The extension of a quarantine stay, medical expenses resulting from coronavirus infection or cancellation of travel due to COVID-19 infection. by one of the travellers. All these eventualities did not exist a little over a year ago, but today they are the order of the day.
The way we travel has changed completely and, faced with the global scenario caused by the sudden emergence of this infectious disease, insurance companies have set about designing travel insurance to cover the new contingencies.
Although travel has been reduced, COVID-19 has raised awareness of the importance of being covered by insurance, not only on holidays abroad, but also within the European Union and Spain.
In fact, for travel during the summer of 2021 Many countries require international COVID travel insurance to enter their borders. that covers medical expenses and the extension of accommodation if necessary. In this post we look at the new cover offered by insurance companies and other factors to take into account when travelling abroad.
What is COVID travel insurance?
COVID travel insurance is a policy that includes specific contingencies arising from COVID-19, such as medical expenses for COVID-19, extended quarantine stay or expenses for possible PCR tests during travel.
Most common COVID insurance coverage
These coverages depend on the type of insurance chosen and the insurance company, but the most common ones include:
Medical expenses for COVID-19
Cancellation due to positive COVID-19
Extension of stay for quarantine by COVID-19
Medical transfer and repatriation for travellers who have received medical care at their destination and have had to extend their stay, losing their return transport.
Early return home in the event of hospitalisation or death of a family member.
As in all policies, the inclusion or not of this coverage will depend on the type of insurance. It is also important to take into account the amount of medical expenses covered or the extension of the stay.
Some countries require compulsory COVID-19 travel insurance.
Until now, only a handful of countries required compulsory insurance to enter the country. With the introduction of COVID-19, at least fifteen countries now require a policy to cross their borders to ensure medical cover and extended stay in the event of quarantine. Therefore, if you are planning to travel abroad in the near future, it is important to consult the page website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with updated data.
Countries where COVID insurance is required include Costa Rica, Argentina, Chile, Thailand and Ukraine.
For example, to travel to Costa Rica, a very popular destination this summer., In order to travel abroad, it is necessary to have an international insurance with guaranteed coverage for medical expenses in case of COVID-19 for at least USD 50,000 and a minimum coverage of USD 2,000 for extended accommodation expenses due to this disease. In other words, not just any international insurance or even COVID travel insurance will do.
If you are thinking of travelling this year 2021, contact our brokerage PIB Group Iberia, where our team specialised in travel will analyse which company offers the best cover for your type of trip. They will also carry out a personalised study of the additional risks of your trip and the situation for entering the destination country in order to avoid surprises.
Other factors to take into account in your travel insurance during the pandemic
Medical expenses over 100,000 euros: Some low-cost insurance policies that you can find on the Internet include only 12,000 euros, while, for example, an appendicitis operation in the United States can cost 40,000 dollars. And it is precisely these kinds of unforeseen events that we want to cover with insurance. In fact, at PIB Group Iberia we will always offer you a minimum cover of 100,000 euros for medical expenses by default.
Liability cover: includes personal damages to third parties caused by the insured unintentionally and we recommend that it is always included.
Repatriation due to illness, accident or death: always included with a high amount.
Added risks: bear in mind that activities such as diving, skiing or horse riding, so common on holidays, are not usually included by default in policies. For this reason, we must pay attention to the small print and be careful with comparators.
