bakerstreet

About to pay a substantial enough sum for travel next year that I'm thinking about getting trip insurance. My primary worry is someone catching covid and not being able to take the trip. I'm aware I can buy "cancel for any reason" insurance but it's also my impression that such insurance is both expensive and limited -- you get a portion but not all of your money back.

Does anyone know of a reliable company that charges a reasonable premium (I know "reasonable" is subjective") for covering ALL of your costs if someone in your travel group gets covid and can't get on the overseas flight to take the trip (that involves flights to several countries)? Has anyone made such a claim and has the claim been paid? I'm familiar with insuremytrip.com and similar. Most people who report back on those haven't filed claims (and I do know how to filter for responses involving paid claims).

I'm hoping to hear of personal experiences with obtaining and claiming under such insurance.

Side note: When my travel was cancelled in 2020 when the "world" shut down, my best successes on recouping my expenses were with hotels, etc. I had booked on a cancelable basis, and airlines that cancelled flights. The worst were tour guide companies that issued credits for future travel. I'm about to use some of that credit, plus pay significantly more, and want to know my options to avoid financial losses if covid stops me or a travel companion from taking the rescheduled trip.

I appreciate hearing about your experiences and knowledge.

lavandula

I just bought travel insurance - I am in Australia so I don't know if my experiences will help you much but I selected a cancelable version of travel insurance. The base price was around $250, and when I got to the checkout stage they suddenly added around $400 - and it was too late for me to cancel the purchase, I had already put in all my details including credit card. This extra $400 was for cancellation. I was really shocked, but this was not the only occasion this trip when something unexpected was added at the final stage - it happened when I nearly bought an airfare from a travel agent and ultimately I didn't go through with that sale. This is now officially a thing post-Covid. I am also now worried about the insurance I selected as someone in the Sydney Morning Herald's Traveller section was panning that company in a reader letter. It is a name I know, not a fly-by-night company, but perhaps they won't be so helpful if we have a snag on the trip. I guess people will always have their beef against insurance companies, but I have lost confidence in the insurance even before any bad experiences as a result of the trip.

Lavandula

dreamon

What country do you live in? Worldnomads offers insurance from many countries and has a good reputation (I've never had a claim with them though). You will undoubtedly get good and bad reports for any insurer.

I'm sure it's obvious, but if you read the policy wording and your claim meets the terms of cover, then the insurer is obliged to pay. Also check how easy it is to lodge a claim if you need to. And, especially important is their emergency assistance team (is it inhouse, offshore, 24hr, etc).

I'm turning my mind to coverage for world conflicts when it comes to travel insurance as that's becoming a significant concern for me.

Christina

Sorry, I've never had to file a claim. But the policies I've read all say that they include cancellation due to illness (as long as physician advises not to travel, you can't just decide yourself) of both yourself or any travel companion, if that is unforeseen (ie, it cannot be a planned surgery that the person then decides is too much for them to travel with afterwards, like a knee replacement, but they knew it was planned in advance). Those illnesses have to be after the effective date, but for comprehensive plans which cover cancellation, that is midnight of the day you buy it.

So that's all I know, is that the terms of the ones I've read say they cover it. The premiu s going to be about 10 pct of the costs you want to cover, that's pretty std, the cost varies by terms unrelated to that (usually limits on lost luggage, delays en route, etc).

I don't know about the above experience, that sounds illegal to add fees you did not choose at checkout. And you can always cancel, even if they have your CC number, you don't have to click submit, you can just leave the website. I've done that numerous times on various purchases, you have to click submit for it to be a purchase. In fact, some vendors have my CC number on file, that doesn't mean I have to go through with purchases if I change my mind before hitting submit. I also would never buy air fare from a travel agent, and in the US, of course, there are laws that you can cancel an air ticket purchase within 24 hrs with no cost, at least if you buy from an airline.

I'd be interested in hearing any stories of someone cancelling a trip before even taking it because someone got Covid. Of course that alone sounds a little precarious to me, as it would have to be contracted right before going, seems to me, for it to matter that much. Unless it were one of those really bad cases, of course, but I would hope your travel companions would comport themselves in a careful manner for at least a week to 10 days before traveling to limit such a risk to being negligible.

I don't blame companies myself for giving credits instead of refunds due to COVID, it wasn't their fault, after all. I don't understand the logic that a tour company should bear all costs for that situation rather than the individual deciding to travel. I imagine that was in the terms you agreed to, after all.

dreamon

Lavandula, the situation you describe where the cost increased after you indicated that you wanted to accept the quote and entered your credit card is probably illegal and definitely unethical. I've never seen anything like this. Christina is right in saying that you didn't have to finalise the transaction but it's still not acceptable. If you do not wish to keep the insurance because you would not have accepted the quote at the higher price, I would complain to the insurer and ask for a refund. If they won't give you one and you still think that you're in the right, then contact AFCA and lodge a complaint with them. Tell the insurer that you will be doing so as they will avoid AFCA complaints if they can.

Also, when buying cancellation cover, you only need to buy enough cover for the things which you can't recoup yourself. For example, if you can't travel but you can cancel your hotels and get a full refund, then you don't need cancellation cover for the hotels (or only as much as you can't recoup).

OP, every policy will be slightly different but the ones I've read recently offered cover if you caught COVID immediately prior to travel. I think that means that if you're still contagious when your travel commences or you're still unwell - but you need to check the individual policy to see how they define these things. If you are unsure, you can contact the insurer - I prefer to do this in writing (email or chat) so I have something to lean on later if necessary. If you do it over the phone, write down the date and time you made the call so call logs can be accessed if absolutely needed (but hopefully not).

Insurers get a bad rap but very often problems arise because the insured did not understand what they were buying. Insurers don't help when they provide the information in complex, formal language instead of plain English. Or worse, don't give you time to read the policy wording before the transaction times out. Nonetheless, I can't stress how important it is to read the documents if you want to have confidence in what you're purchasing. I know that's completely obvious but it often doesn't happen.

lavandula

I don't want to hijack bakerstreet's thread but thanks for the comments. I will take it up with the company, I am still chewing over what happened, and also with the travel agent (I emphasise two entirely different transactions). Please continue to answer bakerstreet's thread, people, I will resolve this one in the background.

Lavandula

traveler807

I recently was on a Road Scholar tour to Scotland. I developed Covid-19 5 days into the tour and had to quarantine with my wife for 6 days in Edinburg. We each paid $550 to AON/Arch Affinity Insurance. We expected reimbursement for the 8 days lost. Instead they only paid us for 3 days, claiming that I didn’t get a “official “ test until 3 days before the tour ended. At no time during the quarantine did they request me to take a test or seek medical evaluation. So my recommendation is don’t bother with AON after we had this terrible experience.

Travel_Nerd

Did the policy have a provision regsrding the testing and the test to be performed at a certain point in order for coverage to kick in? Sounds that might be the case.

traveler807

Nope. Nothing in the policy about any caveats to coverage due to covid. I'm pretty good at legalese and I read & re-read the policy even while in quarantine. Needless to say I had a lot of time on my hands This really is one of those unfair denials. But it is a good lesson to all to make sure you document everything if you're going to need to make a claim.

Melnq8

traveler807 - have you made a formal appeal with the insurance company? I'd look into it if you haven't already.

Travel_Nerd

I agree with Mel. This is one of those instances where if it is not spelled out, one should be able to appeal it. Further, maybe explore other options if the appeal does not work in your favor (but wait until you get the appeal reaponse). Option 1: Dispute with your ceedit card carrier, if applicable, used to purchase the policy. Option 2: file a claim in small claims court (that is if you have that option where you are from).

I work for an insurance company (not one that deals with travel ins., though) as a paralegal. So, I am in contracts all the time (and represent my company in small claims court). If they're holding their hat on something that is not expressly specified in that contract, make them specify the contractual provision they are using to deny your claim - request this in your appeal. If they do not cite one, that may further assist your other options for resolution mentioned above as well. Good luck.