Can you back out of your trip to a Sars-hit region?

Clare Francis sees what the chances are of a refund if you want to cancel your flight because of the virus

As the severe acute respiratory syndrome virus continues to take hold, anyone due to travel to a Sars-affected area in the coming weeks is likely to be worried about where they stand if they feel inclined to cancel their trip.

And unfortunately, even though both the UK Government and the World Health Organisation are warning against travelling to certain regions, this doesn't necessarily mean you will be eligible for a refund from your travel insurer or tour operator should you take the advice and cancel your trip.

Mary Novakovich is flying to Toronto tomorrow for her grandmother's 90th birthday. Luckily for her, the Foreign Office has lifted its travel warning on the city. If it hadn't, Ms Novakovich would have had to decide if she was still going to make the trip despite the Government's warning, because neither Air Canada nor her insurer, Direct Travel, would refund the money for her and her partner's tickets.

"I made two big mistakes," says Ms Novakovich. "The first was taking insurance out with Direct Travel. Shortly after I'd called them and spoken to the senior underwriter, who told me that I wouldn't be covered for cancellation, I read that Direct Line was covering people [in this situation].

"The second mistake was booking with Air Canada. Direct Travel advised me to contact the airline, but while British Airways was offering customers full refunds, Air Canada wasn't. In a way that's understandable because it recently applied for bankruptcy protection and will want to hold on to every penny it can. But I'm very annoyed and will never fly with them again."

Now that the warning about Toronto has been lifted, Ms Novakovich feels more reassured about travelling there, but that doesn't take away the stress of the past couple of weeks.

"It would have been good to have had some options," she says. "At a time when there was lots of panic, I had no choice. The flights cost us £800, which is a lot to lose, but equally I was facing the alternative of travelling without being covered for Sars. So it was a classic catch 22 situation."

It seems extraordinary that an event like the Sars outbreak isn't covered by travel insurance; the reason we take out cover is to protect ourselves should something go wrong. However, as many people found out after 11 September, the things you'd expect to be covered for as a matter of course aren't always included in a travel policy.

Malcolm Tarling, spokesman for the Association of British Insurers (ABI), warns that you need to read the small print. "Most policies state 'cancellation as a result of' and then list the things you can cancel for, and it's unlikely that government advice will be covered," he says. Cancellation cover usually includes serious injury or illness, being called up for jury service or becoming pregnant.

Mr Tarling says the reason why most cancellation terms are quite restrictive is to keep the premium down. He adds, though, that some policies will include a "due to circumstances beyond your control" clause – in which case you would be covered if the Foreign Office advised against travel to a certain area.

That said, the travel and insurance industries have been working to try to protect travellers in the wake of the Sars outbreak. But there is no set policy; much depends on which company you are travelling with and who is covering you.

If you are due to go on a package holiday to an affected area and your tour operator is a member of the Association of British Travel Agents (Abta), you will be offered either a refund, an alternative destination or the chance to defer your trip. If you are travelling independently, contact the airline and your insurer and hope that, unlike Ms Novakovich, one of them is offering refunds.

"As the Sars situation is changing on an almost daily basis, any restrictions that might apply to our travel insurance are being relayed to new customers at the time of purchase," says Stuart Neill at Tesco Personal Finance. "And if customers purchased their policies prior to 3 April, we would also advise them to contact us before they travel so we can give them the most up-to-date information."

Direct Line is not selling new travel policies to people going to a Sars-affected area, and anyone with existing insurance will not be covered for Sars. But those who travelled to an affected area before the Government issued a travel warning would be covered by the insurer should they contract the virus.

Direct Line is also offering cancellation cover for those due to travel to Hong Kong or to Beijing, Shanxi or Guangdong provinces. Direct Travel and Churchill are operating a similar policy although, with regard to cancellations, they are advising customers to contact their tour operator or airline.

On the other hand, AIG Europe – whose partners include Boots, JourneyWise, Opodo, Virgin Atlantic, Argos, Homebase and eBookers – is still offering medical cover for Sars even if you decide to visit an affected country.

Anyone concerned about Sars who is due to travel with an Abta-registered tour company can call the association's information line on 020 7307 1907.