Manulife has advised that worldwide jet fuel shortages are now considered a “known event” under its trip cancellation and interruption insurance, limiting coverage for policies bought from early May.
In an advisory, the Canadian insurer said that as of May 5, 2026, if a Manulife travel policy is purchased on or after that date and travel disruptions occur due to the jet fuel situation, “benefits would not apply due to the current situation being a known event.” Travellers who purchased coverage before May 5 “may be covered under their policy’s misconnection or disruption benefits” if the fuel shortage causes a delay or disruption to their return home. If an insured flight is cancelled or interrupted on or after May 5 for this reason, benefits tied to the fuel shortage “would not apply, as it is now considered a known event.”
Manulife has taken a similar approach for certain destinations. According to a report from Global News, travel disruptions linked to events in the Middle East have been treated as a known event since Feb. 28, 2026, and for Cuba since Feb. 10, 2026.
The move comes amid a severe global jet fuel crunch that has driven up costs for airlines and led to capacity cuts and cancellations across multiple regions. Higher fuel prices and supply constraints have prompted carriers in Europe, Asia-Pacific and North America to trim schedules, introduce surcharges and, in some cases, warn of further disruption if supply pressures persist.
The situation raises the prospect of widespread, correlated claims from trip cancellations and delays driven not by localized weather or airline insolvency, but by a systemic supply shock.
Classifying the jet fuel shortage as a known event allows Manulife to cap its exposure on new business while continuing to honour coverage for policyholders who bought before the issue crystallized, in line with common industry practice on foreseeable events, according to the report.
For brokers, timing of purchase is now critical. Clients buying Manulife trip cancellation and interruption coverage on or after May 5 should be made aware that fuel-related cancellations or schedule changes will generally not trigger benefits under this policy wording. In those cases, travellers will need to look primarily to airlines for refunds, rebooking or vouchers.
For existing policyholders who purchased before May 5, advisers will need to review misconnection and trip disruption provisions carefully to clarify the extent of any remaining protection if jet fuel shortages delay or complicate their return travel. The distinction between policies bought before and after the cutoff date is likely to be a key source of customer questions as the situation evolves.
The “known event” designation also underscores the importance of understanding exclusions and definitions in trip policies.
Many travel insurance contracts exclude events that a reasonable person “should have known may arise” at the time of purchase; once a global disruption such as a fuel crisis is widely reported, insurers are on firmer ground treating related interruptions as foreseeable for new buyers, the report said.
