Does travel insurance cover cancellation due to pregnancy?

By Damian Tysdal, licensed travel insurance agent since 2006 · Updated 21 September 2026

In shortNormal pregnancy and childbirth are excluded on 49 of the 54 plans in our library. Complications of pregnancy that begin after you buy are covered on almost every plan, as a reason to cancel, to come home, and as medical expense on the trip, but each plan defines complication differently, and morning sickness is usually not one. About a dozen plans (Travel Insured, IMG Travel LX, the WorldTrips Atlas Journey plans, Arch RoamRight, Berkshire Hathaway) also let you cancel simply because you became pregnant after buying. If you are already pregnant, buy within the waiver window so complications are not treated as pre-existing.

On this page

What the plans say
What a complication means, plan by plan
The plans that cover cancelling for a new pregnancy
If you are already pregnant when you buy
Medical care on the trip
Questions people also ask

What the plans say

49 of the 54 plan documents in our library exclude normal pregnancy and childbirth in so many words, and almost every one covers complications of pregnancy that begin after the plan’s effective date, as a reason to cancel, a reason to come home, and a medical expense on the trip. About a dozen plans go further and let you cancel simply because you became pregnant after you bought the plan. The answer to the question therefore depends on which of three situations you are in.

The situation	Covered?	Why
You find out you are pregnant after you buy the plan and decide not to travel	On about a dozen plans, yes; on the rest, no	Travel Insured Worldwide Trip Protector and Protector Plus, IMG iTravelInsured Travel LX, the WorldTrips Atlas Journey plans, Arch RoamRight Pro and Pro Plus, and Berkshire Hathaway ExactCare and LuxuryCare list a pregnancy that begins after the effective date as a reason to cancel. The other plans exclude normal pregnancy outright.
A complication of the pregnancy, before the trip or during it	Yes, on almost every plan	A complication that begins after the effective date is a covered sickness: cancellation before you go, interruption and medical care on the trip. Each plan defines complication in its own way, and the definitions are narrower than most people expect.
Normal pregnancy: morning sickness, doctor’s advice not to fly late in the term, or a due date that moved	No	Normal pregnancy and childbirth are excluded on nearly every plan, and the airline’s own cut-off in the last weeks is not a covered reason either.
You were already pregnant when you bought the plan	Only complications, and only if the pre-existing rule is satisfied	A pregnancy confirmed before the effective date is treated like any other condition under the look-back. Buy within the waiver window (14 to 21 days from the first trip payment on most plans) and complications are covered; miss it and they can be declined as pre-existing.

What a complication means, plan by plan

This is where claims are won and lost. The plans agree that a complication is a condition distinct from the pregnancy but caused or worsened by it, and then they list examples and exclusions that differ. Morning sickness, even severe enough to need fluids, is named as not a complication on Nationwide, AXA, Travelex and GoReady; Seven Corners names hyperemesis gravidarum as one. Preeclampsia is a complication on Seven Corners and Nationwide and excluded on Travelex and GoReady. Read the definition in the plan you are considering before you rely on it.

Plan	What counts as a complication	What is spelled out as not one
Seven Corners Trip Protection Choice	Hyperemesis gravidarum, preeclampsia, eclampsia, gestational diabetes, gestational hypertension, acute nephritis and conditions of comparable severity
Nationwide Trip Protector Preferred, AXA Platinum	Conditions requiring hospital confinement whose diagnosis is distinct from the pregnancy: acute nephritis, cardiac decompensation, missed abortion, pre-eclampsia, ectopic pregnancy and similar	Elective abortion, elective cesarean, false labor, spotting, morning sickness, physician-prescribed rest, hyperemesis gravidarum
Travelex Ultimate, GoReady Choice	Acute nephritis, nephrosis, cardiac decompensation, missed abortion, non-elective cesarean, ectopic pregnancy and similar	False labor, spotting, prescribed rest, morning sickness, hyperemesis gravidarum, preeclampsia
Tin Leg Gold, John Hancock Gold	A condition distinct from pregnancy but adversely affected or caused by it, if hospitalized
Berkshire Hathaway LuxuryCare	Acute nephritis, nephrosis, cardiac decompensation, missed abortion, non-elective cesarean, ectopic pregnancy and similar	Normal pregnancy and childbirth, unless the plan’s pregnancy rider applies

The plans that cover cancelling for a new pregnancy

Travel Insured’s Worldwide Trip Protector and Protector Plus, IMG’s iTravelInsured Travel LX, the five WorldTrips Atlas Journey plans, Arch RoamRight Pro and Pro Plus, and Berkshire Hathaway’s ExactCare and LuxuryCare (through a pregnancy rider) list pregnancy itself as a covered reason, with two conditions: the pregnancy has to begin after the plan’s effective date and be confirmed by a doctor or medical records. Berkshire Hathaway adds that the pregnancy has to fall within the scheduled trip. Travel Insured also covers cancelling to attend the birth of a family member’s child, on the same timing rule.

If you buy one of those plans and then find out you are expecting, you can cancel and be refunded in full. Buy any other plan and the same news is not a covered reason, which leaves cancel for any reason coverage, at 75 percent on most plans, as the only route.

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If you are already pregnant when you buy

A pregnancy confirmed before the effective date is a condition you had when you bought, and the plan’s pre-existing condition rule applies to any complication of it. The fix is the same as for any condition: buy within the waiver window, 14 to 21 days from your first trip payment on most plans, and insure the full non-refundable trip cost. Do that and a complication that sends you to the hospital before or during the trip is covered. Miss the window and the insurer will read the medical records and can decline the claim. The pre-existing conditions answer explains the look-back and the waiver in full.

Medical care on the trip

Complications that arise on the trip are covered under the emergency medical benefit up to the plan’s limit, and the evacuation benefit pays to move you to a hospital that can treat you. The limits run from $10,000 to $500,000 for medical on the plans we compare; for a trip abroad while pregnant we suggest $100,000 or more, and $250,000 for a cruise or a remote destination. The delivery itself and care for a newborn are not covered on any plan. The travel medical insurance guide shows which plans carry the higher limits.

Questions people also ask

I am pregnant now and booking a trip for next spring. What should I buy?

A plan whose definition of complication is generous (Seven Corners Trip Protection Choice names the common ones), bought within the waiver window so the pregnancy is not treated as pre-existing, and with at least $100,000 of medical coverage for a trip abroad. If there is a real chance you will decide not to go, add cancel for any reason coverage, which refunds 75 percent on most plans for any reason at all, including a due date that moved.

Will the plan pay if my doctor tells me not to fly?

Only if the advice is because of a complication as the plan defines it. Advice not to fly late in a normal pregnancy is not a covered reason. Cancel for any reason coverage is the only benefit that refunds that decision.

What about my spouse or partner cancelling too?

If you cancel for a covered complication, a traveling companion on the same policy cancels with you and is covered. On the plans that cover a new pregnancy as a reason, the clause names the traveling companion too, and Berkshire Hathaway’s rider adds the spouse or domestic partner.

Is the baby covered if I give birth on the trip?

No. Childbirth is excluded on nearly every plan, and five plans exclude expenses for a child born on the trip in so many words. Medical care for a complication you have is covered; the delivery and the newborn’s care are not.

Sources: the 54 plan documents in the CoverTrip policy library, September 2026.