Travel Insurance and COVID-19

Covid-19 has changed the world in many ways, and that is certainly the case with travel insurance.

When the Covid-19 outbreak happened in the spring of 2020, travelers were shocked to learn that their travel insurance policies did not cover Covid-19 as most policies had a clause exempting pandemics.

That has all changed, and today travel insurance policies typically cover travel losses due to a Covid-19 infection.

Further, as we all know, travel brands responded to the pandemic with future cruise vouchers.

If the cruise line canceled your cruise, you were offered a future cruise certificate with an extra bonus in lieu of a refund.  And what’s more, if you canceled because you were afraid of traveling during a pandemic, the cruise line also offered you a future cruise certificate in lieu of a refund.

As a result, many travelers opted for no travel insurance or perhaps a medical-only travel insurance policy.  In their minds, they figured, if I had to cancel for any reason, I could get a future cruise voucher.

We didn’t disagree.

However, things have changed, and now a negative PCR test is required 72-hours before international travel.  And in that very short window, if you pop positive on the PCR test, then you are likely to suffer a financial loss for the whole trip.  And, as you would have to cancel so close to your travel date, the travel brand is likely under no obligation to issue you a new future cruise certificate.

Therefore, the requirement for a PCR test within 72-hours of travel might be putting you at a financial risk that you were not anticipating. 

What to do

Well, ask yourself, are you willing to suffer a significant financial loss if you test positive for Covid-19 three days before you travel?

Further still, if you test positive for Covid-19 while traveling internationally, are you willing to suffer the financial loss of having to quarantine for 14-days as well as the financial loss from having to cancel the rest of your trip?

If the answer is no, then you should immediately upgrade your medical-only travel insurance policy.  And if you don’t have travel insurance, perhaps you should give it considerable consideration.

NOTE: As busy as we are, we can’t possibly handle calls and questions about travel insurance for the whole world. However, if you are one of our clients and want to revisit the travel insurance question, reach out to us by CLICKING HERE.

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