CORONAVIRUS FAQ

As general advice, please be aware that if your trip has been cancelled, rearranged or curtailed as a result of COVID-19 and/or FCDO advice, then it is likely that your transport and/or accommodation provider is going to be able to refund you. We will only be considering claims where you have approached the appropriate provider for either a refund, reimbursement or change to trip dates, prior to submitting a claim to us. There are some details further down the page as to who you can approach to support you before submitting a claim to our team.

If after approaching your accommodation and transport providers, you are still looking to make a claim for cancellation or curtailment relating to COVID-19 of change in FCDO advice, where you should submit a claim will depend on when you purchased your policy.

If you purchased your policy after July, 2022, the easiest way to make a claim is through our secure website. This gives you time to gather all the documents you need and easily submit them online. You can find the online claims portal here.

The online claims portal is available 24/7, with an immediate decision available for certain claims.

You can also give our claims team a call on the below if you need any help, and we’ll be happy to guide you through the process:

• Give us a call on: 0333 005 1087

If you bought your policy before July, 2022, please refer to your policy wording document for the process you need to follow when making a claim.

We are really sorry but this is something you would need to approach your airline for. If you had booked accommodation separately then you will need to approach the accommodation provider to see what your options are. You may be able to include this in your claim to the airline and if not then it may be that your bank or credit card company can support you with this, via a section 75 claim. Please contact your credit or debit card company for details on the process. There are some details further down the page as to who you can approach to support you before submitting a claim to our team.

Unfortunately, most policies do not include this as a reason to cancel. However, if your trip is no longer able to go ahead as originally planned – i.e. excursion cancellations, restriction on use of facility etc. then customers who have booked via a tour operator or travel agent, should in most cases be able to claim from their tour operator or travel agent. Customers who booked accommodation and transport through separate providers will need to approach their booking agents to see if they are able to change dates or offer any refund.

Unfortunately, we can only assess claims based on the facts and information available that applied at the time of you cancelling and then submitting the claim.

If HM forces cover is specified in the cancellation section and your leave orders have been cancelled then you can make a claim. Unfortunately, if your leave orders are not cancelled, then this will not be covered by your travel insurance policy. We would recommend you contact your reporting or commanding officer for advice as to how they can support you.

We’re afraid that this isn’t something that is covered by the policy. This is because there is protection for customers elsewhere. In most cases, this would relate back to the cover offered by Package Travel Regulations. The current position is that if passengers have a medical condition for which exposure to COVID-19 is particularly dangerous, they should have the right to cancel their package travel contract. This only applies if the risk of infection of COVID-19 at the travel destination or immediate vicinity is declared high by the competent authorities. So please contact your booking agent for further advice.

Cover is available on most policies for cancellation for this type of situation, there are a few things you’ll need to provide to support this and evidence that it was necessary for you to cancel (relative in a ‘high risk’ category and positive COVID-19) as well as confirmation your trip was still going ahead.

The policy wording will define what we consider to be a close relative.

For all cases, we would need confirmation that your trip was still going ahead as planned and had not been rearranged or cancelled due to FCDO/COVID-19 advice/restrictions.

Confirmed diagnosis

If you are unfortunate enough to suffer with COVID-19 after you bought your insurance, then as long as the diagnosis was within a reasonable timeframe of your trip starting (30 days) then we would consider this under cancellation due to illness. You can submit a claim for cancellation and will be required to evidence a positive COVID-19 result from a medical practitioner.

Suspected, but no confirmed diagnosis

We are going to have to assess these claims on a case by case basis and with some specific information from you. We are going to need evidence that you have needed to seek medical advice/assistance. This may include phone records to show the date/time you called 111 and/or your GP (this must be prior to you contacting us).

Self-isolating

Again, these cases will be assessed by the claims team on a case by case basis. We will need evidence that you are self-isolating, this may include a letter from your employer and proof of SSP/sick pay.

We would need to look at these claims on a case by case basis. In most cases, flight companies are assisting people with these arrangements with small if any administration fees. Where they do charge you a fee your claim will be reviewed in line with your policy wording, as long as the policy was bought before these restrictions were being widely reported in the media.

If you declared the conditions at the time of purchasing the policy, (which has to be before the outbreak) then your claim will be considered if your conditions are reliably reported as being ‘high risk’. If you did not declare them, you would not be covered. We would also need confirmation that your trip was still due to go ahead as planned.

In the event that you are unable to move the trip to an alternative destination, and are offered a refund from your travel agent or tour operator, we are happy to offer a full refund of premium if you are within your 14-day cooling-off period, on the understanding that no claim is to be made against the policy.

To cancel your policy for a refund – please click here.

For full T&C’s on policy cancellation – please click here.

If you are offered an alternative destination and or dates from your travel agent, we are pleased to advise that on Single Trip policies we will change the dates of your insurance policy to match the new trip where possible. We will not charge an admin fee, but please note there may be an increased cost to your policy, for example if you extend your trip duration or change the World area you are travelling to etc. Please note, we cannot move trip dates more than 12 months in advance from the date you originally purchased your policy. Please click here to request a change to your policy dates.

Cover may be extended for the following reasons:

• If you are hospitalised, require medical treatment and are unable to fly.
• If your transport is disrupted or delayed.
• If you cannot return home for any reason beyond your control

As long as you did not travel against the FCDO advice, then we will provide cover for emergency medical expenses if you contract the virus and require treatment. You should contact the local medical authorities and follow their instructions, as they will be able to direct you to a public hospital that will be set up to provide optimal care and quarantine.  You should then contact the assistance team so that they can liaise with the treating doctors. We would recommend that you avoid the ‘dangerous/infected’ areas and follow the published guidelines to minimise your risk of exposure.

If you are considering returning to the UK earlier than originally planned as a result of the viral outbreak, you may be able to claim to cut short your trip, but this will depend on the following criteria:

• When you purchased your policy and whether it included this cover. Please see the ‘Our Cover for Coronavirus’ section at the top of this page, and check your policy wording for full cover details

• If you cannot recover the costs from any other source, i.e. your tour operator, travel agent or airline. Please contact your tour operator, travel agent or airline to see if they are able to either refund any monies paid or offer alternative trip options and dates, before submitting a claim. More information on your rights can be found here.

• If the FCDO or local authorities have advised that you should leave the country and return home.

If you have booked a package holiday to a destination affected by the viral outbreak and are looking to cut your trip short, you should contact your travel agent or tour operator for information on the availability of flights in the first instance.

If you are travelling independently from a tour operator or travel agent, you should make your own arrangements to leave by either altering your return tickets where possible or booking onto an alternative commercial flight. Claims for independent travellers’ additional expenses in returning home earlier, where medically justified, will be treated sympathetically.

If you are admitted to hospital your policy will usually provide assistance with returning home when you have been discharged. Please contact our Assistance Team if you are admitted to hospital.

Unfortunately, travel insurance policies across the market do not provide cover for refusal of boarding for any reason. You would need to approach your airline or tour operator for advice.

You would need to urgently speak with your booking agent in order to get a flight back to the UK.

This type of situation is not usually covered under travel insurance policies. We understand however that many transport providers are offering ticket changes at little or no cost to customers affected by changes in FCDO advice.

In the first instance, we would recommend that you contact your tour operator/travel agent to see if they are able to re-arrange your return travel for you. If you are travelling independently from a tour operator/travel agent, you should contact your airline/transport provider to see if they are able to alter your return ticket. There are some details further down the page as to who you can approach to support you before submitting a claim to our team.

You will need to evidence that you have approached and been refused a refund for these costs before we will consider a claim. You should also check that you purchased a policy which covers curtailment due to FCDO advice changes.

You can look at the curtailment (cutting short your trip) section of your policy wording to see if a change of FCDO advice is covered.

Please note: We are not able to assist in arranging to get you home, unfortunately, unless this is due to your injury or illness, and this has been agreed by our assistance team. It is important to note that medical repatriations are currently being prioritised to ensure the safety of those who are unwell.

None of our policies will provide cover if you decide to travel against the advice of the FCDO. This would be for ‘All Travel’ and ‘All but Essential Travel’ unless customers have contacted us in advance with their reasons for travel and cover has been agreed by the Underwriters.

If you travel to an area which the FCDO advise against travel to, there would be no cover under the travel insurance policies as this would be considered as a known event. You can see a full list of countries deemed safe by clicking here.

If you travel to an area and the FCDO advice changes after leaving home, you should contact your travel agent or tour operator for information on the availability of flights or refunds in the first instance.

If you are refused entry at passport/border control, you should contact your airline or transport provider to arrange changing your return ticket to allow you to come home early.

We would suggest that if you have not started that part of your journey you contact your airline to change your travel plans to move on to the next part of your itinerary. If this is not possible, we will provide cover as long as 1) you do not leave the airport, and 2) you are not at the airport for an unreasonable amount of time.

If you arrive at your stop-over airport and entry is denied due to the virus you should contact your airline to change your travel plans to move on to the next part of your itinerary.

Please check your policy wording with regards to the cover included in your policy. Cover may vary depending on the policy that you have purchased and the date in which you purchased your policy on.

If you need any help understanding when your policy was purchased, please do not hesitate to get in touch with our customer service team on: 0333 005 1085.

You should follow any instructions issued by the local authorities as it is more than likely that you will have to enter some form of quarantine.

Travellers should contact their travel agent or tour operator for assistance in the first instance.

Some policies will contribute toward the cost of food and additional accommodation, some may also include the additional costs of getting home. We would ask that you check your specific policy wording for more information on this.