When things go wrong on a holiday, trying to understand your travel insurance policy is the absolute last thing anyone wants to do. 

Do you want an easy way to know what’s covered? Here is a straightforward, jargon-free guide to Urban Jungle Travel Insurance - what is covered, what is excluded, and how our optional add-ons work.

Flights, Delays and Cancellations, and Disrupted Plans

• Airlines First: If a flight gets delayed or cancelled, your airline is your primary port of call rather than your insurance provider. As a traveler you can seek financial compensation, refunds, or alternative transport directly from your travel provider
• Cancelled flight: If an airline fails to provide a suitable alternative travel option within 6 hours of the scheduled departure time following delay or cancellation of your flight, then your Urban Jungle Travel Insurance policy could step in, covering your proportion of unused, pre-paid charges like accommodation or car hire that you can’t get refunded for
• Missed Departures: You may have missed your flight due to reasons outside of your control. Things like a traffic accident, a vehicle breakdown, a public transport failure, or a strike can be covered, providing a basic room and economy transport to get the trip back on track.

Luggage and Personal Belongings: What to do with loss or theft? 

• Reporting Rules: If your bags get lost or stolen, always make sure to keep a formal paper trail. Thefts must be reported to the local police within the country the loss happened to get a crime reference number. Carrier or hotel losses require a written record from the provider, and airline baggage losses require a Property Irregularity Report (PIR) filed within their strict time limits. 
• New for Old Payouts: If your baggage claim is accepted and settled with Urban Jungle, we replace your baggage on a new for old basis. This means that there’s no deductions from the baggage value for standard wear and tear, so your settlement will reflect the actual baggage replacement cost. 
• Delayed Bags: If a carrier delays baggage on your outward journey, with Urban Jungle Travel Insurance, you don’t get charged an excess fee to claim for essential replacement items.
• The Unattended Rule: Leaving your luggage somewhere for a moment? Keep in mind that policies generally exclude any claims for the loss, theft, or damage of valuables, important documents, or cash if they are left unattended in a public space. To be covered, make sure they are deposited in a safe, a safety deposit box, or left inside locked accommodation.

The Pre-Trip Rules

Before you head off on holiday, consider the following things. 

• Be Honest about your Medical History: Declare any medical conditions you’ve been diagnosed with, received advice for, or taken prescribed medication for in the last two years. You’ll also need to declare any undiagnosed conditions where you have ongoing symptoms that have not yet been diagnosed, but for which you have seen a healthcare professional, had tests or investigations, received treatment, or been prescribed medication. Skipping these details means any claim could potentially be refused entirely, even if not related to a medical condition.
• The EU Excess Waiver: For trips within the European Union, presenting a Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC) or European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) at a public medical facility entirely waives the excess fee on emergency medical claims - good tip before setting off on that summer Euro trip! 
• Check FCDO Warnings: Always make sure to check the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) before travelling, on specific advice for your destination. If the FCDO advises against travel to a destination before you’ve bought a policy or booked a trip, insurance does not cover these situations.
• Safety Gear Requirements: Make sure to stay safe! Wearing a helmet on a motorcycle, moped, scooter, Segway, or bicycle not only reduces the risk of injury, but can also make sure an injury claim doesn’t get rejected for this reason. The same goes for failing to wear a seatbelt in a car when one is available for use.
• Medication Restrictions: Going on a holiday while regularly taking medication? Always make sure to pack enough (or a little bit more!) for the duration of your holiday. Travel Insurance often excludes the cost of replacing or topping up regular, pre-planned prescriptions that you knew you’d need before departing.

Optional Policy Add On: Winter Sports Cover

Going away for a snowy adventure? Winter sports account for 11% of all travel insurance claims, so if you’re heading to the slopes, you can add Winter Sports to your Urban Jungle Travel Insurance policy.

• What Is Included: The optional Winter Sports add-on outlines cover for the accidental loss, theft, or damage of owned or hired ski gear. It also covers resort closures caused by a total lack of snow, too much snow, or an avalanche during the published ski season. It also covers the unused parts of ski passes or lift tickets if you fall ill or get injured.
• Off-Piste Rules: Skiing or snowboarding off-piste is only covered if you stay strictly within marked resort boundaries. True backcountry territory is not covered at all.

Optional Policy Add On: Cruise Cover

Standard Urban Jungle Travel Insurance policies don’t include cover for cruise ship scenarios, meaning a Cruise Cover add-on may be necessary if you’re setting sail. Here’s some key information about the add on:

• Missed Embarkation: If you miss your ship's departure due to a verified vehicle breakdown, severe traffic, an accident, or a public transport failure, the policy covers alternative transit costs to reach the next port of call. 
• Skipped Ports: If bad weather or timetable restrictions cause a scheduled port visit to be cancelled without an alternative, the policy outlines a set payout per missed port. This payout is excluded if the cruise line has already provided compensation, such as on board credit, or if the port was missed due to a strike or industrial action.
• Medical assistance: If you have an injury or illness during the period of the cruise you can be covered for emergency evacuation. If the ship's medical practitioner officially confines you to your cabin as an in-patient, the policy provides a daily benefit. You can also be covered if you cannot take part in shore excursions because you are confined to bed in your cabin by the ship’s medical practitioner. This doesn’t include if this was related to a pandemic and/or epidemic. 

What Sports Activities does Urban Jungle Travel Insurance cover? 

Here’s a list of the 100+ sports activities Urban Jungle Travel Insurance covers automatically as standard, provided you participate on a recreational, amateur, and non-professional basis and subject to you following local laws and regulations and the use of recommended safety equipment:

• Abseiling: Covered within organisers' guidelines.
• Aerobics.
• Amateur athletics (track and field).
• Archaeological digging: Restricted to the use of hand tools only.
• Archery.
• Assault course: Covered for amateur participation only, provided it is not the main purpose of the trip.
• Badminton.
• Banana boating, donuts, and inflatables pulled behind a power boat.
• Baseball (amateur).
• Basketball (amateur).
• Beach games.
• Bicycle riding / Cycling: Covered while wearing a helmet where required, excluding extreme events, racing, or competitions, and restricted to a maximum altitude of 2,500 metres above sea level.
• Billiards, snooker, and pool.
• Blokarting.
• BMX riding: Covered while wearing a helmet with no racing, stunts, or obstacles, up to 2,500 metres above sea level.
• Body boarding (boogie boarding).
• Body building.
• Bowls.
• Breathing observation bubble (BOB).
• Bungee jumping / swoop: Covered within organisers' guidelines while wearing appropriate gear.
• Camel riding.
• Canoeing: Covered up to grade 2 rivers.
• Capoeira: Restricted to dance movements only with no physical contact.
• Catamaran sailing: Covered if qualified and not participating in a race.
• Clay pigeon shooting.
• Climbing: Indoors on a climbing wall only.
• Cricket (amateur).
• Croquet.
• Cross country running.
• Curling (amateur).
• Dancing (including instruction).
• Deep sea fishing.
• Dinghy sailing: Provided there is no racing.
• Dune sliding.
• Dune or wadi buggying and bashing.
• Extreme frisbees (amusement park rides).
• Falconry.
• Fell walking or running: Limited up to 2,500 metres above sea level.
• Fencing: Restricted to training only.
• Field hockey.
• Fishing.
• Fives.
• Flying as a fare-paying passenger in a fully licensed passenger-carrying aircraft.
• Flying fox (cable car).
• Football: Amateur only, with no coaching, and provided it is not the main purpose of the trip.
• Freefall / skydiving simulator.
• Frisbee / ultimate frisbee.
• Glass bottom boats or bubbles.
• Go karting: Amateur only, conducted within organisers' guidelines.
• Golf.
• Great Wall of China trekking.
• Gymnastics.
• Helicopter rides: As a fare-paying passenger in a licensed aircraft.
• High diving: Amateur only, and not the main purpose of the trip.
• Hobie catting: Covered if qualified and no racing takes place.
• Horse riding: Covered while wearing a helmet, explicitly excluding competitions, racing, jumping, and hunting.
• Hot air ballooning: Restricted to organised pleasure rides only.
• Hovercraft driving or passenger experience.
• Hurling: Amateur only, and not the main purpose of the trip.
• Husky, horse, or reindeer sledging or sleigh riding: Passenger only, accompanied by a local driver, and restricted to non-snow surfaces.
• Hydro zorbing.
• Indoor climbing (on an indoor climbing wall).
• Indoor skating or skateboarding: Covered while wearing pads and helmets.
• In-line skating or rollerblading: Covered while wearing pads and helmets.
• Javelin throwing (amateur).
• Jet boating: Explicitly excluding racing and competitions.
• Jogging.
• Karting: Covered while wearing a helmet, with no racing.
• Kayaking: Covered up to grade 2 rivers.
• Korfball (amateur).
• Lacrosse: Amateur only, and not the main purpose of the trip.
• Marathon running (amateur only and not main purpose of the trip)
• Minjin swinging.
• Mud buggying.
• Netball (amateur).
• Octopush.
• Orienteering.
• Paintballing / war games: Covered while wearing eye protection.
• Parasailing or parascending: Restricted to over-water activities only.
• Pedalos.
• Pilates.
• Pony trekking: Covered while wearing a helmet.
• Racket ball.
• Rambling.
• Refereeing (amateur only).
• Ringos or water tubing.
• Roller hockey: Amateur only, and not the main purpose of the trip.
• Rowing: Provided there is no racing.
• Rounders (amateur).
• Running (non-competitive, not part of a triathlon and not a marathon of any type)
• Safari trekking or tracking in the bush: Restricted to organised tours only.
• Sailboarding or windsurfing.
• Sailing or yachting: Covered if qualified or accompanied by a qualified individual, with no racing.
• Sand boarding, sand dunes surfing, or sand skiing.
• Sand yachting: Provided there is no racing.
• Scuba diving: Covered up to a depth of 18 metres if qualified or accompanied by a qualified instructor; excludes diving alone or cave diving, and requires a 24-hour buffer before air travel.
• Sea canoeing or kayaking: Covered within sight of land.
• Segway riding: Restricted to organised tours only, while wearing a helmet and proper safety gear.
• Shooting, small-bore target, or rifle range shooting: Covered within organisers' guidelines.
• Snorkelling.
• Sledging or sleigh riding as a passenger: Pulled by horse or reindeer, limited to a maximum of two nights for specific Lapland trips.
• Softball (amateur).
• Spear fishing: Covered without oxygen tanks.
• Speed sailing: Provided there is no racing.
• Street hockey: Covered while wearing pads and helmets.
• Street luge.
• Surfing: Includes standard surfing and onboard surf simulators.
• Swimming: Explicitly excluding competitions and racing.
• Swimming with dolphins.
• Swimming or bathing with elephants.
• Sydney Harbour Bridge walking: Restricted to organised tours where you are clipped into a safety line.
• Table tennis.
• Tai chi.
• Tall ship crewing: Provided there is no racing.
• Ten-pin bowling.
• Trampolining.
• Tree canopy walking.
• Trekking, hiking, walking, or hill walking: Up to 2,500 metres above sea level.
• Tubing.
• Tug of war.
• Volleyball (amateur).
• Water skiing and water ski jumping.
• Whale watching.
• White-water canoeing or kayaking: Covered up to grade 2 rivers.
• Wicker basket tobogganing.
• Wind tunnel flying: Covered provided pads and helmets are worn.
• Yoga.
• Zap cats.
• Zip lining or trekking: Covered provided a safety harness is worn.
• Zorbing, hydro zorbing, or sphering.

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