This is what is called Curtailment, where you wish to come home if an immediate relative becomes very ill, or an immediate relative passes away and you wish to return home for their funeral.
To arrange authority for this sort of scenario, please just go to the Claims page on our website and look at the Curtailment Claims section, as that tells you what you need to do. Essentially though, you can claim back any unused tours, flights or accommodation you cannot get a refund on. In addition, if you already have a flight ticket home, we will pay for any amendment fees you need to pay for that ticket or buy you a new ticket if your original ticket cannot be amended. Do note, if you don’t already have a return ticket back home, this isn’t something you can claim for as you would have had to buy one eventually in any event.
If you’re away for a long period of time, for example on a working holiday, you may just wish to come home for a short period of time to visit your relative or attend their funeral. In this instance, rather than put in a Curtailment claim which will end your policy, you may wish instead to just exercise a “home visit”, and just fly back to recommence your working holiday afterwards. Doing this will not affect the validity of your policy.
In all situations, the Claim form for your Curtailment would need to be completed by the patient’s Doctor confirming that at the time you took out your policy, or travelled, that they had seen no substantial likelihood that their patient’s condition (if any existed at that time) would have deteriorated to such a degree to require you to come back. If the patient’s Doctor cannot do this, then any curtailment claim would, in all probability, fail.
Note: If you took the Travel Resumption option when you took out your cover, and then have a successful Curtailment claim, once you’re ready to recommence your original journey, your policy will pay for your flights back out to recommence your trip, and your flight home again at the end of your policy duration. In addition, your original policy will remain valid.