the same resit condition. University exams are typically not on the list. Several sets of conditions name as a reason an unexpected summons, issued by a court or authority, to appear in person as a witness during the travel dates; fire, natural disaster or crime affecting your property; and the theft of a passport, identity card, driving licence or the registration certificate of your own vehicle, if it cannot be replaced before departure. Visa refusal, by contrast, falls on the other side: one 2026 set of conditions expressly states that the insurer's cover does not extend to cases where the authority refuses to issue the permit required for entry; another set of conditions excludes the lack of the necessary personal documents. It is therefore worth starting your visa application in good time, before booking – the details are covered in the article on travel insurance for visa applications.
Travel companions and groups: who can cancel because of whose problem?
This is the most common point of dispute. Hungarian policy conditions typically recognise the illness, accident or death of the insured person and their close relatives; a travel companion counts only if the policy conditions expressly include them. Under one 2026 set of conditions, for a booking for up to five people, the illness of any other participant – and of their close relatives – can also be a valid reason, but for a larger group, only your own reason or that of a close relative counts. Under another set of conditions, the insured person may name one other insured person on the same policy whose inability to travel also covers their own cancellation. The typical family question – four people were due to travel, one falls ill, nobody goes – is decided by the close-relative rule: under Hungarian policy conditions, the illness of a spouse, child or parent typically also justifies the others' cancellation, but often by a stricter standard, for example only for a condition requiring hospital treatment, and only within the circle of relatives defined in the policy conditions. For a group of friends or travel companions who are not related, however, only the travel companion rule helps: if the policy conditions do not include the others, the sick traveller's share is reimbursed but the others' shares are not, because they are not unable to travel – each person's claim is assessed separately, with a deductible. For group trips, this question needs to be clarified before buying, not at the time of cancellation.
What should you check before buying, and what should you do when cancelling?
- Read the “insured events” and “exclusions” sections of the policy conditions: if a reason that is realistic in your life – dismissal, divorce proceedings, a resit exam – is not on the list, you need to look for a different product or accept the gap.
- Check the timing: storno can typically be taken out within a short window after booking, and in the last weeks before departure some policy conditions narrow the range of reasons – this is covered in the article on the timing of storno cover.
- Allow for the deductible: for non-medical reasons, Hungarian policy conditions typically apply a deductible of 10–20%, depending on the product – the storno deductible article explains the logic.
- When cancelling, collect written proof of the reason: the employer's notice of dismissal and a certificate of employment, the divorce petition as registered by the court, a school certificate of the failure and the date of the resit, the summons, a police report; cancel the booking within the deadline in the policy conditions, because the insurer does not reimburse the increase in the cancellation fee resulting from delay.
If you let me know before buying, I compare which policy conditions include the reasons that matter to you, and with what small print; you must report the claim yourself on the insurer's claims line, and if a case gets stuck or disputed, I help where I can.
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Sources
- EUB storno insurance policy conditions EUB2026-04ONS (section 8.1 insured events, sections 22–23 exclusions, travel companion rule)
- Alfa trip cancellation insurance (Útlemondás-biztosítás) policy conditions (1 August 2023) – named reasons, exclusions
- Mondial Assistance – Mondial Storno trip cancellation insurance (covered reasons)
- CLB “Expert answers” (szakértő válaszol) – group storno, illness of one person (September 2026)
- Hungarian Civil Code (Ptk.) Sections 6:452–6:453 – duty of disclosure, notification of the insured event
