Coronavirus Trip Cancellation- guide on Travel Insurance

The global pandemic of COVID-19 has affected the whole world order—travel is no exception. Right before the arrival of 2020, holidaymakers all over the world had great travel plans. But following the uncontrollable spread of the novel coronavirus, many had to cancel their booked trips which landed them in a very undesirable condition, how? As a result of this decision, many passengers lost their money as their travel insurance companies were not ready to cover the expenses like non-refundable fees and cancellation fees. 

Coronavirus Trip Cancelation and Travel Insurance

Following the current condition of COVID-19 spread, many travel insurance companies are either stopping the new policies sale or bringing a change in their coverage policies.  So, in a situation like a pandemic disease, one must pay heed to what a travel insurance policy print says. Every traveler must know what that particular travel insurance is all about, what it covers and what are the risks involved? So, next time when any of you decide on canceling a trip, be sure that your travel insurance does cover the corona trip cancellations.

Does Travel Insurance Cover Coronavirus Trip Cancellations?

Today, most of the travel insurance companies do not cover the trip cancellations. They have this rule especially for a pandemic disease. According to them, if they start covering such expenses, they might have to give millions of dollars for the insurance policies which can be too risky for their business.

Cases where Travel Insurance may cover COVID-19 Trip Cancellations

There are certain situations where the travel insurance companies may reimburse the loss of the travelers. These may include;

• If the foreign affairs authority in your home country advises you against traveling, it becomes mandatory for the insurance company to compensate your loss or even to give full refund in some cases.
• If you have planned a trip to a country before the COVID-19 outbreak, you are likely to get covered for an extension by your travel insurance. Contrarily, if you are cancelling a trip to a less affected country, simply out of the fear then the travel insurance will not cover your cancellation.
• If the traveler has a weak immune system or he/she falls sick right before the trip, the travel insurance is responsible to give complete refund. All you need is to handover a note by your doctor to the insurance company to strengthen your point.
• The last option is to have ‘cancel for any reason travel insurance policy’. Many insurance companies have this option on their list. If you have this insurance policy, you don’t need to give any kind of clarification about the trip cancellation to the insurance company and they are bound to cover your expenses.

Limitations of ‘Cancel for any Reason’ Policy

It seems to be a really good plan but it too has some limitations like;

• Such insurance policies are about 30 to 60% expensive than a normal standard plan.
• To qualify for this particular plan, the traveler must cancel his/her trip at least 48 hours before the due date.
• Even if you get qualified for the reimbursement, you will be refunded only 50% to 75% of the total prepaid amount.

What if you are planning a trip to a COVID-19 infected area?

If it is mandatory for you to travel to a coronavirus infected area, you must buy extended travel insurance that also covers conditions like pandemic and epidemic. Once you have decided to go for this plan, make sure;

• You opt for refundable tickets and reservation.
• Your travel insurance covers medical benefits.
• It covers pandemics and epidemics.
• It offers a minimum amount of $50,000 for emergency conditions and $250,000 for emergency medical evacuation.

What to do if you are stuck in an infected area?

• If the whole pandemic thing happens when you are already in an infected area, you must check if your travel insurance has the option of non-medical evacuation coverage. If it is so, you can claim some compensation in the name of emergency evacuation. The limit of the claim depends on the plan you have bought.
• Contrary to that, if the evacuation process is initiated by the government of your home country, the travel insurance company is compelled to cover your expenses.
• Those stuck in some quarantined zone will remain there until the quarantine is over. No travel insurance evacuation coverage will be functional during the lockdown period.

Cancellation of Travel Insurance to Schengen Areas

• Keeping in view the deadly spread of COVID-19, especially in the countries like Italy, many are cancelling their travel insurance to Schengen zone. Cancelling the trip means, you will lose all the money paid for the booking. It will not be refunded except if your home country’s government has issued a warning for traveling to that place.
• In such cases, you must inform your travel insurance company about the cancellation about 48 hours before the trip date.
• If travel insurance does not cover, you can check your airlines and hotels if they have some offer to refund the amount after canceling the booking and reservation.

What if you don’t have any travel insurance?

There are many who do not opt for a travel insurance. If it is so and you already have booked a trip to some corona-infected zone, you too can save some amount.

• First of all, contact your hotel and ask for the refund for the cancellation of the hotel reservation. Keeping in view the current situation, many hotels are offering complete or partial refund. You too should try it.
• If the first option is not functional in your case, you can try to postpone your trip to that hotel. Once the pandemic is over, you can visit and stay there. But that too depends on hotel’s policy.
• Lastly, you may get some relief on your airplane ticket by rerouting your trip to some other location where corona is not playing havoc. But for all that you must inquire the authorities of the respective airline.

Conclusion:

As travel is not a safer (and recommended) option these days, you must not ignore the travel advisories by the authorities. But if you have already bought your travel insurance plan for some upcoming trip, be sure of what your travel insurance is covering. As every provider offers a different policy, you always have the option of upgrading your plan according to the requirements.