Does Your Travel Insurance Cover Coronavirus Medical Care/ Trip Cancellation?

Coronavirus has now spread to 74 countries, infecting over 90,000 people and killing more than 3,100. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.

China's National Health Commission said the novel coronavirus causes a disease known as Covid-19 that can be transmitted between people through "droplet transmission" through direct contact including through sneezing or coughing.

The fast-spreading virus has caused panic around the world.

Apart from the danger of catching the disease, a planned vacation abroad may be unfruitful as most tourist attractions and public spaces have been shut down in countries with higher infections like China, South Korea and Italy.

Many travellers who have decided to cancel their trips are concerned about losing all their advance payment made towards the tour packages and flight bookings.

Will your travel insurance cover trip cancellations due to fear of coronavirus?

The answer lies in the fine print of your travel insurance policy papers. Generally, travel insurance policies do not cover personal reasons for cancellation and fear of catching COVID-19 may be considered so. Insurance companies in most cases do not cover epidemics and pandemics as they risk running out of business if all of their customers seek such claims on their policies.

However, there may be some cases where you may be able to make claims.

If you had arranged for travel to Japan, for example, before the outbreak or any confirmations of infection in the city you plan on visiting and you are all set to go, the insurance company will refund your amount. In fact, some insurance companies have come forward and said that they will cover all trips to China before 21 January. For any bookings made after that, the insurance companies will not take responsibility.

If you make a booking after your government has formally issued advisory against travelling to a destination, your travel insurance will not cover the cancellation of such a trip. But, if the advisory is issued after your booking, you can claim your refund.

The coverage will depend on the destination of your travel and the timing of your trip/booking.

Travel insurance policies with "cancel for any reason" clause will refund your amount, in any case.

If you do not have a travel insurance cover:

If you had not availed for a travel insurance cover at the time of booking, you cannot do it now to claim for a refund on cancellation as coronavirus is now a known problem. You may have to rely on existing policies of your travel agency or airlines and get in touch with them.

Infected in-transit:

If you are stuck in an infected area or infected in transit, the first thing you may want to do is speak to your insurance company about the medical coverage and evacuation service that it provides.

In case your government organises the evacuation, the travel insurance is obliged to provide cover.

Your travel insurance should ideally cover basic medical treatment at a local hospital in the country of visit if you are infected in the foreign land and travelled before your government issued a travel advisory for the destination.

Conclusion

If your travel plan to a foreign land was made before the outbreak or if you are already there, your travel insurance should cover emergency medical care and evacuation. Many insurance companies are currently providing the same.

However, making bookings for new travel plans now that travel restrictions have been imposed on over 60 countries may not be wise as the intensity and duration of the virus spread cannot be ascertained at the moment.

While drugmakers work on finding a cure and vaccine for COVID-19, some countries still lack good health systems, especially for foreign travellers.

If you had made travel plans before the outbreak and are closer to the travel date, it may be wise to cancel the plan, irrespective of whether or not your travel insurance covers the disease. You will be voluntarily risking your life if you decide to go.