Travel Insurance which covers COVID-19?

[MooTime]

There'll be a lot of cancellations of travel if there's simply no fit for purpose cover.

Or

People will just travel with whatever insurance or what's in their credit card & roll the dice.

 

[Jacques Vert]

I think it will be the latter. Many people don't check their policy details until they are in the hospital.

 

[anchew]

I think the ANZ CC page is well out of date, written as of March 2020.

Doesn't this mean the March 2020 PDS would currently still apply (i.e. pandemics are included in the cover)? But if they change the PDS to be more restrictive, then as long as your insurance is activated prior to the change, then the March 2020 PDS still applies?

 

[GaryLG]

Doesn't this mean the March 2020 PDS would currently still apply (i.e. pandemics are included in the cover)? But if they change the PDS to be more restrictive, then as long as your insurance is activated prior to the change, then the March 2020 PDS still applies?

I personally wouldn't risk it as so much has changed since then.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Doesn't this mean the March 2020 PDS would currently still apply (i.e. pandemics are included in the cover)? But if they change the PDS to be more restrictive, then as long as your insurance is activated prior to the change, then the March 2020 PDS still applies?

Potentially ‘yes’… but… ANZ draws your attention to the broad exclusions such as not following any official warnings, or warnings which may have been ‘broadcast in mass media’. So travelling to the UK for example could mean no cover given the media is reporting high case there.

I’d be looking for the ANZ to update their policy to take account of covid… either specifically excluding cover, or including cover, as the case may be.

 

[MooTime]

Yes we'll be cancelling our Fiji trip for Feb.

The difficulty in getting appropriate travel insurance is the STOP point for us.
We have 2 children under 3 so the inconvenience & difficulty if covid should bite us & or our unvaxd kids just brings too much fuss with it.

If was just wife & I, we'd likely just go.

I don't fuss about insuring everything, but for travel & possibility of being stopped, held back or in some hospital or HQ in another country would prove not preferable. The costs would be unknown & actual level of care in a Fijian hospital is too much of an unknown for us.

Things may well & will no doubt change in the year.

 

[Mattg]

Potentially ‘yes’… but… ANZ draws your attention to the broad exclusions such as not following any official warnings, or warnings which may have been ‘broadcast in mass media’. So travelling to the UK for example could mean no cover given the media is reporting high case there.

I personally don't think it is good enough that ANZ hasn't given official and explicit guidance as to what is/isn't covered on their travel insurance policy.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I personally don't think it is good enough that ANZ hasn't given official and explicit guidance as to what is/isn't covered on their travel insurance policy.

Agree… but I suppose there’s hardly any market at the moment? If we use QF as a guide it’s pretty much a case of ‘subdued demand’? at least ex Australia.

I understand ANZ is supposed to be coming out with an updated policy soon… can always purchase another policy if the revised ANZ one isn’t suitable. The $250 outlay is small compared to some other cards that require $500 or even the whole airfare!

 

[JinbaIttai]

I have forgotten the general rules about when insurance needs to be taken out to be covered is it before the trip (say a week) or at the time of booking. As Mrs and MissM travel on rewards I tend to book family holidays about a year in advance. Just wondering if I need to start looking at insurers now or closer to the travel date.

I tend to book my travel insurance as soon as I book my flights, and that came in handy a few years go when a volcanic eruption affected a bunch of flights including mine.

If I'd waited until a couple of weeks before the trip I would not have been covered as it was a "known event" by then, but because I'd booked the flights and insurance several months before I was fine.

 

[troels]

Thank you Matt for such a thorough, timely and well set out article on travel insurance. Super helpful. PJ

International COVID-19 Travel Insurance Guide for Australians

Given the risks involved with international travel, getting travel insurance in this post-COVID era is more important than ever. Some countries such as

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

This was a brilliant article. I have picked multi-trip from Cover-More as I found the others all significantly more expensive for my particular quote. Oh and 7% cashback from Cashrewards.

 

[Mattg]

Looks like NIB is offering travel insurance again, as is Qantas Insurance (which is underwritten by NIB):

https://www.qantas.com/au/en/book-a-trip/travel-insurance.html

Another option that seems to be available now is AHM/Medibank travel insurance.

 

[Carrots]

I’ve asked some of our staff to review the domestic options to see what’s actually in the non corporate policies to determine if we’ll actually start reselling policies. Doubt we will at this stage due to lack of cover.

Talking to one insurer recently, they’re suggesting at present it will be mid 2022 before they start increasing Covid coverage for additional expenses etc. (medical expenses only currently covered with a number of the corporate travel insurers).

Interestingly Dual appears to have cover for more than just medical expenses in their wording, but I’d be rather dubious of this in practice.

 

[troels]

Looks like NIB is offering travel insurance again, as is Qantas Insurance (which is underwritten by NIB):

With Covid cover included?

Post automatically merged: Nov 18, 2021

Looks like NIB is offering travel insurance again, as is Qantas Insurance (which is underwritten by NIB):

With Covid cover included?

 

[Mattg]

With Covid cover included?

Yes.

I'll update the travel insurance article sometime in the next few days.

 

[GaryLG]

Looks like NIB is offering travel insurance again, as is Qantas Insurance (which is underwritten by NIB):

Looking at NIB's travel insurance page they say they are not offering travel insurance for now.

 

[troels]

Yes.

I'll update the travel insurance article sometime in the next few days.

Thanks, it's a really helpful article. Side note - you may remember me from the food tour in Beijing (or Shanghai?) in December 2019. Just before COVID happened... Finally looking to travel again, hence the need for insurance.

 

[Mattg]

Looking at NIB's travel insurance page they say they are not offering travel insurance for now.

Sorry, yes, you are quite correct.

NIB underwrites the Qantas Travel Insurance policies which are now available and offer some covid-related cover.

NIB itself doesn't seem to be offering travel insurance yet under its own name.

Thanks, it's a really helpful article. Side note - you may remember me from the food tour in Beijing (or Shanghai?) in December 2019. Just before COVID happened... Finally looking to travel again, hence the need for insurance.

Yes, I do remember meeting you in Beijing in late December 2019! Who would have thought then that China (and the world) would be so different just a month later. You definitely got in just in time with your trip.

Where are you travelling to this time?

 

[troels]

Sorry, yes, you are quite correct.

NIB underwrites the Qantas Travel Insurance policies which are now available and offer some covid-related cover.

NIB itself doesn't seem to be offering travel insurance yet under its own name.



Yes, I do remember meeting you in Beijing in late December 2019! Who would have that that China (and the world) would be so different just a month later. You definitely got in just in time with your trip.

Where are you travelling to this time?

Cambodia - haven't seen the girlfriend since March 2020. They just removed quarantine requirements for vaccinated visitors so it's good timing.

 

[Carrots]

NIB will back online from 22/11. Whether that is a direct product or via agents I'm unsure.

They basically went offline whilst they finalised a new underwriter relationship.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Looking at NIB's travel insurance page they say they are not offering travel insurance for now.

I think this issue came up somewhere up-thread as well... the same underwriters serve a number of different end providers. You cannot necessarily look at an underwriter's cover in respect of one policy and extrapolate that to another policy. For example NIB may exclude covid cover for policies they sell directly, or underwrite through Company A, B, or C. But may provide covid cover for policies they underwrite for Company D. The individual PDF is what matters, not a general policy by the underwriter, even if they are in retail.