Earthquakes happen frequently all around the world. It’s estimated that half a million detectable earthquakes happen every year and around 100,000 of them are felt. Unfortunately, around 100 of these earthquakes cause significant damage such as collapsed buildings, landslides, tsunamis, and physical injury.
Although the likelihood that your destination will experience a large earthquake is relatively low (only usually occurring a few times a year!), earthquakes are unpredictable. Understanding the significant risks tied to these factors is important in planning a secure trip. Let’s start by mentioning where earthquakes occur the most and we’ll get to answering if travel insurance covers earthquakes.
Jumping Ahead
Where are Earthquakes Most Common in the World?
Although many parts of the world experience earthquakes, here’s a list of the top five most common places where earthquakes occur near fault lines.
- Circum-Pacific seismic belt, also known as the Ring of Fire
- Japan
- Indonesia
- Turkey, Iran, Ecuador
- Tonga and Fiji
Rather than swearing off travel, we highly recommend you plan carefully for your next trip. We only have so much time to take in the world and experience different cultures and perspectives – it would be a shame to miss out because of (very likely unnecessary) fear. We’ll break down the benefits of having a travel insurance policy in place for traveling to earthquake-prone destinations below.
Does Travel Insurance Cover Earthquakes?
The short answer: likely! Most travel insurance policies include coverage before or during your trip to protect against earthquakes affecting your travel plans.
If your home, destination, destination accommodations, or trip start is affected by an earthquake or similar natural disaster like a tsunami, travel insurance could provide reimbursement of unexpected extra or lost travel expenses if you cancel or interrupt your trip.
Keep reading below for a breakdown of the insurance benefits that could apply if you plan on traveling to an earthquake-prone destination anytime soon.
Trip Cancellation Due to Earthquakes
You’ll find that most travel insurance plans include trip cancellation coverage against natural disasters, like earthquakes, derailing your travel agenda. If your trip destination, home, vacation accommodations, or trip start are affected by an earthquake, causing you to cancel your trip or cut it short, there’s a good chance your unused nonrefundable trip costs could be reimbursed by trip cancellation benefits. Similar coverage would apply under trip interruption benefits if your trip was interrupted by an event like an earthquake.
Emergency Medical Expense & Medical Evacuation Coverage
If you get injured because of an earthquake during your trip, travel insurance could reimburse medical expenses incurred to seek treatment. Since earthquakes can strike at any time and can often cause significant physical hardship, having an insurance policy could ease the worry of being financially strained due to medical bills.
Pro Tip: It’s best to contact the 24/7 emergency provider included with your policy if you experience a travel or medical emergency during your trip. Their team can help point you to the nearest medical facility, coordinate medical evacuations, and even assist with translation services.
Missed Connection Coverage
If your flight were to be delayed due to a natural disaster like an earthquake or tsunami, it’s possible you could miss your tour or cruise departure. Having a travel insurance policy could give you peace of mind knowing the additional expenses to get caught up with your trip could be covered.
Non-Medical Evacuation Coverage
Though most travel insurance plans cover medical evacuations, not all include non-medical evacuation coverage for natural disasters. Non-medical evacuation could help coordinate and pay for transportation to the nearest safe place if you experience an earthquake or similar natural disaster during your trip.
Is Earthquake Travel Insurance Coverage Worth It?
Earthquakes can create travel problems that go far beyond cancelled plans. In some destinations, a major earthquake may damage roads, airports, hospitals, hotels, or communication systems, making it difficult to access medical care, transportation, or even safe accommodations during your trip.
If you’re traveling internationally, these situations can become especially expensive because many domestic health insurance plans offer little or no coverage abroad. Emergency medical treatment, ambulance transportation, extended hotel stays, or last-minute flights home can quickly lead to significant out-of-pocket costs.
Evacuation can also become more complicated after a major earthquake. Local transportation may shut down, airports can experience delays, and travelers may need help coordinating transportation to safer areas or alternative accommodations. All travel insurance plans on Yonder Travel Insurance’s site include emergency assistance services that can help travelers navigate these disruptions during stressful situations overseas.
Travel insurance may be especially worth considering if you’re:
- visiting earthquake-prone destinations
- traveling during seasons with increased natural disaster risk
- booking expensive nonrefundable trips
- taking cruises or guided tours with strict cancellation policies
- traveling internationally without strong overseas health coverage
While no one expects an earthquake to disrupt their trip, having travel insurance in place before you travel can help reduce the financial and logistical challenges that often follow unexpected natural disasters.
“At the bare minimum, it will give you peace of mind and the ability to cancel without losing money,” says Terry Boynton, co-founder and president of Yonder Travel Insurance.
Don’t Wait to Buy Insurance
Luckily, if you purchase travel insurance before your trip and an unexpected earthquake strikes, you’ll likely be covered for what is considered an “unforeseen natural disaster”. If you only take one piece of advice from us, this might be the more important one: Don’t wait until the last minute to buy travel insurance.
If you’ve read any of our other travel insurance FAQ articles, you’ll know that travel insurance protects against unexpected or unknown events. Purchasing travel insurance after an earthquake has occurred won’t likely result in any coverage. The experts at Yonder recommend purchasing travel insurance soon after you make your initial payments or deposits toward your trip. This way, you’ll have coverage from the day after purchase through your return date.
Pro Tip: If your trip is affected by an earthquake or similar natural disaster, filing a claim is your next step once you return home. You can learn all the details in our comprehensive article on how to file a travel insurance claim.
To find the best travel insurance for you, check out our instant quote tool. If you have any questions, we’re always here to support you as you make travel insurance decisions. Reach out to us at any time!
Kate's authoritative voice in travel writing is backed by years of extensive travel experience, allowing her to infuse her writing with the tips and tricks she has gathered over time. This wealth of experience enhances her ability to write authoritatively on travel-related topics.
