Between rising petrol prices, changing flight routes, and constant updates on the conflict in the Middle East, travel feels a bit less predictable in 2026.
If you’re heading overseas this year, understanding how travel risk is assessed in your life insurance application can help you avoid unexpected surprises.
Why insurers ask about travel plans
Let’s start by understanding why a life insurance company wants to know about your travel plans. Life insurance companies ask about your travel plans because where you travel can affect your risk level. Most travel is straightforward, but some destinations - particularly those experiencing conflict or instability - carry a higher risk and uncertainty.
This isn’t new in 2026, insurers have always considered travel as part of the application process - it’s simply more front of mind in the current global environment.
Travel Risk
Right now, insurers are paying closer attention to international travel - especially to regions experiencing conflict or instability. This doesn’t automatically mean you can’t get cover. However, travel to higher-risk areas (such as DFAT or MFAT Level 3 and 4 destinations) may affect your application, depending on your individual plans.
Not all destinations carry the same risk.
A quick holiday to Australia is very different from travelling to, or transiting through, higher-risk regions like the Middle East. We use official government travel advice to guide decisions, including:
The official government travel advice ranks destinations from lower to higher risk, based on all the information available. These are typically grouped into levels 1 through 4, with levels 3 and 4 indicating higher-risk destinations where travel is discouraged or not advised. When travel plans (including any stopovers or transit through higher-risk regions) include a level 3 or 4 destination, we may need to understand more about those plans before cover can be confirmed.
What does this mean for you?
If you have travel plans to a destination that official government websites have identified as higher risk, your application will be assessed to better understand your situation.
This assessment will usually take into account factors such as:
- Where you’re travelling (including specific regions within a country and any transit points)
- The purpose of your trip (e.g. holiday, business, visiting family)
- How long you plan to stay
- Whether this is a one-off trip or part of ongoing travel
If travel plans are uncertain or likely to change, this may also be taken into account.
Based on this, cover may be offered with a travel exclusion, postponed until you return, or in some cases, proceed as normal. In higher-risk situations, postponement is more likely until travel plans change or are completed.
Our team are here to help. If you want to talk through options or understand how this would affect your Life Insurance application, you can reach out to our team on 0800 22 22 23.
