Coronavirus Travel Advice Update

The majority of policies will not provide cover if travel is against the advice of the FCDO. This would be for ‘All Travel’ and ‘All but Essential Travel’. If the area is classified as ‘All but Essential Travel’ and customers are still planning to go they must ensure they have adequate travel insurance cover, which may require them to purchase an alternative policy to cover the one-off trip.

The FCDO does not have a definition of what they class as ‘Essential Travel’. The FCDO website states ‘Whether travel is essential or not is your own decision. You may have urgent family or business commitments to attend to. Circumstances differ from person to person. Only you can make an informed decision based on the risks’.

In the event of a claim the customer will need to evidence this with written statements and proof that all other possibilities have been exhausted.  If there is any mention of ‘like’ or ‘want’ (desirables) to travel, then it is more than likely that the circumstances would not be deemed essential and the customer would be seen as exposing themselves to unnecessary risk.

If emergency medical costs are covered on the policy and the insured catches Coronavirus or requires medical treatment, then yes cover will be in place for emergency and necessary treatment. Customers should be aware that our policies are travel insurance policies and not private medical insurance meaning that there is no cover for any medical expenses incurred in private medical facilities if we have confirmed that medically capable public facilities are available.

Please contact the Medical Emergency Assistance Team when required – the contact details will be available on the policy wording.

Policies may provide cover for repatriation when it is medically necessary. If so, the Assistance Team will liaise with a treating doctor(s) about a treatment plan and if required obtain a ‘fit to fly’ certificate. We also liaise with the affected part(ties) to advise on, and put in place, suitable repatriation plans to return the insured home as soon as it is medically safe to do so in order to achieve optimal recovery. Our team are unable to make arrangements to repatriate where it is against local advice, where travel is restricted or where it would pose a risk to other passengers.

This type of event is usually not covered across the travel insurance industry for cancellation. This is because most policies have specific reasons for cancellation and the “fear of an epidemic, pandemic, infection or allergic reaction” is not one of those reasons.

We would advise travellers who have booked package holidays to a destination affected by the viral outbreak and looking to cancel their trip or amend their travel plans to contact their travel agent or tour operator in the first instance.

If the insured is admitted to hospital the policy will usually provide assistance with returning home when they have been discharged.

If they are admitted to hospital please contact the Medical Emergency Assistance Team – the contact details will be available on the policy wording.

If the insured is confined to accommodation the policy may contribute towards the cost of food and additional accommodation, some may also include the additional costs of getting home. Check the specific policy wording for more information on this.

If travel is made to an area which the FCO advise against travel to, there would be no cover under the travel insurance policies as this would be considered as a known event.

If travel is made to an area and the FCO advice changes after leaving home, the traveller should contact their travel agent or tour operator for information on the availability of flights or refunds in the first instance.

If entry is refused at passport/border control, the traveller should contact their airline or transport provider to arrange to change the return ticket to allow an early return.

This type of event is usually not covered across the travel insurance industry for cutting short a trip. This is because most policies have specific reasons for cutting a trip short and the “fear of an epidemic, pandemic, infection or allergic reaction” is not one of those reasons.

We would advise travellers who have booked package holidays in this situation to contact their travel agent or tour operator for information on the availability of flights in the first instance.

If travelling independently from a tour operator or travel agent, the insured should make their own arrangements to leave by either altering return tickets where possible, or booking onto an alternative commercial flight or mode of transport. Claims for independent traveller’s additional expenses in returning home earlier than planned, where medically justified, will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

The policy may provide cover for cutting short a trip due to changes in FCO advice. Check the policy wording for more information on this.

If the insured is unable to return home on their planned date the policy may contribute towards the cost of food and additional accommodation, it may also include the additional costs of getting home

Instructions from local authorities should be followed as it is more than likely that quarantine will be enforced.

Travellers should contact their travel agent or tour operator for assistance in the first instance.

The policy may contribute towards the cost of food and additional accommodation, some may also include the additional costs of getting home. Check the policy wording for more information on this.

We would suggest that if that part of the journey has not started, the insured should contact the airline to change their travel plans to move on to the next part of the travel itinerary.

If the insured arrives at their stop-over airport and entry is denied due to the virus they should contact their airline to change their travel plans to move on to the next part of the travel itinerary.