Has anyone come across any travel insurers yet that will cover cancellations due to coronavirus related issues? For example the recent Australian foreign office Level 2 advisory on travel to South Korea and Italy and the Level 4 “do not travel” advisory to China?
I suspect there won’t be any (I’ve asked World2Cover and they said they don’t) and the Insurance Council of Australia weren’t helpful either. But would be good to know if anyone has had luck with this.
A Google search brought up some (looks like) useful websites.
The ABC did an article that may be useful to fill in the gaps.
ING insurance does cover for cancellation only if the country in question becomes a level 4,Do not travel. I signed up to them earlier last week.
Yes world2cover doesn’t cover. I asked as well prior to signing up ING.
No worries. Yeah I was worried myself but found them after reading few forums.
Personally wouldn’t be travelling to Japan even if it does go to level 3. But if it becomes a 4, means we are covered.
ING are still covering coronavirus and are not enforcing a cut of date for purchasing the policy.
Is that relating to cancellation costs? Or for medical expenses if you contract the virus when travelling? Or both?
Did you get written confirmation from ING stating that they are still covering corona virus?
I had a long and frustrating dialogue with ING today trying to get that “written confirmation” that claims related to COVID-19 Coronavirus are covered. In short, they didn’t give me that written confirmation and I think there’s every likelihood that coronavirus claims won’t be covered if the policies were taken out after January/February. But I’ll reproduce the dialogue in full below, and you can decide for yourself.
Me: Hi, if I take out an ING travel insurance policy now, for travel to Europe (not Italy), will it cover Coronavirus-related claims?
ING: As each claim is unique we are unable to pre-determine the outcome of a claim that has not happened. You may still be covered for ‘Cancellation and Amendment Fees’ if you decide to cancel or cut your trip short because a location in your planned itinerary is added or upgraded to the ‘Do Not Travel’ locations after the policy issue/purchase date and before your departure date on the Insurance Certificate. Please refer to page 19 of our Product Disclosure Statement for details on the inclusions/exclusions of the Cancellation and Amendment Fees cover.
Me: I’m more concerned about whether we’d be covered in the extremely unlikely event of COVID-19 related hospitalisation. We’re a couple [not in a high-risk age group]. Assuming we don’t go to a country which is rated “do not travel” or “reconsider your need to travel”, are you able to give me a straight answer: would we be covered for hospitalisation? I’m thinking of a comprehensive policy.
ING: AGS is covering the Novel CoronaVirus (COVID) and is assessing each claim on their merit and on a case by case basis in accordance with our Product Disclosure Statement, your claim will be assessed depending on factors such as your cover type, trip type, the section of our Product Disclosure Statement you are wanting to claim under and the documents you can provide us. Please note as per our Product Disclosure Statement, under General Exclusion number three, we will not cover any claim relating to an incident which you were aware of at the time you took out this insurance and which could reasonably be expected to lead to a claim.
Me: Thanks again. One more direct question: If I were to take out a policy right now, for travel to Europe, would ING consider COVID-19 to be “an incident which I was aware of at the time of taking out the insurance and which could reasonably be expected to lead to a claim”? I’m aware that under this wording you would not cover Italy. But what about other countries in Europe? I’m sorry to press you on this but I’m sure you would agree with me that ING has an ethical and legal obligation to clearly state what is and what is not covered!
ING: Thanks for your response. Claims relating to the Novel CoronaVirus (COVID) may be covered dependent on the exact circumstances and would be assessed subject to the terms, conditions, limits and exclusions of the policy. Without having the details of the circumstances leading to an actual claim, we are unable to provide a definitive claims decision. Thanks.
That was the dialogue. My somewhat cynical, but I believe realistic, take: ING, unlike most other insurance companies, hasn’t comprehensively ruled out covering COVID-19 claims, but if you do make a claim, and you took out the policy after it became news, they could and probably would refuse to pay based on COVID being “an incident which you were aware of at the time you took out this insurance”. Caveat emptor!
This is the best and most detailed response I could have asked for. Thank you so much @sixtyeight
It’s excellent that we have people like you on this forum.
I personally have a policy with SCTI, which was purchased last year. I have read the PDS and the website’s news posts relating to Covid-19 and was still confused. I was pretty sure I’m covered for medical, but not cancellation. After reading the choice.com article that @w.hiew posted, it appears to validate my thoughts, and that I am covered for medical expenses relating to the virus as long as the country we are travelling to doesn’t get listed as level 3 or 4 from WHO or Australian government. I have emailed them asking for confirmation.
Even after your excellent and detailed response, I think that it is unrealistic to think any insurance company would cover anything relating to the virus now that it is a ‘known’ event/pandemic. I have read a lot of PDS’ this weekend, and there appear to be too many ‘get out’ clauses now that this is a known event.
As it stands, my wife and I plan on doing our Dubai, Thailand, and Singapore trip starting Easter weekend!!