The world has looked on in dismay and shock as Covid 19 (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 Coronavirus 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 Coronavirus visitors insurance is highlighted. We hope to give some information for people who are stranded and how to buy visitors insurance for coronavirus to protect yourself medically and monetarily from this changing situation.
The SARS-CoV-2 virus is one of a family of viruses known as coronaviruses, 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 coronavirus 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 coronavirus. 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 Covid 19. COVID stands for COronaVIrus 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 coronavirus. Barring the level 4 warning, however, you can get coverage and that coverage will include coverage for coronavirus 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 coronavirus 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, Round Trip Choice Insurance and Round Trip Elite 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.
If you already have a travel insurance that covers covid, you should be able to extend it till you return to your home country. If you purchased the insurance before the coverage for Covid19 was made an exclusion (this exclusion was introduced by different companies based on the CDC recommendations), then your newly extended policy will also provide coverage for Covid19. If you purchased your plan insurance after Covid19 was an exclusion, then the extended policy will continue to exclude coverage for Covid19. It is important that there is no lapse of coverage in your insurance coverage before you apply for the renewal. There are however some US insurance providers, namely International medical Group (IMG), Trawick International, Global Underwriters, Seven Corners, WorldTrips, Travel Insurance Services who are providing coverage for Covid19. In fact these companies also allow travelers who are already in the US but currently uninsured to buy their travel health insurance covering covid 19 within the US.
The coverage for COVID19 will depend on your travel insurance policy. Some US insurance providers like International medical Group (IMG), Trawick International, Global Underwriters, Seven Corners, Travel Insurance Services, WorldTrips are providing COVID19 travel insurance coverage. If you have one of their travel health insurance that covers Covid plans, you will be covered for medical expenses relating to COVID19 as long as your have bought the travel insurance with Covid coverage before you contracted the virus. If you have purchased travel insurance from any of the other US travel insurance providers like IMG, SevenCorners, WorldTrips..., coverage for COVID19 will depend on when you bought your travel insurance. Most of these companies made the coverage for COVID19 an exclusion once it was declared an global pandemic by the Center for Disease control (CDC) in the United States. Testing for COVID19 itself however will be considered preventive care, and all the travel insurance plans will exclude preventive care expenses.
Yes, you can buy Covid19 travel insurance. The US insurance providers with single trip travel insurance that cover covid 19 are International medical Group (IMG), Trawick International, Global Underwriters, Seven Corners, WorldTrips, Travel Insurance Services. You can compare plans from these top rated insurance providers. Other US insurance providers do not offer holiday insurance including covid 19 cover as the CDC declared COVID19 a global pandemic. Testing for COVID19 however will be considered preventive care, and all the travel health insurance covid 19 plans will exclude preventive care expenses.
US visitor medical insurance plans will not provide any coverage for preventive care. Testing for COVID19 will be considered preventive care, and the Covid health insurance USA plans will not insure that. Expenses relating to the treatment of COVID19 may be covered depending on your visitor insurance plan and when you purchased it. Some insurance companies made coverage for COVID19 an exclusion after the CDC announced it as a global pandemic.
Know moreCovid 19 travel insurance coverage is only for unplanned medical expenses not for preventive care or for pre-existing conditions. Covid 19 holiday insurance cover will therefore not provide any coverage for getting tested for COVID19 (preventive care) or for treatment if you have already contracted the virus. If however you have not contracted the COVID19 virus, the following US insurance providers, namely Trawick International,Global Underwriters, Seven Corners, International Medical Group (IMG), WorldTrips, Insurance are providing coverage which will include COVID19. Please contact our customer service and our licensed agents will provide you any assistance or clarification that you need regarding the coverage.
There are some plans that cover covid 19 as a new illness. However it will be considered a pre-existing ailment if you buy the travel insurance after being infected by the virus. It is important to buy Covid 19 travel insurance before you start your international travel. At present the following three USA insurance providers - Trawick International, Seven Corners, WorldTrips, International Medical Group (IMG) and Global Underwriters provide US Covid 19 travel insurance coverage. These plans are available for foreign travelers visiting the USA, for US citizens and US residents traveling outside the USA as well as non US travelers traveling outside their home country.
Yes, we offer Annual travel insurance plans for Covid 19. At present the following three USA insurance providers - Seven Corners, Trawick International and WorldTrips provide Covid 19 annual travel insurance for coronavirus. Seven Corners has the Wander frequent traveler plus plan, Trawick international offers the Safe travel annual plans and WorldTrips offers the Atlas multi trip plan as annual Travel Insurance with Coronavirus Coverage. These annual travel insurance for covid however require the travelers to maintain continuous medical coverage in their home country.
Will Liaison Travel Plus insurance policies cover COVID-19 if they stay in one country or if they travel or not at all?
Ans: Liaison Travel Plus insurance will cover all expenses from Covid-19.
Many travelers are currently stuck in countries with their other policies running out and non-renewable. Can they purchase a Liaison policy?
Ans: Yes they can purchase a Liaison Travel Plus insurance plan that will offer them coverage for Covid-19.
Will Liaison Travel Plus insurance cover any other illness, injury or accident as long as the person does not travel?
Ans: Yes, Liaison Travel Plus insurance offers coverage for other illness, injury or accident as long as the person does not travel.
Can they travel (say from US to Canada and back)?
Ans: If the US government allows them to travel then yes!
Coronavirus visitors medical insurance for international visitors visiting USA.
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