International travel can be a wonderful adventure, but what if you’re traveling in a foreign country and things get a little too adventurous? Despite the best laid plans and having prioritized travel to places with a reputation for being safe and secure, sometimes unexpected events in or near your destination can make it unsafe for you to stay.

Safety concerns like political unrest, military action, military coups, natural disasters resulting in a disaster area declaration, physical assault, or being declared a persona non grata by a foreign government are genuine and valid — even if they don’t happen very frequently.

Having travel insurance for every trip is always a good idea, and ensuring you have security evacuation coverage is also a smart move. Here’s everything you need to know about security evacuation insurance, which is also sometimes referred to as political evacuation coverage.

What does security evacuation insurance cover?

Security evacuation coverage provides reimbursement (up to a maximum amount dictated by your policy) for costs related to returning you to a place of safety after a covered event that causes hostile or dangerous conditions in the region where you’re traveling.

Coverage typically includes all of the major expenses you would incur by abandoning your original travel plans and fleeing to a nearby safe haven country. Your plan may pay for costs like last-minute flight arrangements, overland travel costs, food, accommodations, and the cost of securing any necessary visas. Some policies provide coverage to get you all the way back home in case of a qualifying security event.

Security evacuation insurance, like the coverage offered by battleface, also provides 24/7 support to help you arrange all the details. We will stay in contact with you for the duration, while also communicating updates to your family back home.

Once you have been successfully evacuated to a safe location, your travel insurance policy may continue to provide coverage such as trip delay and trip interruption, subject to your individual policy and up to your plan maximum.

What is not covered by security evacuation insurance?

It’s not always feasible to coordinate security evacuations in natural disaster areas or during civil unrest. If it’s deemed to be too logistically challenging or dangerous to successfully provide evacuation services, your travel insurance provider will maintain contact with you and provide remote support until you’re able to evacuate more safely.

It’s important to always check the terms of your policy to find out what’s covered and what the exclusions are. Most policies also specifically exclude trips to specific countries. For example, battleface products and services are not available for trips to Afghanistan, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Mauritania, Niger, North Korea, the Republic of South Sudan, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Venezuela, or Yemen.

It’s important to note that security evacuation coverage is meant for unforeseen circumstances. If you’re traveling to a location that already has existing and well-documented unrest, your travel insurance company may not be able to cover you, as this would be considered a foreseeable situation.

Is security evacuation insurance included in my travel insurance policy?

It depends on the policy, so be sure to read your policy documents from start to finish. For battleface travel insurance policies, security evacuation coverage can be added to a standard travel insurance policy.

How else can travel insurance help in an emergency situation?

There are plenty of other benefits in a travel insurance policy that will come in handy in a security evacuation situation. For example, your battleface insurance policy provides for medical care and emergency medical transportation if you suffer a serious injury while traveling — a real possibility if you find yourself in a destination with political or civil unrest or a natural disaster.

Travel medical coverage may reimburse you up to a set amount for a medical emergency if you require care for while traveling abroad, whether you fall ill or are injured. Since your everyday health insurance may not cover you while you’re out of the country, travel medical insurance is a must. It also usually includes medical evacuation benefits, which means if you need to travel by air ambulance to seek medical care, your travel insurance company can both cover the cost of transport to a reputable medical facility (or help you get back home) and coordinate the transport, even if you require a global rescue.

Your policy may also cover expenses if your baggage is lost, stolen or damaged. And, you can also be reimbursed for unforeseen itinerary changes caused by the dangerous event, such as if your trip is cut short and you have nonrefundable expenses that you are unable to recoup.