Covid travel insurance, Best travel insurance for Covid19

The world has looked on in dismay and shock as COVID19 (officially SARS-CoV-2) that began in China has swept all over the world. This outbreak has disrupted international travel very significantly and highlighted just how connected a world we now live in. What started in Wuhan, in China, and spread soon after to South Korea, Iran and Italy has now spread across the globe and has completely locked down international and even domestic travel. In the US the virus has spread to every state and sadly the most global of US cities, New York has been devastated.

The US now has the highest number of covid19 victims. Airports and airlines across the world are implementing screening measures for the disease to protect passengers and destinations. Perhaps now, more than ever, the need and usefulness of the best covid19 visitors insurance is highlighted. We hope to give some information for people who are stranded and how to buy visitors insurance for covid19 to protect yourself medically and monetarily from this changing situation.

The SARS-CoV-2 virus is one of a family of viruses known as Covid-19, so named for the crown-like structures around their enveloping membrane. This family of viruses includes our common cold, seasonal flu viruses, SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) and MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome). The name stands for Sever Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) which describes the disease it causes. CoV for covid19 family. It gets the 2 because it is closely related to the original SARS outbreak which happened in China in 2002.

Sometimes you will see it called nCoV which stands for novel covid19. It is novel because it has never been in humans before and so no one will have immunity to it. The SARS-CoV-2 virus is zoonotic in origin (that is, it originally crossed species from, we think, bats to humans, so it has an animal origin), but is now passed person to person. The SARS-CoV-2 virus causes the disease called COVID19. COVID stands for covid19 Disease and 19 because the outbreak began in 2019.

While the disease began in China, it has quickly spread to all parts of the world. Current hotspots include Iran and Turkey in the Middle East, in Europe is Italy, Spain, France, the UK, Germany and Russia. Within Asia is South Korea and Singapore. All of these countries have however been outnumbered by the number of victims within the United States. While new cases are slowing in China due to the extraordinary measures they are taking to isolate sick individuals and prevent spread and of the disease, the cases outside of China are increasing markedly.

Many of these highly affected areas are trying to contain and delay the spread of the disease. Many countries have taken more extreme measures by shutting down schools and requesting people work from home. While these are areas with the most cases we currently know of, individuals diagnosed with the new virus are popping up around the globe on a daily basis.

Experts are not completely sure how the virus is spreading. Clearly the virus is spreading person to person and they think the virus can live on surfaces for some period of time. It is likely the virus can spread through coughing and sneezing and live for some time on a person’s skin (if they touch their nose or nasal discharge). Medical professionals are suggesting we maintain social distance between each other to prevent person to person spread by touch (stay at least 1 meter apart) and not to shake hands, hug, or kiss in greeting each other.

We must avoid touching our eyes, nose or mouth, particularly while out in our communities and wash our hands before eating and when getting back home. An alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol can be used if you can’t access soap and water for hand washing. Avoid contact with people who are sick and if you are sick yourself, stay home and self isolate. If you think you do have this disease stay indoors, contact an appropriate medical facility by phone to get directions on what to do. It may not be a good idea to rush to a hospital or clinic if it is not necessary and in doing so expose yourself or others to infection.

There are some places that one should not travel to if one can avoid it. US citizens have travel restrictions given by the US Department of State. A level 4 warning tells us not to travel to that destination. Of course, we are free to ignore these advisories, but it is reasonable to consider their information. As of writing this blog, China, Iran and South Korea are on level 4 warnings, or "Do Not Travel" warnings. Italy and is at level 3 which is "Reconsider Travel". Japan and Hong Kong are listed as level 2 which is "Exercise Increased Caution". The CDC maintains similar lists with its recommendations. The highest of which is usually level 3 and is "Avoid Nonessential Travel".

Individuals in high risk groups should probably avoid travel into countries and communities with community spread of this virus. The data informs us that older individuals (over age 60) and particularly those with co-morbidities (like heart failure and COPD) will be likely be more negatively affected by this disease (that is, get a more sever form) and are more likely to die of the disease. We only know this from information that has come out of the outbreak in China and it is important to remember that there is much that remains unknown about this virus and the disease it causes.

This is a very good question. The answer is, “It depends”. It depends upon where you wish to travel. Here at American Visitor Insurance, we are happy to provide top options for Covid travel health insurance for travelers available in the US market. However, since all our companies are US-based companies, many of them use the US Department of State or Center for Disease Control (CDC) warnings when determining coverage. For the US Department of State, the level of warning is at 4 or “Do Not Travel”, then policies we offer generally will NOT cover you and some even for things completely unrelated to the covid19. Barring the level 4 warning, however, you can get coverage and that coverage will include coverage for covid19 illness.

If, for example, you purchase a policy for your trip to Italy which is currently at level 3, but while you are traveling, that level is changed to 4, you are generally STILL covered since you did not travel against advice of the warning. Moreover, you would generally be covered for covid19 illness should that occur. The same is true for CDC warnings. For CDC, the level 3 warning may exclude coverage from many companies. However, there are some differences between companies, so for specifics, please see some specific guidelines from our providers below.

Of particular note, trip cancellation policies available to US citizens and residents allow for trip cancellation due to your own illness or quarantine as part of their normal cancellation policy. You can also purchase many plans with a "Cancel for Any Reason" (CFAR) option (it is included in some) which will return 75% of your travel investment should you simply decide that you don’t wish to risk the trip or some other situation occurs outside your control that, does not allow normal cancellation of your trip, but still keeps you from taking your trip (for example, your best friend, who is not traveling with you, is sick and you want to stay home and help her).

There are four plans that we offer with CFAR coverage: Travel LX insurance and Trip Protection Choice Insurance. The first one is offered by IMG and to get the CFAR coverage they must be purchased within 20 days of the initial trip deposit. The last two offer CFAR coverage as a rider which increases their cost. Note that not all plans are available in all states.

Travel Insurance Select Trip cancellation insurance for Covid19

The Travel Insurance Select plan does not have a specific Trip Cancellation or Trip Interruption peril tied to a CDC Warning. Therefore, the main eligible coverages would be:

• A person traveling in an affected country who becomes ill, in which case emergency medical expense or emergency medical evacuation coverage may apply, or
• Cancel For Any Reason (CFAR) – this option must be purchased as an upgrade within 21 days of your initial trip deposit/payment. Other conditions apply – see plan details.