Swine Flu – are you covered?
The answer is yes if you are unfortunate enough to get it. But no if you are cancelling for fear of getting it. Many people think that they can change their plans to travel to Mexico and make a claim for the costs on their travel insurance however this is not always the case.
The number of people affected worldwide since this pandemic was identified on April 25th has continued to rise. While the Chinese quarantined 70 Mexican citizens in a hotel until they were evacuated by air on May 4th, despite the fact that none showed any symptoms of flu and there has been a worldwide backlash since the pandemic began, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has only advised against ‘all but essential’ travel to Mexico. It is left to the individual traveller to determine what is or is not “essential”. Those with UK based travel insurance may find themselves caught between a rock and a hard place. If they decide to travel then they may find that cover for medical expenses is not in place but if they decide to cancel this may be treated as “disinclination to travel” a common exclusion on most travel insurance policies.
Although the threat level of the swine flu has risen to level 5 the World Health Organisation (WHO ) has not issued any instructions to restrict normal travel. This means that officially there is no reason not to travel to Mexico or any of the other destinations affected so unless your travel insurance includes cancellation “for any reason” then you are likely to find that “fear of pandemic” is also an exclusion on your travel insurance policy.
The good news is that if you booked before the start of the pandemic and are unfortunate enough to actually catch it then you will be covered if you are unable to travel and if you are abroad for the cost of any necessary treatment, vaccines, additional accommodation or even hospitalisation.
It is important to remember that each travel insurance policy is different and it is vital to read the Key Facts about the one you are thinking of buying to identify any specific or unexpected exclusions. If you are not sure then call for advice before hand and remember you do have a 14 day cooling off period from the date of purchase of your travel insurance during which you can ask for a full refund in order to look for an alternative, more suitable policy.
The number of people affected worldwide since this pandemic was identified on April 25th has continued to rise. While the Chinese quarantined 70 Mexican citizens in a hotel until they were evacuated by air on May 4th, despite the fact that none showed any symptoms of flu and there has been a worldwide backlash since the pandemic began, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has only advised against ‘all but essential’ travel to Mexico. It is left to the individual traveller to determine what is or is not “essential”. Those with UK based travel insurance may find themselves caught between a rock and a hard place. If they decide to travel then they may find that cover for medical expenses is not in place but if they decide to cancel this may be treated as “disinclination to travel” a common exclusion on most travel insurance policies.
Although the threat level of the swine flu has risen to level 5 the World Health Organisation (WHO ) has not issued any instructions to restrict normal travel. This means that officially there is no reason not to travel to Mexico or any of the other destinations affected so unless your travel insurance includes cancellation “for any reason” then you are likely to find that “fear of pandemic” is also an exclusion on your travel insurance policy.
The good news is that if you booked before the start of the pandemic and are unfortunate enough to actually catch it then you will be covered if you are unable to travel and if you are abroad for the cost of any necessary treatment, vaccines, additional accommodation or even hospitalisation.
It is important to remember that each travel insurance policy is different and it is vital to read the Key Facts about the one you are thinking of buying to identify any specific or unexpected exclusions. If you are not sure then call for advice before hand and remember you do have a 14 day cooling off period from the date of purchase of your travel insurance during which you can ask for a full refund in order to look for an alternative, more suitable policy.
Labels: Swine Flu
posted by holidaysafe.co.uk at
10:44
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