Does Your Travel Insurance Cover the Coronavirus?

By Eric Morris | Published: February 6, 2020

coronavirus

Sometimes, you might not opt for travel insurance because you don’t want to spend the extra bucks, so you take your chances. However, in case you have purchased travel insurance, you’re most likely reconsidering your travel plans amidst the recent coronavirus outbreak, reviewing your insurance policy to see if it covers possible cancellations or even rescheduling. Recently renamed “COVID-19” (coronavirus disease 2019) by the World Health Organization (WHO)[1], the pandemic has spread to 24 other countries outside of China over the past couple of months. The experienced crew at our Fort Lauderdale aviation school share more details on whether travel insurance covers the coronavirus concern or not. 

 

Does My Travel Insurance Cover the Coronavirus?

Before purchasing travel insurance, it’s always best to ask about the details regarding the trip, so you get a better understanding of your policy. By doing this, you’ll learn that most travel policies don’t provide reimbursements or benefits for epidemic-related concerns or cancellations. That’s why our aircraft dispatcher school in Fort Lauderdale highly recommends getting a top-tier insurance policy if you’re budget allows it. These types of policies tend to cover you should you have to cancel the flight for any reason at any time.

“Since most travel insurance policies do not cover cancellation due to fear, travelers should purchase ‘cancel any reason’ riders to cover events at their destination that may cause them to cancel their plans,” according to Erik Josowitz, an analyst at insuranceQuotes. [2]

Since the coronavirus is well-known, travel insurers won’t provide coverage as the risk is apparent and not considered a “surprise.” In fact, the United States Department of State issued a Level 4 travel advisory on February 2nd, warning U.S. citizens not to travel to China. [3] Global travel insurance company Allianz Travel released a statement addressing the exact date the public was notified about the dangers of traveling amid the current outbreak.

“For customers booking trips to China and other impacted areas, the Coronavirus became a known event on January 22, 2020. Travel protection plans generally exclude losses caused by events that were known or foreseeable at the time the plan is purchased,” the statement read. “Customers who purchased their plan prior to January 22, 2020, may still have coverage for a covered loss for a trip booked to China or other impacted areas.” [4]

 

As the coronavirus death toll continues to rise, [5], it’s extremely important to travel with caution. Stock up on disposable face masks, hand sanitizers, or even adopt Naomi Campbell’s airplane cleaning routine; whatever you do, take the proper precautions to protect your health while abroad. If you’d like to learn more about recent travel restrictions due to the novel virus or would like to jump-start your aircraft dispatcher career, contact a member of our Sheffield team at 954-581-6022 today.

 

 

 

Sources:

[1] The New York Times – The Illness Now Has a Name, COVID-19

[2] The Washington Post – Does my travel insurance cover coronavirus? Read the fine print.

[3] U.S. Department of State: International Travel – China

[4] Allianz Travel – Coverage Alert – 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV)

[5] The New York Times – Coronavirus Updates: China Seeks to Restart Economy While Fighting Outbreak

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