Advice About Coronavirus (COVID-19) and Travel Insurance

By Sondra Forsyth

There continues to be significant concern about travel as the new coronavirus wreaks havoc with travel plans, including for those who were hoping to book trips later in the year. Should they go ahead and book the trip, or will they be out of luck if travel is compromised?

To cover a cancellation due to worries about the coronavirus for future travel, TravelInsurance.com recommends a Cancel for Any Reason (CFAR) policy, as it is really the only way to give travelers assurance that they can recoup at least part of their costs if they decide they don’t want to travel. Standard travel insurance plans will not cover losses due to the coronavirus outbreak, including government travel advisories and restrictions.

A plan with CFAR remains the only coverage available for the coronavirus outbreak. With CFAR coverage, the insurance policy must be purchased within a set amount of days (usually 21 days or fewer, depending on the plan) after making the first payment for the trip, and the entire pre-paid and non-refundable cost of the trip must be insured, including any subsequent trip costs.

The trip must also be cancelled more than 48 hours prior to the departure date. While a cancellation using CFAR will reimburse only 50% or 75% of the trip costs, depending on the plan, a plan with CFAR will also have standard covered reasons for cancellation that will reimburse 100% for a standard covered cancellation.

For more information on how travel insurance is impacted by the outbreak, click our blog post on the topic here.