Travel insurance may not cover you for Corona virus

[scubascuba3]

Insurers are doing the usual get out of claims. Check your T&Cs. Classing as a pandemic means they can deny a claim

 

https://amp.abc.net.au/article/12027638

[Maestro]

16 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

Insurers are doing the usual get out of claims. Check your T&Cs. Classing as a pandemic means they can deny a claim

 

https://amp.abc.net.au/article/12027638

 

The blog post to which you linked says the following:

• "Consumer group Choice says if you don't already have travel insurance, cover for coronavirus is unlikely", whatever Consumer group Choice may be.
• "The Insurance Council of Australia says the only way to be assured of coverage for cancellation, no matter what, is to buy "cancel-for-any-reason" policies" whatever cancel-for-any-reason policy may be.

Other than that, your advice to check the terms and conditions of one's insurance policy is valid but apparently may still be insufficient with the policies of some rogue insurance companies:

 

Quote

 

...she then purchased Woolworths Insurance. But after she bought that policy, Woolworths' underwriters defined the coronavirus outbreak as a pandemic.

She discovered epidemic and pandemic-related costs were excluded from the policy, even if the policy was taken out before a pandemic was declared.

 

 

[Chivas]

I think its an utter certainty that Covid will be declined on coverage on all policies existing or new

This has got the potential to wipe out insurers completely

[sirineou]

From what i read , it definitely does not cover the Coronavirus because you were aware of the danger before you traveled. It is considered a "foreseen event" .

https://www.forbes.com/advisor/travel-insurance/guide/

 

[scubascuba3]

Getting multiple insurance policies is dubious too, talk about complicating any claim, they will ask claim time if you have other insurance and will check

[ukrules]

My insurance excludes both epidemics and pandemics.

 

I would like to take out a corona specific policy - is there such a thing in Thailand?

[bbi1]

2 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

Getting multiple insurance policies is dubious too, talk about complicating any claim, they will ask claim time if you have other insurance and will check

How can an insurance company know if you have a policy with another? Is there a central database where all insurance companies can see if any name matches up as having a policy with any other insurance company?

[Haecksler]

6 hours ago, ukrules said:

My insurance excludes both epidemics and pandemics.

 

I would like to take out a corona specific policy - is there such a thing in Thailand?

I remember your post a couple of weeks ago. You have the same insurance than I. An inquiry results in the statement: "you are covered".

A Insurance can cancle coverage in therms of a travel warning from the government IMO.

[Chivas]

4 hours ago, bbi1 said:

How can an insurance company know if you have a policy with another? Is there a central database where all insurance companies can see if any name matches up as having a policy with any other insurance company?

Comedy gold of course....am guessing you're one of the people who think getting a new passport hides your 101 previous entries into Thailand !

[bbi1]

5 minutes ago, Chivas said:

Comedy gold of course....am guessing you're one of the people who think getting a new passport hides your 101 previous entries into Thailand !

So you're saying that it's true that all insurance companies have a central database they can access to see who has policies with other companies.

[Chivas]

34 minutes ago, bbi1 said:

So you're saying that it's true that all insurance companies have a central database they can access to see who has policies with other companies.

Yes of course  (I worked for Equity and Law now Axa many moons ago)

Give you an extreme example......person buys £5000 car and then buys 5 insurance policies and then deliberately writes the car off and makes 5 total loss claims

 

First thing we do is check drivers insurance record. 2nd thing we do is search the database for any duplication of policies (outright fraud mandatory jail sentence) and then for the policyholder the shight hits the fan.....in 99% of cases not even the 1st policy taken out would pay out

Edited March 8, 2020 by Chivas