Covid 19 Insurance

[Chanceman]

My travel insurance wont cover me for Covid-19 so our upcoming October trip to the US/Wisconsin is in doubt.

Does anyone know if its possible to obtain specific Covid-19 insurance ? Probably separate to regular travel insurance. Pretty sure no Travel Insurance would cover it but maybe some specialist insurers do. There must be some way of calculating the risk.

If not then I guess we will have to postpone the trip to 2021.

[Wedgefromhere]

I haven't heard of anything specific, but Lloyd's of London might be your best chance of getting coverage; however, I'm not sure they would bother with such a small risk. Even if they (or someone else) do, the premium is likely to be a large percentage of what you're paying for your trip.

 

[vallygolf]

My experience has been that the locations are largely providing their own "insurance". Airlines and hotels often are making cancellations due to the pandemic very easy. Check the policy of the locations first, Im sure you can find some favorable terms on canceling if the pandemic causes fall closures. I had three prepaid trips planned during the past month and a half. All were fully refunded.

[Man_O_War]

that little bugger bug

[Chanceman]

Its not so much the cancellation I am worried about, its the getting sick bit!

If anyone is interested, it appears you can buy Travel insurance while visiting the US provided you dont already have the disease. It seems to cover medical expenses. Here's the FAQ from the "americanvisitorinsurance.com" website.

"Can I buy an US travel insurance policy that will cover COVID-19 for an upcoming trip to the United States?Yes, you can buy US travel insurance that will cover Coronavirus (Covid19). The US insurance providers currently offering coverage for COVID19 are Trawick International, Global Underwriters and INF. Other US insurance providers do not offer coverage for COVID19 as they the CDC declared COVID19 a global pandemic. Testing for COVID19 however will be considered preventive care, and all the travel insurance plans will exclude preventive care expenses. "

[smashdn]

Check the cdc website. They are now showing that the infection rates (positive cases) is much lower than anticipated and that 35% of those cases are asymptomatic. Your chances are slim. Wash your hands regularly and keep your fingers out of your mouth and your risk of contracting anything goes way down.

 

You can get the screening test for free in the US. Not sure hwo that works for non-US citizens traveling here but I bet it would cost little to nothing if, however unlikely, you would need a test.

[Subsonic]

Covid 19 is an emerging risk that is hard to quantify and qualifying therefore makes it unlikely there will be an insurance product in the near future.

[Chanceman]

There appear to be some insurance companies willing to take the risk. See my post above.

[Subsonic]

Like any insurance product the devil is in the details.

[Chanceman]

Sure. But you have to start somewhere.

[Subsonic]

I was speaking in general terms with regards to Covid 19 property and casualty insurance. I would predict more exclusions in the future.

Insurance works on the law of large numbers. Many people buy it and far fewer have claims. Causes of loss like a pandemic upset that balance.

[Chanceman]

I presume any insurance company is checking out the risks pretty thoroughly. I received this back from Trawick when I asked about their policy:

"Here is information on coverage for Covid-19 under the Safe Travels USA Comprehensive plan:

The policy covers COVID-19 subject to the terms and conditions of the policy normal limits and policy conditions including pre-ex, so if you already have the virus - it will not cover you. If you are in the incubation period when you buy, it will be considered pre ex.    Testing for COVID-19 will be covered under your policy if you are sick, are referred by a medical practitioner and it is carried out at an approved facility, subject to the terms and conditions in your policy. In the event that a test proves positive and requires treatment, members can be assured that all associated treatment costs would be covered under the normal benefit limits and terms of their policy. Please ensure these are pre-authorized with the GBG Assistance team."Obviously need to check out the policy details but for travellers to the US it shows some promise.

 

[smashdn]

I confirmed with someone who got the test done as a precautionary measure. There is no cost and he only had to show a driver's license for identification. Best as we can tell there is not a requirement to be a US citizen to get the test. My point being, the reimbursement for the testing, while you are in the US anyway, will likely be for naught. Treatment on the other hand may be used.

 

Though it is fluid, take a look at this and see what your risk is for your age group. Scenario 5 in table 1 is based upon the actual data available up to April 29. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/planning-scenarios.html#five-scenarios

 

If you aren't planning to come until the late summer or fall I think I would be inclined to wait until nearly the latest moment possible to buy the policy. At that time the data will be better and if there were to be a second spike as they fear you can factor that information in to your decision.

 

Good luck and safe travels.

[Chanceman]

Agree with all that. But it is good to know that insurance is available.

[Snaphooker12]

On 3/5/2021 at 5:44 AM, Davilsh said:

This is really not a society we have created for us but rather for the super rich. Isn't it acceptable to have your grandmother uncovered in such a hard time for anyone's health?

Why couldn’t your grandmother get travel insurance?

[CCTxGolf]

This dude trying to slang life insurance on a golf forum in some sort of broken nonsensical English. I guess I’ve seen worse sales tactics before! lol