Travel Insurance update Oct 2020

[terrierjohn]

Our annual insurance is due for renewal next month and I have just had a discussion with our broker about what to do about our Free Spirit policy. Apparently in line with most other insurers the T&Cs of existing policy's are being changed to limit the insurers liability, they will offer cancellation cover for covid if you fall ill or are tested positive within 14 days of the sail date or are denied boarding because of a test at the port, and you will be fully covered for medical expenses and repatriation costs, even for covid problems, if you fall ill on your cruise. As a result the upshot of these change really means that the benefits from having continuity of your policy is now worthless since these T&Cs will apply to all new policies as well.

We have therefore decided to defer taking out travel insurance until we are certain that we will be paying the balance for the cruise.  There is still some confusion about what, if any, impact  the current FCDO (Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office) not to sail would have on current bookings, so the advice from our broker is not to spend anymore money on cruises until this is lifted and cruising restarts, but I imagine that insurance companies will be so desperate for new business when holidays start again, that its unlikely they will quibble too much about new policies.

However since we need an accessible cabin, and our FCC (which we have already just about written off) will probably cover for almost 2 cruise deposits, dependant on cost, we are still likely to book something for summer 2020.

Edited October 15, 2020 by terrierjohn

[wowzz]

16 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

Our annual insurance is due for renewal next month and I have just had a discussion with our broker about what to do about our Free Spirit policy. Apparently in line with most other insurers the T&Cs of existing policy's are being changed to limit the insurers liability, they will offer cancellation cover for covid if you fall ill or are tested positive within 14 days of the sail date or are denied boarding because of a test at the port, and you will be fully covered for medical expenses and repatriation costs, even for covid problems, if you fall ill on your cruise. As a result the upshot of these change really means that the benefits from having continuity of your policy is now worthless since these T&Cs will apply to all new policies as well.

We have therefore decided to defer taking out travel insurance until we are certain that we will be paying the balance for the cruise.  There is still some confusion about what, if any, impact  the current FCDO (Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office) not to sail would have on current bookings, so the advice from our broker is not to spend anymore money on cruises until this is lifted and cruising restarts, but I imagine that insurance companies will be so desperate for new business when holidays start again, that its unlikely they will quibble too much about new policies.

However since we need an accessible cabin, and our FCC (which we have already just about written off) will probably cover for almost 2 cruise deposits, dependant on cost, we are still likely to book something for summer 2020.

John  - thanks for that. We normally just renew our annual travel policy as a matter of course. From now on we will wait until we have made a decision with regard to future holidays before renewing. 

[davecttr]

9 hours ago, wowzz said:

John  - thanks for that. We normally just renew our annual travel policy as a matter of course. From now on we will wait until we have made a decision with regard to future holidays before renewing. 

That's what I did. I had my travel insurance as part of my bank account plus a premium on top for existing medical conditions. It was due for renewal in July so I downgraded my bank account without any problem. The bank were happy to do it and it only took about 15 minutes? Apart from the travel insurance the account is the same 🙂 I have 2 cruises to go to reach my bucket list total of 50 so may settle for single trip insurance. Maybe P&O or Saga or Fred on one of their latest ships. Must be a UK departure and balcony cabin. 

[kalos]

Sounds good advice John, whilst things are up in the air and changeable re price/T&C's you

are right to defer the insurance until you book again.

 

Whilst on the subject of insurance ,my car was covered for 10-12k miles but as we hardly go anywhere

at the moment our Insurance advised to lower the annual mileage.We chose 4k but in reality we will struggle

to do1k the way things are going. This has resulted in a nice little refund from our insurer .

Better in our pockets if your not using it .

Edited October 16, 2020 by kalos

[terrierjohn]

25 minutes ago, kalos said:

Sounds good advice John, whilst things are up in the air and changeable re price/T&C's you

are right to defer the insurance until you book again.

 

Whilst on the subject of insurance ,my car was covered for 10-12k miles but as we hardly go anywhere

at the moment our Insurance advised to lower the annual mileage.We chose 4k but in reality we will struggle

to do1k the way things are going. This has resulted in a nice little refund from our insurer .

Better in our pockets if your not using it .

I was already down to 4000 miles, so I doubt they would reduce mine by much.  But I wish I had known the travel insurer was going to change the T&Cs on existing policies earlier in the year, I could have cancelled it earlier and maybe got a 6 month refund.

[pete14]

10 hours ago, terrierjohn said:

Our annual insurance is due for renewal next month and I have just had a discussion with our broker about what to do about our Free Spirit policy. Apparently in line with most other insurers the T&Cs of existing policy's are being changed to limit the insurers liability, they will offer cancellation cover for covid if you fall ill or are tested positive within 14 days of the sail date or are denied boarding because of a test at the port, and you will be fully covered for medical expenses and repatriation costs, even for covid problems, if you fall ill on your cruise. As a result the upshot of these change really means that the benefits from having continuity of your policy is now worthless since these T&Cs will apply to all new policies as well.

We have therefore decided to defer taking out travel insurance until we are certain that we will be paying the balance for the cruise.  There is still some confusion about what, if any, impact  the current FCDO (Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office) not to sail would have on current bookings, so the advice from our broker is not to spend anymore money on cruises until this is lifted and cruising restarts, but I imagine that insurance companies will be so desperate for new business when holidays start again, that its unlikely they will quibble too much about new policies.

However since we need an accessible cabin, and our FCC (which we have already just about written off) will probably cover for almost 2 cruise deposits, dependant on cost, we are still likely to book something for summer 2020.

I presume that those (like us) who have used fcc for cancelled cruises to book for summer 2021, which could be several thousand pounds if the balance for the cancelled cruise had been paid before cancellation, would be well advised to keep their travel insurance in place to cover that money. Chances of losing the money may be fairly remote but I have certainly renewed our insurance (and of course it covers any UK breaks we may care to take whilst cruising is not possible).

[jeanlyon]

I did exactly that.  I cancelled my travel insurance and as I hadn't used it, I got a 50% refund.  Absolutely no point in buying travel insurance if you are not travelling.  We have a cruise booked for April 2021, but definitely not going on that one.  Will move the deposit to 2022.  After all, at the moment, there is nowhere in Europe that you can actually go to and it's getting worse.

Edited October 16, 2020 by jeanlyon

[terrierjohn]

34 minutes ago, pete14 said:

I presume that those (like us) who have used fcc for cancelled cruises to book for summer 2021, which could be several thousand pounds if the balance for the cancelled cruise had been paid before cancellation, would be well advised to keep their travel insurance in place to cover that money. Chances of losing the money may be fairly remote but I have certainly renewed our insurance (and of course it covers any UK breaks we may care to take whilst cruising is not possible).

You would need to check with your insurer as to exactly the T&Cs your policy is now under, our broker was fairly clear that the continuity benefits, ie covering bookings made more than 12 months before the cruise date, was no longer valid.

[jeanlyon]

1 minute ago, terrierjohn said:

You would need to check with your insurer as to exactly the T&Cs your policy is now under, our broker was fairly clear that the continuity benefits, ie covering bookings made more than 12 months before the cruise date, was no longer valid.

 

That makes total sense. 

[Tikka234]

We have 2 cruises booked for 2021 one end May have balance to pay and a cruise in Sept which we transferred from our cancelled cruise this year. We have no insurance for either as we usually buy single trip and was over 12 months so couldn't but insurance then focus happened. 

we could get an annual insurance covering covid  with Staysure anyone used these not sure what to do don't like not having any insurance

 

[kruzseeka]

I'm confused .......perhaps you can help me to make sense of this:

 

I've just had an email with changes to the T&C of my Nationwide FlexPlus insurance.  We have retained ours so far so that the T&Cs effective at the time of booking, prior to 19th March 2020, would cover us for cancellation of our 2021 cruises. 

 

However, the new T&Cs relating to Covid19  come in at the start of 2021 for trips booked on or after 01/01/21 and, as I read it, have a glaring holes in terms of cancellation making me query whether for future bookings it really is not providing adequate cover.

 

What this means before your trip

 

You’ll be covered for 

• Cancelling your trip because one of the following people have been diagnosed with Covid-19 and have to cancel for medical reasons:

• any insured person or;

• a travelling companion or;

• a close relative or;

• a colleague or;

• the person outside of the UK you’re intending to stay with during your trip  

 

Unless 

• You’re cancelling your trip because either you, a travelling companion or the person you’re planning to stay with during your trip has been advised to quarantine/selfisolate (either abroad or in the UK), and it’s not for medical reasons. For example, if you’re contacted by NHS Test and Trace but don’t have symptoms of or haven’t been diagnosed with Covid-19. ??????? 

• You’re cancelling your trip because the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO, previously referred to as FCO) advise against all or all but essential travel to your destination due to Covid-19 or another pandemic.  ???????

• You’re cancelling your trip because you’re not able to use your pre-booked and pre-paid accommodation because the accommodation, or immediately surrounding area, is adversely affected by Covid-19 or another pandemic. 

 

Now, that first 'Unless' is insidious ............. are they really excluding you from cover if you were subject to a Track and Trace contact?   Are they inferring you should ignore it and travel or risk losing £1000s of pounds for the holiday cost?  It would be encouraging people to switch off Track an Trace for a couple of weeks before going away.  If you did ignore the Track and Trace quarantine instruction and did travel, I guess they would wriggle out of it.....would they have any access to that contact trace?  Is it logged at your medical centre? 

And what about the FCDO reference?  Are they saying if the advice changes just before your holiday departs you're not covered?

 

As for when you are away......

 

What this means during your trip

 

You’ll be covered for 

• Cutting your trip short due to Covid-19 or another pandemic for one of the ‘Cutting short your trip’ reasons listed in the policy terms and conditions.

Unless

• FCDO advice against all or all but essential travel to your destination due to Covid-19 or another pandemic was in place on the date you booked your trip and on the start date of your journey.  

 

You'll be covered for:

• Emergency medical costs abroad if you need treatment for Covid-19 or another pandemic while on your trip.

Unless:

• The FCDO are advising against all travel to your destination at the time of departure or one of the following applies • You were suffering from the illness when you booked your trip or; • You travelled against medical advice or; • You were unfit to travel at the start of your trip. All other cover provided by the travel insurance policy

 

Am I reading this properly?  Changes to FCDO advice changes after booking or just before you go, or you are contacted days before travel to quarantine - who would pay the full price of their holiday with the prospects of having cancellation insurance declined if you fell foul of these T&Cs?  Is this insurance pretty well useless to cover you for booking a holiday with such exclusions? 

 

What do you make of it?  Perhaps I've got it round my neck. 🤔😕 Any help , please?

[Gettingwarmer]

I think the insurance companies are saying that if a holiday is cancelled due to FCDO advice the holiday company should repay you the money as they cannot provide the holiday, if not ATOL or card company.

Edited October 30, 2020 by Gettingwarmer

[terrierjohn]

1 hour ago, Gettingwarmer said:

I think the insurance companies are saying that if a holiday is cancelled due to FCDO advice the holiday company should repay you the money as they cannot provide the holiday, if not ATOL or card company.

That might be what they think  but you can bet the cruise lines will suggest you claim on your insurance.

[Gettingwarmer]

1 minute ago, terrierjohn said:

That might be what they think  but you can bet the cruise lines will suggest you claim on your insurance.

Well they didn’t this time, they paid the money back. 

[kruzseeka]

1 hour ago, Gettingwarmer said:

I think the insurance companies are saying that if a holiday is cancelled due to FCDO advice the holiday company should repay you the money as they cannot provide the holiday, if not ATOL or card company.

 

Thanks for that ....  it may address the issue of the destination being included in the FCDO restrictions at the last minute or after booking, but I'm still very confused by the implications of having to quarantine prior to departure.  That cause for cancellation surely wouldn't be picked up by the holiday company, even if they coughed up for the former scenario.   I think the waters are definitely muddy!

[Gettingwarmer]

I’m not sure but I think Track and Trace is advisory. The Insurance company would not just expect you To go into quarantine but to get a COVID test to determine if you had COVID. 

[kruzseeka]

1 hour ago, Gettingwarmer said:

I’m not sure but I think Track and Trace is advisory. The Insurance company would not just expect you To go into quarantine but to get a COVID test to determine if you had COVID. 

👍  That could be it - but what if a test was negative at day 4 of quarantine, but you were incubating the infection, left for your holiday on day 7 and became ill on day 9?  Just so many ifs, buts and maybes.  I would certainly want some clarification from them before I'd make a booking in the belief that I am properly covered, not that I would consider it at the moment. 

 

I must say we have been happy with the policy thus far and they were very good in paying out friends on three separate occasions when they were unable to travel at the last minute so I would hope they are being reasonable with these T&Cs.  I just find them so difficult to interpret.

Edited October 30, 2020 by kruzseeka

[scarlet ohara]

We also use travel insurance via our FlexPlus current account with a medical upgrade. I’m equally as confused about the new wording, especially as it relates to self isolation. I also think it means we wouldn’t be covered if told to isolate just before a holiday. We don’t have any holidays booked now ( for the first time since the early 80’s!) having got refunds for most of them and one BA voucher so thinking about downgrading our FlexPlus account 

[terrierjohn]

2 hours ago, Gettingwarmer said:

Well they didn’t this time, they paid the money back. 

I was assuming in the future case that the cruise would still be going ahead, obviously with cancelled ones the cruise line has no option but to pay refunds.

[Gettingwarmer]

6 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

I was assuming in the future case that the cruise would still be going ahead, obviously with cancelled ones the cruise line has no option but to pay refunds.

I mentioned FCDO advice. Are you suggesting holiday companies would be able to go against this advice and continue with the holidays.

[terrierjohn]

51 minutes ago, Gettingwarmer said:

I mentioned FCDO advice. Are you suggesting holiday companies would be able to go against this advice and continue with the holidays.

FCDO advice comes in many forms  and once cruising does restart I very much doubt the cruise lines will want to keep stopping and starting.  So it may well be that certain countries or areas are periodically quarantined causing cruises to be changed at the last minute, leaving some passengers wanting to cancel because of the changes. 

There will then ensue some disputes as to who should pick up the tab.

[Gettingwarmer]

5 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

FCDO advice comes in many forms  and once cruising does restart I very much doubt the cruise lines will want to keep stopping and starting.  So it may well be that certain countries or areas are periodically quarantined causing cruises to be changed at the last minute, leaving some passengers wanting to cancel because of the changes. 

There will then ensue some disputes as to who should pick up the tab.

Yes I agree, but that will come under change of itinerary and there will be disputes. “All travel” is mentioned in the original question. 

[terrierjohn]

15 hours ago, Gettingwarmer said:

Yes I agree, but that will come under change of itinerary and there will be disputes. “All travel” is mentioned in the original question. 

I assumed that the "All Travel" embargo must have been lifted already as people are currently going on holidays.

[Scriv]

18 hours ago, kruzseeka said:

👍  I must say we have been happy with the policy thus far and they were very good in paying out friends on three separate occasions when they were unable to travel at the last minute so I would hope they are being reasonable with these T&Cs.  I just find them so difficult to interpret.

 

Feeling the same, kruzseeka. It is so confusing.

[jeanlyon]

Foreign Office Travel advice about cruising is still "no".  Last updated July 2020.  So until they lift that advice, nobody should cruise.  People can only travel to those countries on the exempt list.