Remember Canada3000? Jetsgo? Just like these two now defunct airlines, the newest Canadian airline to run into money issues is Zoom, and for travellers who were holding airline tickets in their hands, many were left wondering if they should have bought trip cancellation insurance.

Well, that depends. Let’s first find out what trip cancellation and interruption insurance typically covers.

You will typically be covered for cancelling your trip if:

• You, or your travelling companion, are suddenly unable to travel due to a sudden, unexpected emergency medical condition
• Your travelling companion dies
• You, or your travelling companion’s, immediate family is admitted to hospital following an emergency
• There’s a unexpected death in your, or your travelling companion’s, immediate family
• A travel advisory is issued by the Canadian government, after you purchase your insurance, recommending that Canadians do not travel to the area for where you were going
• You miss your connection, due to a schedule change of the airline that is providing your transportation for a portion of your trip
• There is a natural disaster that renders your home uninhabitable
• You, or your travelling companion, are called to jury duty or subpoenaed as a witness (note however, this may exclude law enforcement officers)

Because policies vary, you might also find that you are covered for cancelling your trip if:

• The person who you are going to visit, who is your host, is unexpectedly admitted to hospital or dies
• You involuntarily lose your job
• There is a natural disaster that renders your place of business inoperative

Right. So you’ve noticed that an airline bankruptcy is not included in this list. That’s because coverage for this particular situation is treated differently across travel policies. There is trip cancellation and interruption coverage that can be bought to protect yourself against an airline’s bankruptcy; however not all policies offer this protection. As well, if this protection is available there may be restrictions or exclusions written into the policy that you will want to familiarize yourself with before assuming you’re covered.

What’s it all mean?

Each policy varies so read the policy to know exactly what you will, and will not be covered for should you have to suddenly cancel or cut short your trip. Don’t forget to shop around too; because you don’t have to take the first travel insurance policy you’re offered. Instead, with the help of Kanetix.ca you can not only find competitively priced travel insurance policies, but you can also find policies that cover almost everything you need, or want, them to cover including the occasional airline bankruptcy.

Compare travel insurance policies today from competing insurers.

Looking for more money-saving travel insurance tips? Don’t forget to:

• Read: Year-in-review: 2008's travel insurance tips that helped Canadians save
• Read: Are you paying too much for travel insurance?
• Read: Travel insurance tips for 2009 that’ll help you save
• Read: The best kept money-saving secret for buying travel insurance