Covid-19 has impacted the way Australians approach travel, including our method of planning our holidays. It has made us more aware now, more than ever, of the things that could potentially go wrong during our travels and the importance in planning for these unforeseen circumstances as much as we can. The thought of contracting Covid-19 while overseas means that 80 per cent of Australian travellers now consider travel insurance a high priority for international travel.
So how can you prepare for an international trip to ensure you’re covered by that travel insurance should you contract Covid-19 while overseas?
Consider where you travel
The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) issues travel advisories for destinations. These are published on the Smartraveller website. It is important to know that covid cover only applies when you are travelling to a destination with a Smartraveller travel advisory level of ‘Exercise normal safety precautions’ (level 1) or ‘Exercise a high degree of caution’ (level 2), relating to covid. When the travel advisory is at a ‘Reconsider your need to travel’ (level 3) or ‘Do not travel’ (level 4) level due to covid, we call this a ‘travel warning’.
Southern Cross Travel Insurance’s research, conducted with YouGov, found that more than one third (36 percent) of Australian travellers say a destination’s COVID-19 record will play a major role in their decision to travel there, and with good reason. If there’s a level 3 or 4 travel advisory due specifically to the risk of Covid, your Covid-19 cover won’t apply in most cases.
It is important that you check the Smartraveller website and monitor this for any changes to the travel advisory warnings. You must check this before you depart Australia and before you depart for each new destination whilst you are overseas.
In addition to any DFAT travel warning, it is important to understand what border controls (including visa, covid-related travel insurance, or vaccine requirements) may be in place for the destination(s) you are travelling to. Many destinations, including popular Australian tourist spot, Bali, require proof of a level of Covid cover in place before entry into the country is granted. This information is generally available through the immigration department of the applicable country. There is no provision for cover if you do not have the correct visa, visa waiver, vaccinations, or documents needed for your journey. This also applies to your airline and any requirements they have in place around vaccination status or PCR/RAT testing.
Choose an insurer you can trust
When choosing an insurer, you can look at customer review websites such as Product Review to see what experiences other customers have had and talk to friends and family to get word-of-mouth recommendations.
Since the start of 2022, Covid-19 related claims have made up 33 per cent of the total claims received at Southern Cross Travel Insurance in Australia. For the international travel insurance product, TravelCare Australia, of those covid-related claims, 81 per cent are from Aussie travellers who have been diagnosed with Covid-19 while overseas.
The majority (82 percent) of Covid-19 claims have been covered by Southern Cross Travel Insurance but there was still a small portion of claims (3 percent) which were declined[1]. The most common reasons for the declinature of claims included:
- Being diagnosed with Covid-19 while travelling to a destination DFAT has classified as a level 3 travel advisory due to the risks of Covid-19.
- The insured customer wasn’t diagnosed with Covid-19 themselves and was just a close contact which is not covered under the policy.
With that in mind, when travelling overseas in the age of Covid-19, we advise Aussies to carefully read the wording of any policies offering cover for Covid-19 to ensure you understand what would and wouldn’t be covered in certain situations. If you have any questions, contact your insurer.
Get the most comprehensive Covid cover available
There are many exclusions around benefits and significant differences in ‘Covid Cover’ between different insurers. Cover is always subject to terms and conditions, and it’s important to note insurers are continually reviewing the cover they offer for Covid-19.
At Southern Cross Travel Insurance there is cover for:
- Unlimited medical expenses if you are diagnosed with Covid-19 while on your journey
- Costs ($2,500 up to Unlimited) to change your travel arrangements if you or a relevant person are diagnosed with Covid-19 before you leave, and your journey is cancelled or amended (relevant person conditions apply)
- Costs (up to $5,000) to change your travel arrangements if you or a relevant person are diagnosed with Covid-19 after you leave, and your journey is interrupted or cut short (relevant person conditions apply)
To be eligible for cover, you must be vaccinated. Our definition of ‘fully vaccinated’ is:
- having had a COVID-19 vaccine that has been approved by the Therapeutic Goods Association
- having followed the Therapeutic Goods Association recommendations relating to dosage and any booster vaccine requirements
- having completed the time period between your last vaccination and when the Therapeutic Goods Association considers you to be fully vaccinated.
Being below the age of eligibility to receive a vaccination means cover will apply, subject to all the terms and conditions. If you or the relevant person can’t be vaccinated for medical reasons, this is not fully vaccinated, and cover will not apply.
As previously mentioned, the majority of Southern Cross Travel Insurance’s Covid-19 claims have been for cancellation due to being diagnosed while on their trip, or before they were due to leave. However, other insurers may only offer cover for cancellation if you’re hospitalised with Covid which is much less likely if you contract the Omicron variant. Others may not offer cancellation cover, and only provide cover for medical expenses. Having the most comprehensive cover from the time of booking will give you the best chance of being covered if you contract Covid-19.
Some questions to consider when comparing travel insurance policies include,
- is there cover for cancellation and medical expenses?
- Are there additional excesses or stand-down periods?
- Is there cover, if you’re diagnosed with Covid or does the cover say that you have to be hospitalised?
- Do you have sufficient cancellation cover to cover the expenses?
Because we offer cover for cancellation if you test positive for Covid-19 before your journey, we recommend people to buy travel insurance as soon as they book their trip. This also means there may also be cover for events unrelated to the pandemic such as cancellations, so people are still covered for the unexpected before they depart, as well as when they’re on holiday.
Be aware of common exclusions
Travel insurance with Southern Cross doesn’t cover you if we experience a general Covid lockdown or state order while travelling or an overseas country closes its borders and this impacts travel plans/cancellations. Therefore, when booking accommodation, activities, and other travel-related expenses, we would always recommend choosing options that provide flexible or penalty-free cancellation or rebooking options to avoid being left out of pocket. In fact, our research showed a last-minute approach to planning holiday fun might be the way forward, at least in the short-term, with 46 per cent of travellers saying they will only book when there is a favourable cancellation policy with 31 per cent planning on waiting until after they arrive at a destination to avoid disappointment.
Southern Cross Travel Insurance won’t cover Covid-19 losses or expenses in the following situations:
- If you or a relevant person are not fully vaccinated
- If a claim is connected to a government restriction due to Covid-19
- Where boarding of transport is denied because of your failure to get the documents necessary for the journey, such as a Covid-19 vaccination history or a negative Covid-19 test
- Getting Covid-19 while travelling to a destination or a region that has a level 3 or 4 travel advisory in place for Covid-19 on the Smartraveller website.
- You are a close contact of someone else not named on the policy and need to self-isolate
- If a relevant person contracts Covid-19 but that does not result in hospitalisation or death.
There are other exclusions, so we encourage you to read your policy wording and Supplementary Product Disclosure Statement carefully.
Have access to the documents you need to make a claim
We know that the last thing anyone wants to do when they’re on holiday is to find themselves in a position where they need to make an insurance claim. However, if you are caught out by contracting Covid-19 overseas, there are some things you can think about that may make it easier for you to submit your claim, and then focus on getting better.
Try to keep any information you’re likely to need to hand, in case you need to provide it to your insurer to make a claim. For Covid-19 claims, insurers might need the following evidence to support your claim:
- Proof of the Covid-19 diagnosis for anyone who has tested positive – this can be a PCR test result or official documentation from a health or governmental authority confirming your positive diagnosis
- Your original travel itineraries and accommodation / tour / event bookings
- Your amended travel itinerary (change in flights, new bookings etc)
- Documentation showing you have applied for a refund for any travel arrangements, and confirmation of the outcome such as your refund or credits. If no refund or credit is due to you, then please provide confirmation from the provider that this is the case
- Receipts for any expense you are claiming.
- Proof of the vaccination status showing that all travellers have completed their vaccination and booster course (if applicable)
It is important to provide the above information as soon as possible, as claims submitted without this information will be unable to be assessed until it is provided. Choose an insurer that allows you to submit your documents, make a claim and keep track of your claims status online so you can do so easily from overseas.
It’s important to bear in mind that many insurers are experiencing high volumes of queries from customers now so it may take longer than usual to process your claim. If your insurer has live chat and/or social media platforms, you may be able to reach them through those channels more easily from overseas.
Nobody likes to read the fine print but when considering travel insurance and Covid-19, Aussies need to be diligent and take the time to compare cover and policy inclusions as there are many different levels of cover and exclusions. But travellers can get a good level of cover that should provide peace of mind and the freedom to return to the overseas travel we have all missed so badly.
[1] 10% of claims are still being reviewed, 5% were under the policy excess or could not be finalised as the customer was unable to provide sufficient documents.
Article supplied by Jo McCauley, CEO at Southern Cross Travel Insurance
