CDC Level 4 Countries-"Recommended Do Not Travel"-Travel Insurance Impact? Answered

Bought my insurance last summer for a trip I took to Italy and France last month. At the time, France was Level 4. It then reverted to a Level 3. And by the time I got on the plane both Italy and France were Level 4.

I started with my go to which has always been Allianz. I read/highlighted/underlined/made notes on the whole policy. (I work in a law office and am somewhat used to reading contracts) I found that the exceptions for almost every section of the policy included that the coverage was limited or deleted in the case of a government "do not travel" advisement for any reason.

I then turned to USAA and found that the only exception to coverage was in the section on emergency evacuation due to war or riot or something of that nature. USAA did not even have the word "covid" in the policy. I'm sorry that I did not keep a copy of either policy so I can't quote chapter and verse, but I did find the difference in coverage to be dramatic. USAA also had a "bed rest" option additional coverage for only $13 that provided $4000 extra coverage for quarantine covering room and board. I bought that too.

I have to also say that when I called USAA to ask some questions I received very clear responses ...much better than the mushy answers I've received from other companies.

Of course it's now been 6 months since I bought my policy and every company's policy may have changed again. And I had a marvelous trip without a claim. Sadly the only way to know for sure is to print out the policy, sharpen your pencil, and read the whole darn thing---of course within 10 or 15 days of purchase so you can cancel and get a different policy if the first policy is unacceptable to you. This process was by far the most miserable and stressful part of planning for me. I wish you the best and a wonderful trip!

Edit: the word "covid" was not in the USAA policy because they just treated it as any other disease-- they didn't list any diseases at all--not measles or mumps or a cold--none.

jr,
thanks for many things-- the technical "know-how" and the relief- I have always bought USAA travel insurance.

Back in late Aug/Sept, 2021, the CDC put our country on the Level 4 list -within hours of our flying. No week's notice, no advance warning. At that time, I was trying to read our policy on my phone, from the airport. I also sent my USAA policy to my daughter, an attorney, who was also trying to read the policy from her phone, while at dinner. She could find nothing to invalidate our insurance, which supports what you have found. [We were going, at that point!]

I did buy USAA again, months ago, for our April, 2022, trip, and decided to do some research now while I had the time. I will call them directly and ask the specific question, to make sure nothing has changed.

Thanks again for your very knowledgeable answer.
Safe travels!

Every policy is different and it also depends on your state. I have a yearly travel policy with Allianz. I read it carefully. There is no mention of the policy being no good if a country goes to level 4. It only states that the policy becomes ineffective if the country is at war and I decide to go there.

I just read my travel guard policy. No mention of the advisory levels. A country being level 4 does not affect my coverage, but also is not an allowable reason to cancel. Things like wars and hurricanes are mentioned but not government alerts.

Pat, I too go through USAA for my travel insurance. Please put what you find out about the Level 4 from them on your posting.

Thanks.

I searched through Allianz' policy docs and found the following on their AllTrips Premier covid rider, trip interruption coverage part IV, section 1c:
You or a traveling companion must not have traveled against the orders or advice of any government
or other public authority at any location to, from, or through which you are traveling on your trip
I interpret that as CDC Level 4 countries will not be covered. Now I have to rethink insurance for the third time for September trip. I'm sure written policy will supersede any interpretation a phone rep will give. Having had problems with insurance several years ago, I'm not very trusting.

This is just an opinion, but I think that it is the "do not travel" warning that is put out by the US State Department that matters. The CDC is a recommendation only. As always, it pays to double check the wording of your policy for yourself.

Carol, that is a very good point that I missed. Thanks for your input!

You or a traveling companion must not have traveled against the orders or advice of any government
or other public authority at any location to, from, or through which you are traveling on your trip (Bolding mine)

If my policy had this language, I would like to have--in writing--from my insurance carrier before travelling whether CDC recommendations are considered "advice" from my government. Perhaps I am too pessimistic about how tight some insurance companies are when a claim is filed, but I can easily see a semantics argument over these terms.

I just checked both the Italy and France US Embassy sites. The Level 4 announcement on each State Department site begins with
"Level 4: Do not travel to "name of country" due to Covid-19."
For me, that statement was pretty unequivical and was the reason that I personally went with USAA rather than Allianz. As has been said previously, policies will vary by State and over time. Sadly we have all had to become insurance experts in order to decide what works best for ourselves. Fortunately I had a wonderful carefully considered trip and I didn't have to use my policy. So I can only assume that it would have worked as expected had I needed to file a claim. I'll obviously never know for sure. Best wishes for safe and happy travel to all of us.
jr

I called USAA directly with my question, and after a 30+ minute hold [don't call on Mondays] received my answer:

My USAA travel insurance is valid if a country is on the CDC Level 4 list. The policy contains no written exclusion.

I cannot cancel the trip because the country is Level 4, because [most likely] the country was Level 4 when I purchased the policy.

Covid is considered an Illness, and all coverage related to Illness apply. However, because of demand, USAA sent me a Confirmation of Benefits statement covering Covid-related issues.

My questions were answered in a professional and direct manner.

Safe travels to all!