Travel Insurance COVID 19
Had the following email from Insure & Go yesterday whom we have our annual policy with. Wonder if others are or will follow suit?
The unprecedented disruption that Coronavirus is causing across the travel industry has caused us to make some very difficult decisions.
On the 11th March 2020, the World Health Organisation upgraded the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak to a worldwide Pandemic.
Based on this, as of the 13th March 2020, we have classed Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) as a “Known Event” in line with the policy terms conditions.
How does this impact me?
If you purchased your policy before the 13th March 2020:
- For any element of your trip booked before the 13th March 2020, any subsequent claim will be considered in line with the terms and conditions.
For any element of your trip booked after the 13th March 2020:
- We will not cover any claims caused by or relating to Coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Nor will we cover any claims relating to any fear or threat concerning this virus.
Please note that we will continue to accept claims unrelated to the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), and to answer any questions or queries that you may have on this, or any other matter. For more details please review our FAQs here or contact us at customer.services@insureandgo.com
Comments
-
We are booked (and fully paid up) for a 6-week stay in France from mid-May 2020. I am interpreting my personal holiday health insurance as follows:
Covid-19 being covered because it was not a restricted element at the time of booking. However, when the time comes to travel, I would expect the conditions of travel to be:
A) If the government (foreign Office) and/or the French government give instructions not to travel, then we should not do so and the payment be refundable.
Ignoring this advice would be at our own risk, and therefore not covered by contracting Covid-19.C) If there was no such advice not to travel, and the insurer said a refund would not be given if we ourselves decided not to go, then cover for Covid-19 would be in place if we did go.
To me, this seems a fair assessment of the situation - whether the insurance companies see it that way could be an entirely different matter.
0 -
The information on the virus measures across the EU/UK changes daily, and the Club have provided some good advice on-line.
If you are like me already booked and with Red Pennant then it is surprising that the Club now inform me that:
If you just change your mind you would not be covered.
if the FCO advise against travel the Red Pennant would not cover you but the Club would contact the ferry company and sites to get a refund for you or amend your holiday to later dates.
For refunds, you need to travel out and back within a year from the original booking date (not the date of travel)
Each of us will make our own travel decisions but if you were expecting your insurance to cover you for the virus, you may be in for a surprise.
0 -
Easyonthegas, Cancel all you can and get all the refunds you can. Make fresh plans when all this is over. Stay well.
0 -
My travel insurance company, AXA, has already advised we will not be covered for COV-19 related illness for bookings made after 18th March 2020. I take it from this statement that any bookings made prior to this date would be covered. I won't be able to test this because the bookings I have made are offering refunds in one way or another.
peedee
0 -
I have now cancelled my planned holiday to Spain, and will lose the ferry deposit of £250 made with Brittany Ferries. The site fees and the Red Pennant premium is refundable however.
Refunds were not offered but they would have been little use for my circumstances
0 -
Will they not let you carry the deposit over to a future sailing? P&O have deferred mine for up to a year from my original sailing date.
0 -
Hi easy, seems odd that BF have said no refund/deferment unless you simply cancelled, perhaps online, with no discussion?
On their website BF say that if they cancel they will give you a voucher and if you don't want to travel you can amend.
0 -
yes this worked for me contacted club today to cxl RP, trip booked 14th April thru 23June, no problems cxld in 5 minutes on telephone and will be charged back to my credit card, will take voucher from BF for outward journey, inbound BF is flexi ticket only paid deposit thus far, will just keep moving date forward if at some point i decide not to go over there again will loose ferry money but only Portsmouth - Caern in both directions so no big shakes, will just be grateful to survive this dreadful virus.
0 -
We had 2 booking with BF, one for mid April which has now been cancelled by them and a voucher issued for the full amount and valid for 2 years. The second booking is for mid June and on the new booking tariff (Flexi) so will just keep moving the date forward until we hit a time we can go then use the voucher for coming back.
The problem with some companies is if you cancel then you loose the deposit or full amount if paid. Some times it is best to sit it out and wait for them to cancel, which is what we did for the mid April ferry.
0 -
From what I have read on the B/F website, any cancelled bookings (e.g., Foreign Office advice not to travel), will be covered by voucher, and not refund. The length of time for which the voucher is valid appears to be dependent upon the class level of the booking.
For ourselves, being in our mid-80’s, this is not acceptable because there is no way of knowing that be would meet the health requirements in 12 months time. Health insurance companies could make refusal or abortive costs a block to travel.
0 -
I am beginning to feel a bit of distrust towards B/F (and possibly Red Pennant? - in this case it is only for breakdown cover for our car and caravan), because of what I am reading. If the UK government are still advising not to travel when our holiday is due to start, then for me that is advice which must be observed, and it would be crass stupidity to ignore the official advice.
In addition, our booked campsite (through the Club, as is our ferry booking) is closed under French government rules until the end of April - what if this closure is extended?
We are in our mid-80’s, and the ruling concerning COVID-19, if not followed, can be a matter of life or death. Under these circumstances, it is totally unacceptable that any of the involved travel companies should be in a position to wheedle their way out of giving full refunds. If those companies have not themselves insured for cancellations outside their customers’ control, then tough! We have accepted travel bookings with the provision that, should we cancel on a whim, so speak, then it is to our cost. When there is no choice on our part, then a full refund is morally due.
0
