Travel to America Next year and Travel Insurance - Covid?

mj1

I am just trying to see if I am covered for a trip next year that I have booked in the hope that FCO advice changes. FCO currently says no travel to America unless essential which would invalidate my travel insurance. I am hoping that the advice changes in a years time (maybe too hopeful but a gamble).

My N/W Travel insurance wording says that I am not covered as when i booked my holiday FCO said no travel, but a year is a long time, and if the advice changes and then changes back would I be covered?

So say in Dec FCO say OK to travel to America, but then in June just before my trip it changes back to no travel would any insurance I buy now be OK?

Anyone have this chat with Insurance Companies?

TELLIT01

If NW say you aren't covered it doesn't matter what chats anybody may have had with other insurance companies.  NW's opinion is the only one which matters.

mj1

Thank you for that insightful comment. Spot on...

This might actually be useful to folk that are planning their holidays for next year. So I will attempt to clarify the question to help folk plan.

The words from the N/W site.

https://www.nationwide.co.uk/support/travel/important-travel-information#xtab:twistyitem1

As long as your destination was on the safe list when you booked the trip, or departed, the following cover is available:-

Cancelling a trip you’ve booked

If the country you are booked to travel to gets removed from the safe list, you’ll be covered if you want to cancel it. As long as when you booked your trip or bought your insurance (whichever was later) the FCO wasn't advising against travel to your destination.

When the FCO advice is against ‘all but essential travel’, you’ll only be covered if that advice was in place within 28 days of your departure. Speak to your travel provider to find out if they can give you a refund or offer you an alternative.

Cutting a trip short that you are already on

If you are already in a country that’s since been removed from the safe list, you’ll be covered if you choose to cut your trip short. As long as when you left the FCO were not advising against ‘all travel’, or ‘all but essential travel’. Speak to your travel provider to find out your options.

So

Scenario One

If you book the trip now while FCO advice is against travel and that advice does not change during the year then fair cop you are not covered. No doubt about that very clear cut...

Scenario Two

Book holiday but wait to book insurance when FCO advice changes (if it does). Looks like then you might be covered? Or does the preamble exclude any coverage?

Scenario Three

If your country at time of departure is on the safe list, then and only at that time do you gain insurance protection as long as you bought insurance before then. So gamble and know that you will be OK if FCO in a years time is OK with America (or whatever country you are choosing.)

Just interested if any folk have worked through this situation and what they have found? I will give N/W a call later today to clarify, I am thinking it might be scenario 3 applies...

Any useful comments always welcome...

mj1

Just had a chat with N/W helpdesk.

A quick update for anyone in a similar situation.

1. If you buy insurance cover when a country has a FCO advice against even if it is a year ahead you are NOT covered re Covid cancellation.
2. If you buy the insurance policy when the FCO advice is OK and the holiday was booked when it was not OK, then you are NOT covered if the FCO advice flips back to No Travel before the flight.
   
3. Booked holiday when advice from FCO is No, but If you buy the insurance policy when FCO advice is OK and it stays OK when you depart then you ARE covered.

Will delay purchase while I investigate other insurers to see how they are handling it.

Of course it is a risk to not have any insurance in place for he normal reasons (medical issues / Illness / Family problems) that might cause you to cancel the holiday.

So it can still be worth buying insurance at time of booking, just this Covid mess is complicating what will be covered.

harz99

Interested to know what Insurance you have with Nationwide, is it with a packaged bank account or not?

mj1

Hmmm digging further found this page here on the site.

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/insurance/cheap-travel-insurance/#annual

What I was told on the phone seems to contradict the article?

For cancellation if there's a lockdown overseas meaning you can't go on your trip (providing there was no FCO or local country advice in place at the time you purchased your insurance or booked your trip).

Anyway the choice is to use N/W and buy before FCO advice changes and not be covered for Covid Cancellation or wait for FCO advice to change and hopefully be covered as implied by the article and wording.

Ultimately I guess the balance of risk means it is better to be insured as soon as the holiday is booked based upon probability of risk occurring and live without Covid cover for cancellation. I will see if since that article was written in July a few months ago if any other insurers are offering Covid Cover for cancellation.

mj1

harz99 said:

Interested to know what Insurance you have with Nationwide, is it with a packaged bank account or not?

Hi I have a bank account with N/W FlexAccount where we pay to upgrade it to Worldwide cover as UK as standard. Not sure if account is still available as we have had it for years....

harz99

Okay, I believe on the basis of what Nationwide told me when I enquired regards my Flexplus packaged travel insurance, that your period of Insurance is continuous from the date that you started that account (the normal Flex account no longer offers travel insurance as a benefit) until you close the account, as regards upgrades for medical and age providing you also pay the additional premium every year when due so there are no gaps in cover that insurance is also continuous. The bit I'm not sure about would be your extension to cover worldwide travel, however if the extra cover is on an annual basis and you've also been paying that additional premium continuously since before C-19 happened i'd have thought that would also be continuous as well.  It might be worth going back to Nationwide (actually UK Insurance Ltd.) and clarifying that with a Supervisor?

NoodleDoodleMan

My experience on travel insurance with a packaged bank account is that the medical cover in place when first taken out rolls over annually without change, as long as the account fee is paid - or you are informed in writing of any new exclusions or amendments etc.

If you open one post the recognition of the Corona virus that may not be the case - as always you need to check with the provider for specifics.