Short answer: It depends on your card’s terms. Travel insurance that comes with a card sometimes includes cancellation, but it’s often restricted — for example to trips abroad, by a low limit or by a condition that you pay for the trip with that card. Check the limit, who’s insured and which reasons it pays for. Standalone cancellation insurance with us covers any booking for 9% of the price, with a limit of up to CZK 500,000.
One-minute summary
- Card insurance is a package the bank offers with selected cards. The scope varies from card to card, even at the same bank.
- First find out whether it covers cancellation at all. Then the limit, who’s insured, whether you have to pay by card and which reasons it pays for.
- You’ll find the terms with your card in online banking or on the bank’s website. Look for the policy terms and the short insurance product information document.
- Separate cancellation insurance makes sense if your card doesn’t cover cancellation, the limit isn’t enough, you paid for the trip another way, or you’re insuring a ticket, course or camp.
- If you have two policies, tell both insurers. You won’t be paid twice, but you can claim the missing part of the loss from the second one.
How card insurance works
Banks offer travel insurance with many payment cards, especially the more expensive ones. Sometimes it’s included in the price of the card, sometimes you pay extra for it. It’s underwritten by an insurer the bank has a contract with, and it’s this contract that sets the terms.
Travel insurance mainly covers medical treatment and assistance abroad. Cancellation — cancelling the trip before departure — may or may not be included. And if it is, it may come with restrictions. That’s why it’s worth reading the terms before you pay for your holiday.
7 questions your card’s terms will answer
Go through the terms of your insurance with this table. The third column shows, for comparison, how standalone cancellation insurance works with us. With us, the insurance is always taken out for that specific booking.
| Question | Why it matters | Cancellation insurance with Meditapass |
|---|---|---|
| Does it cover cancellation at all? | Travel insurance without cancellation cover pays for treatment abroad, not a lost deposit. | It’s cancellation cover only, without travel insurance. |
| What’s the limit? | The limit is often per person, per trip or per year. For a more expensive holiday, it may not be enough. | The total price, up to CZK 500,000 per person and policy. |
| Who’s insured? | Sometimes only the cardholder, sometimes also family or fellow travellers. | Everyone you enter in the policy, up to 10 people online. |
| Do you have to pay by card? | Some policies only apply to trips paid for with that card. A deposit paid by bank transfer may then not be covered. | It doesn’t matter how or where you paid. |
| For which services? | Sometimes only package holidays and flights, or only trips abroad. | Trips in the Czech Republic and abroad, accommodation, tickets, courses, camps. |
| For which reasons? | The list of reasons may be shorter — only your own illness or injury, for example. | 14 reasons, including illness in the family, dismissal or a resit exam. |
| What’s the excess? | The excess and the exclusions decide how much you actually get back. | 10%; 0% if the insured person is hospitalised for at least 24 hours or dies. |
Where to find your card insurance terms
- In online banking under your card, often in the insurance or card benefits section.
- On the bank’s website for the specific card: look for the policy terms and the price list.
- The insurance product information document. For non-life insurance, the insurer prepares it as a short overview of what the insurance covers and what it doesn’t. It quickly tells you whether cancellation is included at all. You can see what one looks like for our insurance on the Documents page.
- The insurer’s assistance line, given on the card or in the terms. Ask specifically: “Does my card cover cancellation of a package holiday I paid for by bank transfer?”
When it makes sense to take out cancellation cover separately
Standalone cancellation insurance makes sense mainly if:
- your card insurance doesn’t cover cancellation at all,
- your card’s limit is lower than the price of the trip, for example for a family holiday,
- you paid for the trip or the deposit by bank transfer, in cash or with another card,
- you’re travelling with people your card insurance doesn’t cover,
- you’re insuring something that isn’t a trip abroad: a ticket, a course, a camp or a stay in the Czech Republic,
- you need reasons your card doesn’t cover, such as caring for a sick family member or a resit exam.
With us, you can insure any booking you’ve paid for or booked on a binding basis, wherever you bought it. More than 30 days before the start, at any time; later, only on the day you pay for it. How it works is described on the standalone cancellation insurance page, and the reasons and exclusions in the overview what the insurance covers. You can work out what it would cost in the price calculator.
Have cancellation cover with your card and with us? How it adds up
Cancellation insurance is indemnity insurance: it pays back your actual loss, not more. If you have two policies for the same trip, that’s multiple insurance, and you won’t be paid twice.
Under the Czech Civil Code, you must report multiple insurance to each insurer without undue delay. The insurer you report the claim to first pays up to its limit. If the limit isn’t enough, you can claim the rest of the loss from the other one. Our insurance’s policy terms require this too: state any other insurance when you report a claim.
So a second policy mainly pays off where the first one isn’t enough: a low limit, missing reasons or services the card doesn’t cover.
Frequently asked questions
Does travel insurance with a card cover cancelling a package holiday?
Some does, some doesn’t. Check the policy terms or the insurance product information document to see whether it includes cancellation, what the limit is and which reasons it pays for.
Do I have to have paid for the trip by card for the insurance to apply?
With some card insurance, yes. Check this in the terms. With our cancellation insurance, the payment method doesn’t matter.
Can I have cancellation cover with my card and standalone cancellation insurance at the same time?
Yes. Both insurers have to know about each other. They won’t pay you twice, but if one’s limit isn’t enough, you can claim the missing part of the loss from the other.
Does card insurance also cover tickets or courses?
Travel insurance is mainly intended for trips; tickets and courses in the Czech Republic are usually outside its scope. Check this in the terms. Our cancellation insurance also covers tickets, courses and camps, if you’ve paid for them or booked them on a binding basis.
Sources
We verified the wording of the laws on 26/10/2026. The links lead to third-party websites.
- Czech Civil Code (Act No. 89/2012 Coll.), Section 2818 — multiple insurance (opens in a new window)
- Insurance and Reinsurance Distribution Act (No. 170/2018 Coll.), Section 91 — information document for non-life insurance (opens in a new window)
- PP STORNO CZ 11/2025 policy terms — on the Documents page
Related
This article is general information, not legal or financial advice. The wording of the policy terms and your seller’s terms is what counts. The example scenarios are illustrative.