Travel Insurance and Swine Flu - Important Frequently Asked Questions

By insurance in travel insurance

Jun 27

Whether its Swine Flu (H1N1) or any other outbreak of infectious disease, you may or may not be covered by your travel insurance policy. It all depends on the circumstances and the fine print on your travel document. Here are some of the frequently asked questions that travelers are asking about swine flue.

Am I covered if I catch swine flu on holiday?

Yes - if you have a normal medical travel insurance policy and you get ill any doctors visits, hospital stays, medication, and costs associated with changes to travel plans will be covered. Swine flu is just another disease and your policy will cover you. Fortunately for most healthy adults a hospital stay is unlikely.

Am I covered if營 get swine flu before I go on vacation?

Yes you should be - most comprehensive travel insurance policies will cover your for costs incurred when you have to delay or cancel your trip because of either your illness or that of a traveling companion. You may also be covered if a close family member gets ill - check the fine print.

I want to cancel my vacation to Mexico - and I covered?

Maybe is the answer to this one. If your government has advised against travel to a specific destination because of a pandemic, or other reason - then your travel insurance should cover you for loss of deposits etc. However, if you have decided you want to cancel just because you are nervous - and there is no government advisory against travel to your main holiday destination - then its unlikely that you are covered. In this case you will only be covered if you have a “cancel for any reason” clause in your policy.

Conversely - if you decide to continue a trip to a country that has an advisory against it then your travel insurance is probably at least partially void. For example if you travel to Mexico when there is an official advisory against travel to that country and you do contract H1N1 while?there - its unlikely that your insurer will cover your medical costs - check before you leave. You may wish to either cancel your travel insurance (no use in paying for it if they are not covering you) or change insurance companies.

Regardless of what you decide about your travel plans make sure that you have good travel insurance from a well-known insurer such as Insure and Go. Even traveling to relatively safe destinations such as Europe, travel insurance is important to budget for to ensure a peace of mind trip.

Robert_H._Jones