What does travel insurance actually cover?

With the COVID-19 pandemic remaining a global health issue, the Public Health Agency of Canada has continued to advise Canadians travelling abroad to “practise enhanced health precaution.” Apart from requiring travellers to be vaccinated, the agency highly recommends that Canadians first check with their travel insurance provider to see if they are adequately covered before they go on any trips abroad.

But what exactly does travel insurance cover – or not cover – in this time of pandemic?

A new guide written by Insurance Business’s Mark Rosanes outlines what travel insurance covers, as well as other considerations travellers need to keep in mind.

Read Insurance Business’ travel insurance guide here

Coverage options available through travel insurance include:

Baggage loss: Reimburses the cost of personal items up to the specified coverage amount if the baggage is lost, delayed, or damaged during the trip.
Emergency medical insurance: Pays out for emergency medical care during the trip, including hospital and doctor fees, and treatment costs. Some policies also provide coverage for repatriation and quarantine expenses.
Flight delay: Pays out for accommodation and meal expenses when a flight is delayed for more than a specified time.
Trip cancellation: Covers non-refundable or transferable expenses if a trip does not push through because of a covered event. Some policies also foot the bill for unplanned accommodations, meals, and rebooking flights.

But does standard travel insurance cover COVID-19-related events? Fortunately for travellers, travel insurance providers have begun offering protection against coronavirus-related disruptions. There are two caveats, whoever:

Coverage may be “explicitly excluded” if the destination countries are under an “avoid non-essential travel” (Level 3) or “avoid all travel” (Level 4) advisory at the time of purchase.
COVID-19 vaccination status may also affect coverage – those unvaccinated by choice may have their claims declared ineligible by their insurers.

A full list of travel insurance companies that offer COVID-19 protection is available here.