Iran war affects travel plans: does travel insurance cover it? 6 things Hong Kong travellers must check

On 28 February 2026, the United States and Israel launched a large-scale airstrike on Iran, and Iran immediately retaliated, with explosions reported across several Middle Eastern countries. Eight Middle Eastern countries have temporarily closed their airspace, and Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways have all suspended flights. Whether you are travelling to the Middle East or transiting via Dubai or Doha to Europe, you may encounter disrupted itineraries, be stranded at your destination, or be delayed at a transit hub. Below are six things you need to check in your travel insurance policy. 

Hong Kong’s Security Bureau’s Outbound Travel Alert System (OTA) has three alert levels. Many policies directly link trip cancellation cover to the OTA level: 

If a policy only covers Black while the OTA is Red, you may not be compensated even if the situation is dangerous. Some policies pay 100% for Black and 50% for Red, while others do not cover OTA at all. For example: 

AXA Hong Kong and Macau “卓越”豐盛優悠樂 SmartTraveller – Section 9
If the Hong Kong Government issues a Black/Red travel alert within 7 days before departure, 100%/50% of the irrecoverable deposits or expenses incurred from trip cancellation will be compensated (applicable to the Supreme/Supreme Plus plans). Relevant terms:
“the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region issuing a “Red” or “Black” alert... according to the “Outbound Travel Alert System”, notwithstanding General Exclusions 1A(iii)” 

Allianz, on the other hand, excludes alerts that already existed when the policy was purchased: 

Allianz — Section 12.2.6
The following is an exclusion in relation to trip cancellation:
“Any travel when Black Travel Alert or Red Travel Alert were hosted or announced by Hong Kong Security Bureau prior to the Effective date of the Policy.” 

The same event can lead to completely different outcomes. Policyholders must carefully read the trip cancellation terms of their travel insurance policy. 

Almost all travel insurance policies exclude war. In other words, they do not cover claims for death or injury, medical expenses, trip cancellations and so on arising from war. Below are examples of how insurers commonly phrase war exclusion clauses: 

Zurich Travel Protection — General Exclusions
“Any loss resulting directly or indirectly from... war, invasion, act of foreign enemy, hostilities (whether war is declared or not), civil war, rebellion, insurrection, revolution, usurped power, military force or coup” 

FWD MyTravel — General Exclusions
“War, civil War, invasion, insurrection, revolution, use of military power or usurpation of government or military power” 

However, some policies specifically “carve out” this exclusion in the cancellation section. This can be a little complicated because it involves the concept of a double negative. Put simply, although the policy does not cover war, it does not exclude (= does cover) trip cancellations caused by war. The key word in the wording is “notwithstanding”. For example, Blue Cross excludes war under General Exclusion 3(c), but its cancellation cover states:

Blue Cross TravelSmart — Sections 7 – Trip Interruption Benefit
“riot or civil commotion (notwithstanding General Exclusion 3(c)) at the planned destination of the Journey” 

If there is no carve-out for the war exclusion under the trip cancellation cover, claims related to the Iran war may be rejected outright. To understand your policy cover, first check the war exclusion clause, then review the cancellation section to see whether there is any notwithstanding wording providing cover. 

Almost all policies exclude events that were already “existing or publicly announced” before purchase. The Iran conflict escalated in June 2025, with the travel alert raised to Black, and was downgraded to Red in August the same year. As of the time of writing (28 February 2026), Iran’s travel alert remains Red. Of course, it is not common for Hong Kong travellers to visit Iran itself, but this Iran war has also affected neighbouring Middle Eastern countries, and Hong Kong people often transit via places such as Dubai and Doha. So how do insurers view such travel disruption cases, and from when does an “existing” situation begin to count? We hope insurers will provide further clarification.

Journey not yet started: Check the “Cancellation Cover”, and note the travel warnings, civil unrest and airport closures. Note: The UAE has no travel warning, so travelling to Dubai requires reliance on other trigger conditions such as “airport closure”.

Already travelling: Check “Trip Curtailment” or “Trip Interruption”. Travellers who departed before the conflict escalated will generally have a stronger basis for a claim. 

If paying a claim would cause the insurer to breach international sanctions, they may refuse to pay. Iran is subject to extensive sanctions, so if the journey directly involves Iran, this may still be affected even if all other conditions are met. Of course, whether this clause is invoked remains at the insurer’s discretion. 

This affects far more people than one might imagine. Many Hong Kong travellers fly with Emirates or Qatar Airways, transiting through Dubai or Doha en route to Europe and Africa. At the time of writing, all three airlines have been grounded, so even if your final destination has no direct connection to the conflict, your flight is almost certain to be affected.

Most policies’ “trip delay” cover includes “airport closure” (typically triggered after a delay of 5 to 6 hours). However, the issue is this: unlike cancellation cover, most delay clauses do not contain a specific war exclusion “waiver”. On the face of it, an insurer could refuse a claim on the basis that the underlying cause is armed conflict. We hope insurers will clarify their position as soon as possible.

In addition, if your final destination is London but you are transiting through Dubai, does the “destination” under the policy refer to Dubai or London? This grey area may determine whether the war exclusion applies. Affected travellers should check directly with their insurer.

Before making a claim, you may first wish to understand the arrangements offered by the airlines — Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways are all offering rebooking and refunds, while travel insurance usually only covers losses that cannot be recovered.  

1. Review your policy using the above checklist. Identify the six key points: OTA trigger, war exclusion waiver, foreseeability, curtailed journey cover, sanctions clause, and travel delay cover.
2. Call the insurer directly to check whether your trip is covered, and try to obtain written confirmation.
3. First find out what arrangements the airline is making. Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad are currently offering rebooking and refunds. Insurance only covers losses that cannot be recovered.
4. Keep all documents: booking confirmations, receipts, cancellation notices, and receipts for additional expenses incurred during the period of being stranded.
5. Keep an eye on OTA updates. If the status changes from red to black, it may significantly strengthen the basis for a claim.  

Important telephone numbers:  
• Immigration Department 24-hour assistance hotline: (852) 1868  
• 1868 WhatsApp assistance service
• Outbound Travel Alert website: www.sb.gov.hk/chi/ota/  
• Emirates: emirates.com/hk  
• Qatar Airways: qatarairways.com 

This English version of this article has been generated by machine translation powered by AI. It is provided solely for reference purposes. In the event of any discrepancy or inconsistency between this translation and the original Chinese version, the Chinese version shall prevail.