As a travel advisor, I absolutely advise that you do not travel at the moment unless you absolutely must, but I don’t advise against planning that next trip of yours.
Hopefully, we will be able to travel again as soon as the summer, but of course that could always be pushed back so let’s just make sure everything’s covered by your travel insurance.
And for the love of god, please use a travel advisor. With government travel and shelter-at-home regulations in the world changing at a dizzying speed for an indeterminate amount of time, you could really use a travel specialist on your team.
As I looked on the Allianz website to see what exactly I can claim for my client who had his March 2020 Vietnam trip cut short because of the coronavirus scare, I was stumped. Obviously coronavirus wasn’t covered. Who could have planned for such a scenario when we purchased this insurance policy back in December 2019. Reading further into the fine print, I see that government prohibitions, warnings, travel advisories and fear of travel are also not covered.
Unless… you actually somehow contract coronavirus on your trip or your trip is cancelled due to an illness relating to coronavirus before or during your trip.
So basically, what the insurance company is saying here, we won’t cover you if you are scared of contracting the virus or if you’re scared of spreading it across the globe, but if you do get the virus, they got you. But who wants to get the virus?
My client was afraid that he was going to be quarantined in a foreign country during this anxious time and wanted to cut his trip short to be with his wife. Under these circumstances, he might be able to claim the cost of his birdwatching trip cut short as well as the money paid to the hotels and tour guides and local transportation company under the guise of a trip interruption. But since coronavirus, government warnings, event and tour cancellations aren’t covered, what would I have to write in the claim so they maybe get some of their money back? Maybe… it’s not a guarantee, and I don’t like that at all. I like to see my clients protected and get their money back during times like this. Isn’t that why we buy travel insurance? To feel safe or at least assured that if there was an emergency, we would recoup some costs. In this time when we actually need them, I did not feel reassured at all by the insurance company’s fine print.
I thought about the possibility of my clients not being able to get that portion of their trip reimbursed and sighed. As a travel advisor, I want to make sure my clients not only have the best trip ever but I also want to make sure that in the case anything happens to interrupt the trip, especially a worldwide pandemic, that they are covered.
Thank goodness for the good relationships I have with my ground operators as well as my agency’s relationship with the airlines as my client was able to get a full refund on a flight that they had panic-bought after Trump’s announcement of the travel ban from Europe.
Another client was able to move their trip from March to October at no additional cost because of my personal relationship with my ground operators.
Even though my current clients’ trips were salvaged with little to no financial damage, I couldn’t feel a little queasy… how I could continue planning trips in good faith for my clients in this very uncertain state of world affairs that we are in. Reading the fine print regarding the lack of pandemic insurance coverage made me wonder… were there any insurance companies at all that covered pandemics and government regulations? In short, no. But there are ways you can get around it.
As I was in the middle of planning a honeymoon in Tanzania when coronavirus hit, I needed to make sure that there was a good insurance option for my clients before I advised them to go ahead and make a payment on their trip in the case that we were still under lockdown or whatever other “Acts of God” would be upon us in July.
So I called the most reputed insurance agencies I work with and here’s what I found were the best travel insurance options for my clients:
Please note that “fear of travel” is not covered by any insurance companies. Also, the examples cited in this article outlines a brief overview of the types of insurance coverage available by different companies – specific trip insurance claims for specific trips are on a case by case basis.
Option 1:
The Classic Plan + Cancel Anytime - must be purchased at the time of initial trip deposit.
This allows you to cancel the trip simply because you changed your mind, getting back up to 80% of the entire trip cost. This is the safest best for insurance since it covers practically every reason to cancel. You will still get up to 100% for covered reasons. Also, the Allianz Agent also told me that if I filed a claim for you to not cite the reason for the claim as “due to coronavirus” or even “due to government regulations” as they will not be able to approve that. I will have to cite the reason as they "Changed Their Mind" – that would yield the greatest approval rate and would give you up to 80% of the nonrefundable portion of your money spent on the trip back.
Update: They’ve changed their policy starting April 23rd. Children are not longer free under this plan and insurance must be purchased when you make your initial travel deposit.
Please keep abreast on their latest Coronavirus updates by clicking here.
Option 2:
The Pro Plus Plan
If you purchase The Pro Plus Plan within 21 days of the initial deposit, it also includes a pre-existing condition waiver as well as bankruptcy coverage in the case that the tour operator goes bankrupt. With this plan you can also cancel for a business reason. This plan also acts as your primary medical insurance during your travels and covers medical evacuations as well as up to 100% back of the services not rendered in the lost portion of your trip.
Will you be covered under quarantine? Unfortunately, only if the policy was purchased on or before January 21, 2020, then Trip cancellation or Trip interruption benefits may be available to cover expenses if the policyholder is physically quarantined while traveling.
They also used to offer the “Cancel For Any Reason” upgrade until February but they are no longer offering that.
For the latest updates, click here.
Option 3:
Travel Select
Similar to Roamright, with Travelex’s Travel Select Plan, you will be covered for Trip Cancellations due to unforeseen sickness (up to 100%) as well as up to 150% for Trip Interruption. The sickness must be certified by a physician at the time of cancellation/interruption. You would also be eligible for Emergency Medical/Evacuation coverage if you contract the coronavirus while traveling. If you purchase within 21 days of deposit, it also covers financial default for airline carrier or tour operator in the case that they do go out of business. Also, if you move the trip, there is one time date transfer up to a year.
Travelex does not offer a “Cancel for Any Reason” upgrade for their plans.
Click here for the latest updates.
Option 4:
This is probably the most popular insurance for long term travelers and is the most cost-effective. World Nomads does not have an endemic or pandemic exclusion for policies purchased by U.S. residents, which means that you may make claims arising from the COVID-19 for the benefits specified in your policy which include emergency medical and trip interruption coverage for you personally or a travel companion who contracts the COVID-19 or goes under quarantine when traveling. You may get reimbursed for include doctors’ visits and hospital stays, and any pre-paid travel arrangements that get disrupted as a result of the infection.
If you unexpectedly catch COVID-19 at home before you leave for your trip, you may also be eligible for trip cancellation coverage, which covers any pre-paid non-refundable travel expenses such as flights, hotels and excursions.
However, World Nomads plans also don’t provide coverage for events surrounding the COVID-19 outbreak for which you aren’t directly affected by the sickness. Like if a conference you were planning to attend was canceled or if flights out of your destination were cancelled or you changed your mind about traveling your destination.
World Nomads does not offer a “Cancel for Any Reason” upgrade.
Make sure to check out their website for the latest updates.
Option 5:
American Express Travel Insurance
If you are an American Express Cardmember, you get basic automatic travel insurance for both local and international travel when you purchase your travel on your American Express® Credit Card.
Basic Automatic Cover does not include pre-existing medical conditions as well as hazardous activities that can endanger your life like sky diving.
Trip Cancellation/Interruption benefits are not available for the portion of your trip purchased with travel award credits or points such as airline Frequent Flyer points.
If you’re not an Amex card holder:
American Express Travel also offers insurance bought separately from the one offered on the credit card. However, you really need to read the fine print on this.
Coronavirus is not covered unless you had bought insurance when it was unknown. But now that it’s a known virus, it will not be covered by this travel insurance policy. However, what is covered is if your airline cancels the flight or there is a delay of at least 6 hours or by 12:01am of the next day. You also get covered when the tour company cancels the trip or if the tour operator or resort goes bankrupt, you will be covered but the bankruptcy must not occur less than 7 days after the coverage’s effective date.
Also in fine print - American Express expressly reserves the right to refuse any requests to terminate or rescind coverage in exchange for a full refund of premiums.
Check out their coronavirus FAQ and updates.
As you can see, there are so many rules when the shit hits the fan. So, as I keep saying, you must read the fine print – or hire a travel advisor to do it for you.
My recommendation:
My personal recommendation for my Tanzanian honeymooners are to go with the Allianz “Cancel For Any Reason” plan which this the most expensive plan but at least they are covered for at least 80% of their trip cost. The second best and less expensive plan (almost half the cost!) for them is The RoamRight ProPlus Insurance which has a Cancel for Work Reasons and also has bankruptcy coverage. I’m waiting to hear back what they want to do.
As a travel designer, I offer comprehensive services that include full trip planning services (flights, hotels, groups, tours) as well as advice on coverage for these trips. If you are interested in working with me, you can email me here at patricia@freshtraveler.com.
Stay at home, stay safe and stay healthy!
With light and love,
Patricia
