Coronavirus FAQ

As general advice, please be aware that if your trip is cancelled, rearranged or curtailed as a result of COVID-19 and/or FCDO advice, then it is likely that your transport and/or accommodation provider will be able to refund you. We will only be considering claims where you have approached the appropriate provider for either a refund, reimbursement or change in trip dates, prior to submitting a claim to us. There are some details further down the page as to who you can approach to support you before submitting a claim to us.

If after approaching your accommodation and transport providers, you are still looking to make a claim for cancellation or curtailment relating to COVID-19 or change in FCDO advice, you can find the claims process detailed here:

Please make sure you submit your claim with all the supporting documentation requested. Missing information could result in delays to the assessment of your claim.

This is something you would need to approach your airline about. If you had booked accommodation separately, then you will need to approach the accommodation provider to see what your options are. You may be able to include this in your claim to the airline. If the airline will not accept the claim for the accommodation costs then it may be that you bank or credit card provider can support with this via Section 75 of the consumer credit act. Please contact your credit or debit card company for details on the process. There are some details further down the page as to who you can approach for help and support before submitting a claim to us.

Unfortunately, most travel insurance policies do not include this as a reason to cancel. However, if your trip is no longer able to go ahead as originally planned – i.e. excursion cancellations, restrictions on use of the facility etc. then customer who have booked via a tour operator or travel agent, should in most cases be able to claim a refund from their tour operator or travel agent. Customers who booked accommodation and transport through separate providers will need to approach their booking agents to see if they are able to change dates or offer a refund.

Unfortunately, this is not an option, our appointed Claims team can only assess claims based on facts and information available that applied at the time of you cancelling the trip and submitting the claim.

If HM armed forces cover is specified in the cancellation section of your policy wording and your leave orders have been cancelled then you can submit a claim for cancellation. However, if your leave orders are not cancelled, then this would not be covered by your travel insurance policy. We would recommend contacting your reporting or commanding officer for advice as to how they can support you.

Cover for this scenario will depend on the type of travel insurance policy you purchased. To better understand the cover offered by your policy, please check the cancellation section of your policy wording. Please note, a positive test for COVID-19 alone is not grounds for cancelling a holiday, claims for cancellation would only be considered where the virus has led to death or hospitalisation of the relative.

Assuming you have purchased the Cruise Extension, we would continue to cover you as normal, without charge and without the need to contact us, as we understand that this is outside of your control and not an intended change to your insurance demands and needs. There is no cover at all on a cruise unless you have purchased the extension.

If you bought a policy that included cruise cover with a cabin confinement section, if the circumstances of your confinement are included, then we will consider claims under this section of the policy. There is no cover at all on a cruise unless you have purchased the extension.

We’re afraid missed port cover is usually only provided for missed port due to adverse weather conditions or timetable restrictions. However, under Package Travel Regulations because the cruise was not as ‘sold’ then it would be something you can approach your booking agent to discuss reimbursement of those costs.

For all cases we would need confirmation that your trip was still going ahead as planned and had not been rearranged or cancelled due to FCDO/COVID-19 advice/restrictions. Please be aware that different policies have different terms and conditions so please check the cancellation section of your policy wording.

If you have a confirmed diagnosis:

If you are unfortunate enough to test positive for COVID-19 after you bought your insurance, then as long as the diagnosis was within a reasonable timeframe of your trip starting (14 days) then we would consider this under cancellation due to illness. You can submit a claim for cancellation and will be required to evidence a positive COVID-19 result from a medical practitioner. Self-isolating

This will only be covered if you have purchased the COVID-19 Extension and has been requested by a medical practitioner, health authority or government body. Cover applies within 14 days of your trip and we will need evidence that you have been required to self-isolate.

This is not covered by our policies. In most cases flight companies are assisting people with these arrangements with small if any administration fees.

As long as there was no reason to expect the doctor to limit travel at the time you booked the trip and if you declared the conditions at the time of purchasing the policy, then your claim will be considered if your doctor certifies that you are too ill to travel due to COVID-19. If you did not declare them, you would not be covered. We would also need confirmation that your trip was still due to go ahead as planned.

If you have been provided a voucher by your travel agent/tour operator or transport/accommodation provider and you have accepted this from them, you will not be able to make a claim under your travel insurance policy.

If you do not wish to accept the offer of a voucher, you should contact the tour operator/travel agent or transport/accommodation provider and advise them that you want a refund rather than a voucher/credit note.

Cancellation claims will only be considered if you have the relevant cover under the cancellation section of your policy and you can evidence to us that you have not accepted a voucher/credit note and/or one has not been offered to you.

In the event that you not moving your trip to alternative dates, and are offered a full refund from your travel agent or tour operator and you are within your 14-day cooling off period, we are happy to provide you with a full refund of the premium you have paid providing you have not travelled, claimed or intend to claim on the policy. This will mean that no future claims can be made on the policy.

For our full terms and conditions on policy cancellation outside of the 14-day cooling off period, please click here.

To cancel your policy and request a refund, please click here.

If you are offered an alternative destination and/or dates by your travel agent or tour operator, we are pleased to advise that on Single Trip policies we will change the dates of your travel insurance policy to match the new trip where policy and in line with our policy term and conditions. We will not charge an admin fee for this, but please note that there may be an increase in cost, for example if you extend your trip duration or change the geographical area that you are travelling to etc.

Please note, we cannot move trip dates more than 12 months in advance from the date you originally purchased your policy. Please click here to amend your policy online.

If you’d like to upgrade your existing policy to include additional COVID-19 cover, simply click here to do so quickly and easily online if eligible and make sure you select the ‘COVID-19 Extension’. We’ll re-send your new policy documents once you’re done – simple as that!

Please note: An additional cost may apply if you choose you upgrade your travel insurance policy to include the COVID-19 extension. The cover will commence from when the Extension is added, not from the original date your policy was purchased and cover would not apply where you have already commenced your trip.

Cover will be extended for the following reasons:

If you are hospitalised, require medical treatment and are unable to fly.

If your return is delayed due to a positive COVID-19 test or if you are quarantined in your pre-booked accommodation.

This only applies if the COVID-19 Extension has been purchased.

For any other reason, we would consider requests on a case-by-case basis.

As long as you did not travel against the FCDO advice, then we will provide cover for emergency medical expenses if you contract the virus and require medical treatment. You should contact the local medical authorities and follow their instructions, as they will be able to direct you to a public hospital that will be set up to provide optimal care and quarantine. You should then contact the assistance team so that they can liaise with the treating doctors. We would recommend that you avoid the ‘dangerous/infected’ areas and follow the published guidelines to minimise your risk of exposure.

If you are considering returning to the UK earlier than originally planned as a result of a Coronavirus outbreak, this is not covered by our policy unless the country is added to the UK government Red List and your early return is to avoid quarantine requirements when you arrive in the UK. This cover is only available if you have purchased the COVID-19 Extension.

If you are admitted to hospital your policy will usually provide assistance with returning home when you have been discharged. Please contact our appointed Assistance Team if you are admitted to hospital.

If you test positive but do not need hospitalisation, or if your pre-booked accommodation is put into compulsory quarantine, you will not be covered for any additional travel and accommodation costs incurred from having to self-isolate unless you have purchased the COVID-19 Extension.

If the UK government advice changes during your trip and you are required to quarantine on your return to the UK, we will contribute up to £1,000 to these costs if you have purchased the COVID-19 Extension.

Unfortunately, travel insurance policies across the market do not usually provide cover for refusal of boarding for any reason. You would need to approach your airline or tour operator for advice. However, if a subsequent COVID-19 test shows that the cause of the high temperature is COVID-19 or some other diagnosed medical condition, you would be able to submit a claim under the ‘Cutting Short Your Trip’ section of the policy.

This type of situation is not usually covered under our travel insurance policies unless you have purchased the Large-Scale Events Extension and the change in advice is not in respect of COVID-19.

In the first instance, we would recommend that you contact your tour operator/travel agent to see if they are able to re-arrange your return travel for you. If you are travelling independently from a tour operator/travel agent, you should contact your airline/transport provider to see if they are able to alter your return ticket. There are some details further down the page as to who you can approach to support you before submitting a claim to our team.

You will need to evidence that you have approached and been refused a refund for these costs before we will consider a claim. You should also check that you purchased a policy which covers curtailment due to FCDO advice changes.

You can look at the curtailment (cutting short your trip) section of your policy wording to see if a change of FCDO advice is covered.

Please note: We are not be able to assist in arranging to get you home unfortunately, unless this is due to your injury or illness, and this has been agreed by our assistance team. It is important to note that medical repatriations are prioritised to ensure the safety of those who are unwell.

None of our policies will provide cover if you decide to travel where the FCDO have advised against ‘All Travel’ to a country or region.

Where the FCDO advise against ‘All but Essential Travel’ we will provide cover if the claim has not been caused by the reason the FCDO have given this advice. For example, if your claim relates to COVID-19 treatment in a country where the FCDO have advised against ‘All but Essential Travel’, this would not be covered.

However, if you have purchased our COVID-19 Extension, you are covered for medical expenses and repatriation in the event that you contract coronavirus abroad, even if the FCDO have advised against ‘All but Essential Travel’ to your planned destination due to the coronavirus outbreak. This cover would not be given if the country was on the UK government Red List.

If you travel to an area which the FCDO advise against ALL travel to, there would be no cover under the travel insurance policies as this would be considered as a known event.

If you travel to an area and the FCDO advice changes after leaving home, you should contact your travel agent or tour operator for information on availability of flights or refunds in the first instance.

If you are refused entry at passport/border control, you should contact your airline or transport provider to arrange changing your return ticket to allow you to come home early.

We would suggest that if you have not started that part of your journey you contact your airline to change your travel plans to move on to the next part of your itinerary. If this is not possible, we will provide cover as long as 1) you do not leave the airport, and 2) you are not at the airport for an unreasonable amount of time.

If you arrive at your stop-over airport and entry is denied due to the virus you should contact your airline to change your travel plans to move on to the next part of your itinerary.

There is no cover provided for general travel disruption caused by the Coronavirus.