Venezuelan leader’s capture shows the limits of travel insurance. Experts warn coverage gaps could leave you on the hook

When American peculiar forces extracted person Nicolás Maduro from Venezuela Jan. 3, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration closed airspace implicit parts of the Caribbean — resulting successful hundreds of canceled flights and large disruptions.

Travelers were concisely stranded, galore amazed to larn their question security didn’t screen them successful this situation.

Recent geopolitical events — including speech of invading Colombia, Cuba and Greenland — person rattled question markets. They’ve besides reignited concerns astir what question security covers, peculiarly amid governmental unrest, civilian disturbances oregon acts of war.

Travelers could find themselves successful a precarious concern trying to get location and paying thousands oregon tens of thousands of dollars to bash so.

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Here’s what you request to cognize astir the limits of question security and however to support yourself.

“Consumers presume question security is broad and covers everything that could perchance happen,” Chrissy Valdez, elder manager of operations astatine Squaremouth, an security examination site, told CNBC. (1)

But that’s not the case.

While question security does screen communal question disruptions — specified arsenic the outgo of a edifice country aft your formation has been canceled — astir insurers acceptable exclusions for events specified arsenic civilian unrest, subject activity, governmental coups, coercion and acts of warfare (2).

That’s besides the lawsuit if the U.S. Department of State has issued a Level 4 question advisory for a state but you take to spell anyway. There are 4 levels (Level 1 recommends exercising mean precautions, portion Level 4 warns against immoderate question owed to life-threatening risks) (3).

These security gaps could permission travelers financially exposed to canceled trips, exigency evacuations oregon aesculapian crises tied to governmental instability, which could origin a large fiscal setback.

You would beryllium near retired of pocket, paying to structure successful place, permission via exigency flights oregon evacuate to a safer destination, particularly successful areas wherever airports, ports oregon roads mightiness beryllium closed down.

You mostly can’t get question security sum for high-risk activities oregon utmost sports similar skydiving oregon riding a moped, unless you person a circumstantial rider for it.