Extenuating Circumstances Policy

Genuine emergencies shouldn't cost you a cancellation fee — if something serious and documented gets in the way of your trip, you can cancel outside the normal refund tiers.

What qualifies

Carvia recognizes a specific, documented emergency as extenuating circumstances, including:

A death in the immediate family.
Serious illness or injury — yours or an immediate family member's — that prevents travel.
A government-issued travel restriction that prevents you from reaching your pickup location or completing your trip.
A natural disaster affecting your pickup or return location.

This list covers the situations we recognize; if you're dealing with something serious that isn't listed here, file anyway with your documentation and our team will review it.

What it does

If your cancellation is approved under this policy, the normal cancellation tier your listing was under (Flexible, Moderate, or Strict) doesn't apply — you're not held to its refund windows or penalties. See Canceling a Trip (Guest) for how those tiers normally work, and the Cancellation Policy for the full legal terms both this page and that one are built on.

How to file

1. Cancel your trip in-app as you normally would, or contact support first if you're not sure whether your situation qualifies.

2. Submit documentation within 14 days of the cancellation through the in-app claims flow. What counts as documentation depends on the circumstance — a death certificate or obituary, a doctor's note, an official government travel notice, or a disaster declaration for the affected area are all appropriate.

3. Carvia's team reviews your submission. We may follow up in-app if we need clarification or additional documentation.

You can start this process from your trip details page (look for Report an issue or Request extenuating circumstances review) or by reaching out to support@carvia.app directly.

What happens once it's approved

Your trip is refunded outside the normal cancellation-tier limits, based on the specifics of your situation.
Carvia's service fee and your protection plan cost are refunded along with any trip price that's refunded — same as any other cancellation, we don't keep our cut on a trip that doesn't happen.
The cancellation doesn't count against you or affect your account standing.

If the trip has already started

Extenuating circumstances can still apply if an emergency comes up mid-trip and you need to end it early or can't complete a scheduled return — file as soon as you're able, and note the timing in your submission so our team can evaluate it accordingly.

A few things to know

File as soon as you can. You have 14 days to submit documentation, but starting the process early gives our team more time to help, especially if your trip start date is close.
This isn't the same as a no-show. If you simply don't show up without documentation, it's treated as a standard cancellation under your listing's tier — see Canceling a Trip (Guest).
This applies to hosts too, on their side of a cancellation. If your host has to cancel for a documented emergency, you're still protected the same way you would be for any host cancellation — see What If My Host Cancels?.