travel insurance

[halfgweilo]

To all those who is planning an overseas trip and wanting to purchase travel insurance. I have just rang 2 Travel Insurance Companies and both their answers were identical.

My questions were.. If I had taken out a travel insurance policy now and at a later date our government &/or the government of my destination, due to the current Coronavirus scare, placed a ban on visitors, going out or going in between the 2 countries, would I be able to claim a refund on my policy. Their answer were simply a flat NO. But, if there was no ban in place, by neither countries, at the time of my transit and I had fallen ill due to the virus whilst I was there, chances are I would then be covered for medical expenses.  Chances are! Ambiguous info, to say the least.  It is certain that there is no set policy for the Coronavirus as yet.

My second question to them were...If I was being driven to the airport on a shuttle bus on the day of my departure and was delayed by a huge traffic pile-up which caused me to missed my flight and I cannot defer my travel arrangement, not many people can, would I be able to claim full refund? Their answer was a simple Yes, without any hestation. It appears the Coronavirus has less merit than a traffic hold-up.

Better check your travel insurance before paying. 

[ambercat16]

I have heard of "cancel for any reason " insurance that might solve your problem.  It might cost a bit more but worth looking into.

[halfgweilo · Accepted solution]

Many thanks Amber. It does seemed like there are too may travellers on this link.

[halfgweilo · Accepted solution]

Amber.. Just a quick amendment to my last post... It should read, There DOESN'T seemed to be too many travellers on this link. Senior moments strikes when least expected.

[springyzone]

I think (from memory-not always 100% reliable) that it has pretty much always been the case that travel insurance won't cover you if you're going to somewhere the government has placed travel bans or severe warnings on.

It also generally won't cover you for acts of war or terrorism.

I don't know that every policy would even cover you for the second scenario, missing a flight through your own fault. (yes, i know, it wasa  traffic pile up, but if the flight took off on schedule, that's all the care about). One of my past policies certainly would not have.

I was going on a cruise but if my flight had been delayed and I had not made it, too bad, I would not have been covered. It was complicated but came down to cancellations and hours of delay etc, if I recall, with anything under 4 hours not counted.

Generally, if a flight is cancelled, the airline will reschedule you. They don't even have to refund you, which i think stinks, to be honest.

I would think if I eg went to NZ and came down sick with coronoavirus or just about anything else-flu etc, I would be covered.

But if i went to china, too bad, I'd be on my own.

Insurance companies make it hard at the best of times & I would imagine they are busily revising T&C's at the moment.

but there are a lot of other things that can get you, not just coronavirus, so it's still worth it getting the insurance I guess.

[springyzone · Accepted solution]

This is sort of off topic but your post made me think of it.

My 2 daughters & their families are booked on a  cruise, leaving in March. They booked last year.

It leaves from Sydney, goes to Sth Pacific-islands, Fiji etc

They took out travel insurance back when they booked.

But recently, some of the ports they were to go to have closed their doors, so to speak, to all cruise ships. They weren't scheduled to go to Suva but other ports in Fiji  they were to go to are now closed. All in all, 3 of the destinations are now off the list and if Noumea and another one follow suit, they won't have anywhere to go, virtually. The ship is probably trying now to reschedule different ports. Talk is of Moreton island etc

But I find this a bit.. unfair in a way. I understand the cruise company has no control. I understand when you book you are not guaranteed all the destinations. 

But really and truly if a cruise cannot deliver any of the destinations and takes you elsewhere instead, I believe they should offer some sort of discount. I bet they won't though. It is like booking a flight to NZ and being taken to Tassie instead and told, well, we gave you a flight.

I don't think insurance covers any of this and the ships won't have to give any fares back as long as they take the passengers.. somewhere.

[halfgweilo · Accepted solution]

Many thanks springyzone for your input. The good news with me is our travel agent assured me that I will get a refund due to the fact when I made and paid for the trip the Caronavirus hasn't made headlines as yet. The trip was booked and paid in full in November 2019 and our trip commences in April 2020.

It can be said that the monies I have paid to the travel agent ($8k) is still sitting in their bank a/c, earning good interest, and has not been distributed to the airline company nor to the place of accommodate as yet. Nevertheless it's still good news. If you never never ask, you'll never never know. It always pays to speak to right channels for positive results, majority of the times. Anyway.