The Coronavirus pandemic has severely impacted global travel in unprecedented ways. We understand many of our customers will have been affected by these changes and will be keen for information on what they can and cannot claim for under their insurance policies.
We have highlighted the key points in our travel policy below and included some Frequently Asked Questions to help answer your queries.
If you have any further specific questions about your policy, please contact your local Agency or Mutual Direct for clarification.
When booking a trip, you must not be aware of:
- Any reason why it might have to be cancelled or re-arranged; or
- Any condition which is likely to need medical treatment while you are on your trip.
New update to our travel insurance policies from September 2020
We will be applying an exclusion under our cancellation section. This exclusion will apply to any cancellation claims caused by a pandemic, epidemic or Coronavirus including any quarantine. This will apply to all travel policies - single trip, annual travel and business travel - and will apply to September 2020 renewals onwards.
This means all new trips booked after this exclusion is applied to your policy will not have any cancellation cover for any pandemic, epidemic or Coronavirus.
Is my trip covered under cancellation cover?
We will be writing to all our travel insurance customers with full details of what is covered should they book a trip now, and to highlight the changes for any trips booked after the next renewal date (from September 2020 onwards). However, we have provided some example scenarios below to help explain when cancellation comes into effect and when it does not.
For any trip booked before 17th March 2020, regardless of when the trip occurs, cancellation cover for pandemic, epidemic or Coronavirus will be included. This is because at the time the trip was booked, this pandemic was an unknown event and the FCO was still allowing travel.
For any trip booked on or after the 17th March 2020, then cover will depend upon whether the trip was booked against FCO advice. If a trip was booked at a time when the FCO was advising it was unsafe to travel to that destination, there would be no cover applicable for any cancellation of that trip, regardless of when the trip takes place. This is because a customer would be aware at the time of booking that there could be a reason to cancel.
If a trip was booked on or after 17th March 2020 and at the time of the booking, the FCO advice was that it was safe to travel to that destination, an air bridge for example, then full cancellation cover would apply, regardless of when the trip is to take place
As the booking was made whilst the FCO was not advising against travelling to the destination, the endorsement will not apply to this trip. Where costs cannot be recovered from any other source (travel/credit card provider, ABTA/ATOL schemes etc) or alternative dates offered, reasonable costs can be considered.
In line with the special condition within the policy, when booking a trip, you must not be aware of any reason why it might have to be cancelled or rearranged as this may affect the cover under the policy. As the FCO was advising against travel and a global pandemic was a known event when the booking was made, costs will not be considered under the policy.
Your policy will renew with a new exclusion for any pandemic, along with the existing special condition within the policy which states that when booking a trip, you must not be aware of any reason why it might have to be cancelled or re-arranged, as this may affect the cover under the policy. As the FCO was advising against travelling to the destination at the time of the booking and a global pandemic was a known event when the booking was made, along with the exclusion applying, costs will not be considered under the policy.
As the policy does not require a specific reason for a travel provider entering administration, where costs cannot be recovered from any other source (travel/credit card provider, ABTA/ATOL schemes etc.), reasonable costs can be considered.
As the policy does not require a specific reason for a travel provider entering administration, where costs cannot be recovered from any other source (travel/credit card provider, ABTA/ATOL schemes etc, reasonable costs can be considered.
As this is a re-arranged holiday, we would apply the terms and conditions of the policy in force at the time that the original holiday was due to take place meaning that the endorsement would not apply to this trip. Therefore, where costs cannot be recovered from any other source (travel/credit card provider, ABTA/ATOL schemes etc), reasonable costs can be considered.
No, you should not travel against Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) advice as any loss abroad will not be covered. You should regularly check the FCO advice before travelling.
Providing the booking wasn’t made whilst the FCO was advising against travelling to the destination, where costs cannot be recovered from any other source (travel/credit card provider, ABTA/ATOL schemes etc). or alternative dates/voucher are not available, reasonable costs can be considered.
The FCO advice against all but essential travel has been lifted (or ‘Air Bridge’ agreements are in place) meaning that I can travel with no quarantine/self-isolating upon arrival however I no longer want to travel. Can I cancel my trip and claim under my travel policy?
Yes, continuous cover is required for a claim to be considered, subject to terms and conditions of the policy.
Providing the booking wasn’t made whilst the FCO was advising against travelling to the destination, where costs cannot be recovered from any other source (travel/credit card provider, ABTA/ATOL schemes etc). or alternative dates/voucher are not available, reasonable costs can be considered.
Providing the booking wasn’t made whilst the FCO was advising against travelling to the destination, where costs cannot be recovered from any other source (travel/credit card provider, ABTA/ATOL schemes etc). or alternative dates/voucher are not available, reasonable costs can be considered.
As the exclusion for any pandemic only relates to the travel cancellation section of the policy, providing that you had not tested positive for COVID-19 or were presenting symptoms prior to travelling, costs can be considered.
As the booking was made whilst the Government was not advising against travelling to the destination, the endorsement will not apply to this trip. Where costs cannot be recovered from any other source (travel/credit card provider, ABTA/ATOL schemes etc) or alternative dates offered, reasonable costs can be considered.
We don’t currently offer a single trip policy. We periodically review this and will advise if that changes.
No. NFU Mutual will only pay for cancellation expenses that cannot be recovered from elsewhere. We would recommend that customers discuss their refund options with their travel provider.