UPDATE: Global COVID-19 Pandemic: Where to now?

Issued 10:48pm AEDT, 4th May 2020.
Updated 11:00am AEDT, 11th March 2021

On 18 March 2020, Prime Minister Scott Morrison updated the travel advice for Australians to level four (Do Not Travel) for the entire world.

If you haven’t yet started your trip, you may be covered for the Cancellation Costs under our policies sold before 4pm on 31 January 2020 (AEDT).

When making a claim, we remind you it is a policy condition that you take reasonable steps to avoid or reduce any loss. For this reason, we suggest that all travellers contact your airlines, tour operators, travel agents, transport providers, or accommodation providers to seek refunds (or credits, if refunds are not possible). Subject to this, any outstanding out-of-pocket expenses may be submitted for consideration of payment. Please note that there may be some delays with airlines, hotels and other providers as they are experiencing high volumes of claims and enquiries at this time. If there is no necessity for you to cancel your trip at this time please consider waiting as the travel advice could change, allowing you to continue your travel as originally planned.

The current travel ban determination by the Australian government under the Biosecurity Act is in place until the 17th of December 2021. You are still welcome to lodge a claim but it is likely that any claim, based on an inability to travel due to government restrictions, with a departure date from the 18th December 2021 onwards will be treated as a “change of mind” and will not be approved at this time.

If you purchased your policy after 4pm on 31 January 2020 (AEDT), please note there is no cover available on any of our travel insurance policies if your claim relates to COVID-19. After this time, we consider COVID-19 to be a known incident. The travel insurance policy does not provide cover for any claims relating to an incident that you were aware of at the time you took out the insurance and which could reasonably be expected to lead to a claim. You should seek refunds from the relevant travel providers.

Our teams are working non-stop to serve all our customers and to review each customer’s situation as soon as possible. We are all affected by this unique situation, so we ask for your cooperation at this difficult time.

We strongly encourage you to gather all the information regarding your claim including evidence of all costs refunded and credited to you (if any) before lodging your claim online. Lodging your claim online will help us to manage your claim more efficiently and will save you time.

Please note that while the level 4 alert is in place for the whole world, your Policy will now not cover you if your claim results from any overseas travel, including if you decide to remain overseas.

For those overseas who wish to return to Australia, the Australian government recommends you do so as soon as possible by commercial means.

InsureandGo understands that in these unprecedented times, the disruption and economic ramifications of the pandemic have significantly affected many of our customers.

So far, we are proud that our team have been able to assist our most in-need customers who have had to make a claim for out-of-pocket expenses due to the inability to travel.

We are grateful to our customers for their patience as we work through this unprecedented volume.

If you have any questions or concerns, please email us at info@insureandgo.com.au.

*Terms and Conditions apply.

Whether or not you intend to travel or return home at this time, we urge you to stay abreast of the government updates via www.smartraveller.gov.au.

We appreciate your patience and cooperation during this unimaginable situation.

You will appreciate that the situation continues to evolve and we encourage you to stay up to date with both our website and all relevant government advisory bodies.

This update is for information and assistance and does not alter the terms of your policy.

Regards

The InsureandGo Team

UPDATE: Global Global Coronavirus Outbreak: Where to now?

Issued 9:15PM AEDT, 19th March 2020.

On 18 March 2020, Prime Minister Scott Morrison updated the travel advice for Australians to level four (Do Not Travel) for the entire world.

If you haven’t yet started your trip, you may be covered for the Cancellation Costs under our policies sold before 4pm on 31 January 2020 (AEDT).

When making a claim, we remind you it is a policy condition that you take reasonable steps to avoid or reduce any loss. For this reason, we suggest that all travellers contact your airlines, tour operators, travel agents, transport providers, or accommodation providers to seek refunds (or credits, if refunds are not possible). Subject to this, any outstanding out-of-pocket expenses may be submitted for consideration of payment. Please note that there may be some delays with airlines and hotels and other providers as they are experiencing high volumes of claims and enquiries at this time. If there is no necessity for you to cancel your trip at this time please consider waiting as the travel advice could change, allowing you to continue your travel as originally planned.

If you purchased your policy after 4pm on 31 January 2020 (AEDT), please note there is no cover available on any of our travel insurance policies if your claim relates to COVID-19. After this time, we consider COVID-19 to be a known incident. The travel insurance policy does not provide cover for any claims relating to an incident which you were aware of at the time you took out the insurance and which could reasonably be expected to lead to a claim. You should seek refunds from the relevant travel providers.

Our teams are working non-stop to serve all our customers and to review each customer’s situation as soon as possible. We are all affected by this unique situation, so we ask for your cooperation at this difficult time.

We strongly encourage you to gather all the information regarding your claim including evidence of all costs refunded and credited to you (if any) before lodging your claim online. Lodging your claim online will help us to manage your claim more efficiently and will save you time. The “How to make your Cancellation Claim online?” guide can be found here.

Please note that while the level 4 alert is in place for the whole world, your Policy will now not cover you if your claim results from any overseas travel, including if you decide to remain overseas.

For those overseas who wish to return to Australia, the Australian government recommends you do so as soon as possible by commercial means.

Whether or not you intend to return at this time, we urge you to stay abreast of the government updates via www.smartraveller.gov.au.

We appreciate your patience and cooperation during this unimaginable situation.

You will appreciate that the situation continuous to evolve and we encourage you to stay up to date with both our website and all relevant government advisory bodies.

This update is for information and assistance and does not alter the terms of your Policy.

Regards

The InsureandGo Team

Global Coronavirus Outbreak: Where to now?

Issued 3:45pm AEDT, 2nd February 2020.

Updated 5:00pm AEDT, 4th February 2020.

On 7th January 2020, Chinese authorities identified a Novel (new) Coronavirus in Wuhan City in Hubei Province, and named it 2019-nCoV.

On 20th January 2020, Chinese authorities confirmed human-to-human transmission, leading to widespread media articles being released. As of 21st January 2020 (12:00am AEDT), we consider this to be a known event affecting the Hubei Province of China.

On 29th January 2020, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s (DFAT) advised all Australians to reconsidered their need to travel to China. The Hubei Province had a travel advice warning of Level 4 (Do Not Travel).

On 31st January 2020, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has deemed this event an international health emergency. As of 31st January 2020 (4:00pm AEDT), we consider this to be a known event globally. If you purchased your policy before this and cannot travel to China while DFAT’s Smart Traveller website has a Level 4 (Do Not Travel) warning, we advise you to first contact your airline, accommodation and tour providers immediately to assess your cancellation or rescheduling entitlements. Should there be outstanding out of pocket expenses, you are entitled to submit a claim.

On 1st February 2020, DFAT’s Smart Traveller website upgraded the travel advice warning to China to Level 4 (Do Not Travel). As a consequence, we are now unable to provide any coverage for travel to China.

If you purchased your policy before 31st January 2020 (4:00pm AEDT) and cannot travel to China while DFAT’s Smart Traveller website has a Level 4 (Do Not Travel) warning, we advise you to first contact your airline, accommodation and tour providers immediately to assess your cancellation or rescheduling entitlements. Many airlines and accommodation providers have reacted to the 2019-nCov Coronavirus outbreak by amending their cancellation policies for travellers. For advice on which accommodation providers and airlines have amended policies, what country of travel this applies to and applicable dates, please refer to this page. Should there be outstanding out of pocket expenses, you are entitled to submit a claim. Due to the rapidly evolving nature of the outbreak and claim considerations on DFAT advice, the entitlements of your policy may change depending on the advice given by DFAT. On top of this, please pay close attention to the local media and emergency services, including the World Health Organisation (WHO).

If you have travelled to locations affected by this outbreak and have developed symptoms of respiratory illness, please contact your doctor.

Please note if you choose to travel to China whilst the Level 4 advice is in place there are no provisions to claim under your policy for any section.

Please note if you choose to cancel your trip to any place that does not have a Level 4 (Do Not Travel) warning on DFAT’s Smart Traveller website, there are no provisions in your policy to claim for change of mind or fear of travel.

Am I Covered For Claims Related To This Event, for travel to or transit through China (Including the Hubei Province)?

• If you bought your policy before 12:00am AEDT on 21st January 2020 and were in, or due to travel to China (Including the Hubei Province) you may be covered for cancellation or medical expenses as per the benefits in your specific PDS.
  • If you had previously contacted us and were advised we will not cover cancellations to China (outside the Hubei Province), your coverage may have changed as a result of DFAT’s Smart Traveller website updating the travel advice warning for China from Level 3 (Reconsider Travel) to Level 4 (Do Not Travel), at 6.00pm AEDT, 1st February 2020.
• If you bought your policy after 12:00am AEDT on 21st January 2020 and before 12:00pm AEDT on 29th January 2020 and were in, or due to travel to China you may be covered for cancellation or medical expenses as per the benefits in your specific PDS. However, you may not be covered for cancellation or medical expenses as per the benefits in your specific PDS if you were in, or due to travel to the Hubei Province (Including Wuhan City).
  • If you had previously contacted us and were advised we will not cover cancellations to China (outside the Hubei Province), your coverage may have changed as a result of DFAT’s Smart Traveller website updating the travel advice warning for China from Level 3 (Reconsider Travel) to Level 4 (Do Not Travel), at 6.00pm AEDT, 1st February 2020.
• If you bought your policy after 12:00pm (AEDT) on 29th January 2020 and before 4:00pm AEDT on 31st January 2020, you will not be covered for claims related to this event in the Hubei Province, China. All claims are subject to the terms, conditions, limits, and exclusions of the policy you purchased. Please note:
  • You may be covered for claims in other parts of China (Outside Hubei Province). However you may not be covered for claims arising in other parts of China, where disruptions to the itinerary occur as a result of publicly known tourist attraction closures directly related to the Coronavirus (2019-nCoV). For example: Shanghai Disneyland, the Forbidden City or the National Museum of China temporarily closing to contain the outbreak.
  • If you had previously contacted us and were advised we will not cover cancellations to China other than the Hubei Province, your right for cover may have changed as a result of DFAT’s Smart Traveller website updating the travel advice warning for China from Level 3 to Level 4 (Do Not Travel), at 6.00pm AEDT, 1st February 2020.
• If you bought your policy after 4:00pm AEDT on 31st January 2020, you will not be covered for claims related to the Coronavirus (2019-nCoV). It would be expected the policy was entered into with awareness of the virus and its developments.

Am I Covered For Claims Related To This Event, for travel to Destinations other than China?

• If you bought your policy before 12:00am AEDT on 21st January 2020, you may be covered as per the benefits of your specific PDS, but you will not be covered for cancelling your trip due to change of mind or fear.
• If you bought your policy after 12:00am AEDT on 21st January 2020 and before 4:00pm AEDT on 31st January 2020, you will not be covered for cancelling your trip due to change of mind or fear but you may be covered for claims directly related to travel delays as a result of quarantines at major airports directly related to the Coronavirus (2019-nCoV). Please be aware our policies only cover connecting flights where the stopover was originally scheduled on your itinerary for more than 6 hours.
• If you bought your policy after 4:00pm AEDT on 31st January 2020, you will not be covered for claims related to the Coronavirus (2019-nCoV). It would be expected the policy was entered into with awareness of the virus and its developments.

For more information about travel insurance and Pandemic Coverage, check this article published by Choice.

Global Coronavirus Outbreak: where to now?

Issued 4:07pm AEDT, 31st January 2020

Please be aware this post has 1 subsequent relevant update. Click here to view our updated post.

On 7th January 2020, Chinese authorities identified a Novel (new) Coronavirus in Wuhan City in Hubei Province, and named it 2019-nCoV.

On 20th January 2020, Chinese authorities confirmed human-to-human transmission, leading to widespread media articles being released. As of 21st January 2020 (12:00am AEDT), we consider this to be a known event affecting the Hubei Province of China.

On 29th January 2020, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s (DFAT) advised all Australians to reconsidered their need to travel to China. The Hubei Province was categorised ‘’Do Not Travel”.

On 31st January 2020, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has deemed this event an international health emergency. As of 31st January 2020 (4:00pm AEDT), we consider this to be a known event globally.

We advise all travellers to reconsider your need to travel to China, as advised by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s (DFAT) Smartraveller website. Due to the rapidly evolving nature of the outbreak and claim considerations on DFAT advice, the entitlements of your policy may change depending on the advice given by DFAT. On top of this, please pay close attention to the local media and emergency services, including the World Health Organisation (WHO).

If you have travelled to locations affected by this outbreak and have developed symptoms of respiratory illness, please contact your doctor. If you have a trip planned to locations affected by this outbreak, please contact your travel, accommodation and tour providers to amend your travel plans. Also contact your airline, cruise or travel operator to check if tourist services are affected or for cancellations.

Please note if you choose to cancel your trip, there are no provisions to claim under your policy for change of mind or fear of travel.

Am I Still Covered For Claims Related To This Event?

• If you bought your policy before 12:00am AEDT on 21st January 2020:
  • and were in, or due to travel to the Hubei Province you may be covered for cancellation or medical expenses as per the benefits in your specific PDS.
  • and were due to travel elsewhere you may be covered as per the benefits of your specific PDS, but you will not be covered for cancelling your trip due to change of mind or fear.
• If you bought your policy after 12:00am AEDT on 21st January 2020 and before 4:00pm AEDT on 31st January 2020:
  • You may not be covered for claims arising in other parts of China, where disruptions to the itinerary occur as a result of publicly known tourist attraction closures directly related to the Coronavirus (2019-nCoV). For example: Shanghai Disneyland, the Forbidden City or the National Museum of China temporarily closing to contain the outbreak.
  • You may be covered for claims directly related to travel delays as a result of quarantines at major airports directly related to the Coronavirus (2019-nCoV), outside the Hubei Province. Please be aware our policies only cover connecting flights where the stopover was originally scheduled on your itinerary for more than 6 hours.
• If you bought your policy after 4:00pm AEDT on 31st January 2020, you will not be covered for claims related to the Coronavirus (2019-nCoV). It would be expected a policy was entered into with awareness of the virus and its developments.

For more information about travel insurance and Pandemic Coverage, check this article published by Choice: https://www.choice.com.au/travel/money/travel-insurance/articles/travel-insurance-pandemic