Travel Insurance which covers COVID-19?

[Port Power]

Unfortunately "reconsider" is a general exclusion with the ANZ CC insurance, together with "do not travel". I've asked the question to the insurer so will wait for a reply.

The travel rating for the election may change before I depart but doubtful for the Covid warning. The blanket warning from smartraveller is annoying because pretty much anywhere in Europe has no warning and much larger crowds/higher rates of Covid than remote PNG.

Good luck. Let us know the result. I also hope you will still be covered for lost luggage or flight delays, etc.

 

[Happy Dude]

Good luck. Let us know the result. I also hope you will still be covered for lost luggage or flight delays, etc.

Oh I don't intend to rely on the insurance for anything in PNG. I wouldn't be covered for any claim.

It's just the events that would prevent me from getting to PNG that I'm interested in. Eg if I got covid and couldn't go or if QF changed/cancelled flights before I leave. ANZ CC insurance has $20k cancellation cover.

I think I should be covered as I didn't travel to PNG, but as the claim would relate to expenses associated with (a trip to) PNG I'm not sure I'd actually be covered.

 

[pomona]

" start your trip in Australia and have a return ticket that will get you back to Australia"

Watch out with AMEX cover as hidden in the depths of the PDS hides a fact that Chubb will only cover a return air ticket & declined my request for 1 way J class tickets to Europe on those grounds. Totally useless if you are cruising home, just another way to avoid a payout. Insurance companies are much of a muchness and as the old Arabic saying goes, they take your money with the right hand & give with the left.
Frankly, I never rely on such coverage & always purchase separately.

 

[Mr H]

Hi all.

Does this count as a general exclusion for ANZ credit card insurance?

Travel to PNG which is stated on the smartraveller website as "Reconsider your need to travel" (on grounds of COVID and election-related violence, in specific areas).

Therefore a general exclusion exists and claims would be rejected because of failing to heed gov advice.

However, would the policy be valid for claims within Australia prior to departure?

I am specifically thinking of cancellation due to contracting COVID prior to departure and changes to flight schedules prior to departure that result in costs.

In which case the general exclusion wouldn't apply as it wouldn't be from a claim in PNG. Or would it still apply?

I had understood that travel insurance was still valid provided the claim did not arise from the reasons given for Reconsider or Do Not Travel. E.g. if your luggage is stolen or you break your leg, you would still be covered provided it did not relate to Covid or election-related violence. Does anyone know if that is correct?

 

[TheRealTMA]

" start your trip in Australia and have a return ticket that will get you back to Australia"

Watch out with AMEX cover as hidden in the depths of the PDS hides a fact that Chubb will only cover a return air ticket & declined my request for 1 way J class tickets to Europe on those grounds. Totally useless if you are cruising home, just another way to avoid a payout. Insurance companies are much of a muchness and as the old Arabic saying goes, they take your money with the right hand & give with the left.
Frankly, I never rely on such coverage & always purchase separately.

I agree with you completely. However, the T&C for Amex do say quite clearly that a return trip/ticket from Australia is required and that one-way trips are not covered by CC TI. They have been like that for some years.

It's very important to carefully read the T&C for CC TI, even if it puts you to sleep.

 

[Port Power]

" start your trip in Australia and have a return ticket that will get you back to Australia"

Watch out with AMEX cover as hidden in the depths of the PDS hides a fact that Chubb will only cover a return air ticket & declined my request for 1 way J class tickets to Europe on those grounds. Totally useless if you are cruising home, just another way to avoid a payout. Insurance companies are much of a muchness and as the old Arabic saying goes, they take your money with the right hand & give with the left.
Frankly, I never rely on such coverage & always purchase separately.

T&Cs state “return ticket”. When I researched with Allianz, flying one way and cruising back still institutes “return”. Outbound and inbound don’t have to be on the same actual ticket and can be booked separately. Insurers have always been up front about the trip having to start and end in Australia.

 

[Happy Dude]

I had understood that travel insurance was still valid provided the claim did not arise from the reasons given for Reconsider or Do Not Travel. E.g. if your luggage is stolen or you break your leg, you would still be covered provided it did not relate to Covid or election-related violence. Does anyone know if that is correct?

I have asked the question of ANZ insurance and their response was somewhere between inconclusive and deliberately opaque. I'm waiting on a response to a follow up question.

It does appear that cancellation before leaving Australia is covered however it is not clear if that applies to cancellation due to Covid. Anything Covid-related in country would not be covered because that is explicitly listed by smartraveller as the reason to reconsider travel.

Specifically the wording is:

your claim arises because you did not follow an advice or
warning that a reasonable person would have been aware
of:
• by the Australian government (when a ‘Reconsider your
need to travel’ or ‘Do not travel’ alert is in place), which
can be found on www.smartraveller.gov.au;

As you suggest (correctly to my thinking) is that the TI is valid for everything except covid.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

" start your trip in Australia and have a return ticket that will get you back to Australia"

Watch out with AMEX cover as hidden in the depths of the PDS hides a fact that Chubb will only cover a return air ticket & declined my request for 1 way J class tickets to Europe on those grounds. Totally useless if you are cruising home, just another way to avoid a payout. Insurance companies are much of a muchness and as the old Arabic saying goes, they take your money with the right hand & give with the left.
Frankly, I never rely on such coverage & always purchase separately.

As others have said, many CC insurances only ask for a return ticket, not specifically a return ‘air’ ticket.

But the reasoning is logical. Travel insurance is designed to cover you for unexpected expenses and to put you back in the financial position you were before the event or claim. If you don’t have a return ticket you are asking the insurance company to fly you back home, which is an expense you hadn’t originally paid for.

 

[Happy Dude]

Just closing out discussion around the issue of the free ANZ CC insurance and travelling to countries that have a "Reconsider your need to travel" warning (or higher) by smartraveller.

I have been told by the insurer that there is NO COVERAGE for ANY CLAIM. (Edit: not fully true, apparently. see my post below)

There is a general exclusion in the PDS for such countries, and, simply put (paraphrasing) "if you made a claim, we would not approve as you should have listened to the government warning".

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Just closing out discussion around the issue of the free ANZ CC insurance and travelling to countries that have a "Reconsider your need to travel" warning (or higher) by smartraveller.

I have been told by the insurer that there is NO COVERAGE for ANY CLAIM.

There is a general exclusion in the PDS for such countries, and, simply put (paraphrasing) "if you made a claim, we would not approve as you should have listened to the government warning".

hmmm. Thanks for the heads-up.

It is confusing because the PDS says they will not pay when:

6: your claim arises because you did not follow an advice or warning that a reasonable person would have been aware of:
• by the Australian government (when a ‘Reconsider your need to travel’ or ‘Do not travel’ alert is in place), which can be found on www.smartraveller.gov.au; or
• which was published in a reliable mass media source.

Egypt is on the ‘reconsider’ list because of terrorist attack and covid. The terrorist attacked status has been there for years. If I get food poisoning, it’s unclear that my claim is arising because i did not follow government advice. If i got shot in a terrorist attack… yes.

 

[Happy Dude]

I've just now received a call with "further information".....

So now they say that cover would be provided ("a claim could be made") in the event of testing positive prior to travel (to a do not travel or reconsider your need country).

But anything that happened "over there" would not be covered, even if it is unrelated to the reason for the smartraveller warning.

 

[Happy Dude]

hmmm. Thanks for the heads-up.

It is confusing because the PDS says they will not pay when:

6: your claim arises because you did not follow an advice or warning that a reasonable person would have been aware of:
• by the Australian government (when a ‘Reconsider your need to travel’ or ‘Do not travel’ alert is in place), which can be found on www.smartraveller.gov.au; or
• which was published in a reliable mass media source.

Egypt is on the ‘reconsider’ list because of terrorist attack and covid. The terrorist attacked status has been there for years. If I get food poisoning, it’s unclear that my claim is arising because i did not follow government advice. If i got shot in a terrorist attack… yes.

It's counter-intuitive and irrational I know but the general exclusion is their 'trump card'.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

It's counter-intuitive and irrational I know but the general exclusion is their 'trump card'.

Yes, except in this case the wording of their document is ambiguous. We shouldn’t have to reply on additional oral or written information to clarify what they mean. In my reading ‘6’ says your claim must not arise from any of the two highest warnings given by smarttraveller. If I slip on a tile at my hotel, hard to see how the insurance company can wriggle out of that if the warning is due to terrorism.

 

[Batterytraveller]

A quick vote of confidence in SCTI. We got COVID in Vienna and had to isolate, extending our hotel stay, incurred a few medical expenses and conference fee to refund. SCTI paid up very promptly with minimal fuss, chasing me about vaccine certificates and a missing receipt. A painless process and I would use them again.

 

[k_sheep]

A quick vote of confidence in SCTI. We got COVID in Vienna and had to isolate, extending our hotel stay, incurred a few medical expenses and conference fee to refund. SCTI paid up very promptly with minimal fuss, chasing me about vaccine certificates and a missing receipt. A painless process and I would use them again.

Good to hear - I've signed up for their annual multi trip.

 

[frequentflyer91]

Has anyone travelled overseas recently to a country that requires Covid travel insurance coverage? I’m heading to vietnam soon and wondering if I can use the AMEX travel insurance

 

[There'sOnlyOneJimmy]

Has anyone travelled overseas recently to a country that requires Covid travel insurance coverage? I’m heading to vietnam soon and wondering if I can use the AMEX travel insurance

I’ve been twice in the last 6 months, the first time was about 3 weeks after they reopened to tourists.
Both times I used the travel insurance associated with the Amex QFF Ultimate Card.
Both times, all border crossings were through SGN airport.
Neither time did I get asked anything about insurance by anyone.

 

[frequentflyer91]

I’ve been twice in the last 6 months, the first time was about 3 weeks after they reopened to tourists.
Both times I used the travel insurance associated with the Amex QFF Ultimate Card.
Both times, all border crossings were through SGN airport.
Neither time did I get asked anything about insurance by anyone.

Thank you mate. Very helpful.

 

[VPS]

Because NIB is too short to search and google was unhelpful - has anyone had a bad experience with NIB - I'm sure I read it somewhere and it may have been here

 

[Airlinedealschris]

The power of the AFF media or market forces at work as the world is normalised.

Commonwealth Bank (and Covermore insurance) has changed its position on Commonwealth Bank credit card travel insurance as of August 2022. CommBank credit card travel insurance now includes COVID-19 cover except for multi night cruises.

Travel insurance included - CommBankTravel insurance included - CommBank

BankWest (owned by Commonwealth Bank). It’s insurer Covermore have changed its position on BankWest credit card travel insurance as of August 2022. BankWest credit card insurance now covers COVID-19 except for multi night cruises.

Overseas travel insurance | Eligibility and cover | Bankwest

I suspect all the banks creditcard insurance policies will change their policies to remain competitive.

Best advice is for intending travelers to check the T&Cs of the policy before booking a ticket.

Cheers
Chris - currently in Rome Italy