Update on insurance claims for COVID-related cancellations?

I havent collected on it, but I just bought a policy that specifically covered COVID prior to leaving and while on the trip. I would love to help, but I think I will try not to need to find out how well they pay. The company is Allianz, but I looked a several with similar coverage. I did note that some, written prior to COVID, were excluding it because known Pandemics were not covered (makes sense to me). Which leaves the argument if you bought it prior to COVID being declared a pandemic.

Oh and I got cancel for any reason coverage so within a certain window there isnt any need to argue over COVID or not COVID. Cost was pretty reasonable.

Julie, this may have been the thread you were thinking of:

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/how-are-your-refunds-going

"Prepaid and non-refundable" reservations are likely a complication that insurance might not be able to cover.
There have been oodles of previous posts on this specific subject.

My policy covers all losses due to non refundable payment for hotels or airlines. Including because of COVID. Or there is fine print I havent found. What I liked about this policy was the letter from the CEO that said, essentially, "we cover COVID" but emphasizes that this was an exception and not the norm.

I insured both of my trips this year with Nationwide - before COVID was "known." When my RS tour and all 3 flights were cancelled (and all fully refunded) I submitted a "request to cancel" the policy outside of their normal cancellation window. With no claims to cover, they refunded the full amount of the policy. My September flight was just cancelled (my only non-refundable expense for my 2nd trip) and I'm optimistic Nationwide will also refund the cost of this policy.

The only claims (apart from the usual for travel delays, etc) they would have paid for COVID would have been if I had gotten sick myself during my travels.

I chose Nationwide because of their exceptional record of paying my claims on another (non-travel related) policy. I'm glad I chose them for my travel insurance!

I really dont think COVID is an insurance issue any longer ..... if it ever was. I think its just another "dont travel" straw man.

Julie- You might be referring to a thread “Travel Guard Insurance Refund” 4/09/20.

There may be some companies covering COVID-19 quarantine- or embargo-related cancellations (perhaps if you've bought a Cancel for Any Reason policy?), but those are still exclusions for some companies' policies. Here's the COVID-19 page on the TravelGuard website:

https://www.travelguard.com/covid19notification

The full policy under consideration should be reviewed for a complete understanding of what's going on, but this seems to be the key limitation: "Therefore, any losses for trip cancellation, trip interruption and/or trip delay caused by or resulting from quarantine due to COVID-19 is not considered 'Unforeseen' and will not be covered under the terms and conditions of this insurance policy."

Getting sick with COVID-19 so that you are unable to travel or incur expenses during a trip is likely to be covered. But as we've seen on this forum, comparatively few people have had trip plans destroyed due to actual COVID-19 illness. The blocking of travel from some origins and the requirements for lengthy quarantines have been bigger issues.

That is correct. Specifically my policy says that being afraid to go is not covered, except under the any reason clause which has a narrow time window. I would also suppose that if you could go but choose not to because of quarantine, that also would not be covered. Apparently if you are suck in your location, that is covered.

What is covered is not going because you are sick. So if you know that upon landing you will be tested, i would get a quick test before getting on the plane.

But this is just my interpretation of my policy. You need to study them very carefully and ask questions of the carrier if confused.

Losses due to COVID don't have to be great. Worst case scenario on my upcoming trip is maybe $500 and a airline voucher. The fear of financial loss is more of a strawman. The policies due cover med costs and thats comforting.

James E--The problem with the policies that cover medical if you get Covid is that the cost to cover Covid is way beyond what most travel insurance policies cover for medical. It was just on our local news that a man was in the hospital for 62 days with Covid and his bill was 1.1 million, for instance. Our medical insurance does not cover us overseas, so we always purchase that insurance for trips. I was looking into policies that now say they cover Covid in anticipation for next summer and I saw the caps at 50k and 100k. That won't even touch it if you end up hospitalized.

mikliz97, I understand its not one size fits all. The overwhelming majority of us that get COVID will have no symptoms or be sick for a few weeks. I suspect for someone under 40 the odds of dieing in a plane crash on vacation are greater than running up a $1,000,000 hospital bill due to COVID. If I were one of the few with compromising conditions I would consider staying home. If I did travel I would get repatriation insurance. There are a few policies out there that don't require jumping through a lot of hoops to get you home. Then your own insurance does kick in. Look at MedJet for instance. I have also filed with my insurance medical cost incurred in Europe. They paid some of it.

Anyone have an idea of what repatriation of a person with an infectious disease would look like? Private jet to the US with crew and nurse in full PPE? Maybe only if actively showing serious symptoms versus just a failed test? Maybe the country you're in wouldn't want you in a public airport? Just curious as to how they would actually do that.

Here is what MedJet says:

Medjet still cannot transport a member actively infected with COVID. We can, however, transport for post-infection complications and continued hospitalization. If a member is hospitalized for suspected COVID, Medjet will monitor the case and, as soon as the member is deemed clear, we can begin the process of getting the member transferred to their home hospital of choice. We remind members that given some of the long hospital stays COVID complications can require, Medjet transport benefits remain important protection for travelers.

We can neither break nor override a government ordered (U.S. or “host country”) quarantine or border closure. Ongoing restrictions in some areas, and required permit processing, may significantly delay transport service timing.

So i guess a logical question is, was the $1,000,000 bill incurred while infected or because of prior infection? Interesting.....

Not a claim, but Untied Airlines finally allowed refunds for my flight later this month, so I cancelled and should be credited the full amount. I then contacted my travel insurance company, Allianz, and once I provided it with a copy of the cancellation email from United, it immediately cancelled my policy and is giving me a refund. All my hotels were no cancellation fee up to 24 hours and I cancelled them a week ago.

James--From what I saw on the news, that 1.1 million bill was from being infected.

This is all wild speculation, but if it were post infection, no COVID left, just destroyed organs, then JetMed will cover flying the patient home.

I received 100% back from TRAVELEX for losses incurred. A travel company defaulted on their promise to provide land tour after we had made full payment, in the $$$$$, due to COVID-19, AND would not reimburse. I will definitely use TRAVELEX again in the future.

HappyTraveler, outstanding ................