Confused about this aspect of travel insurance during a pandemic... 13 August 2021 at 7:02PM in Coronavirus travel help & info 3 replies 81 views

Lord_Frugal12

Would you please explain the following sentence that appears in a lot of places to do with travel insurance policies:  

You still won't be covered for cancellation if a government lockdown restriction at home or abroad means you can’t travel. And you won't be covered if travelling against Foreign Office advice (see specialist against-travel-advice policies if that's what you need)

Here is the scenario: 

  I am scheduled to fly to Canada (from the UK) on September 7.   As we speak, Canada is classed as Amber.  After September 7, Canada would allow UK travellers to travel there for non-essential reasons.  So, if I book accommodation now, what would happen if Canada changes its stance on September 7?  If Canada were to say that UK travellers cannot go there for non-essential reasons, would I NOT be able to claim my money back through my travel insurance policy? 

  I have to book accommodation. But, I am afraid of losing the money if travel restrictions were to be imposed on UK travellers? 

What would you do in this situation?  Take a risk and hope that there will not be any drastic changes to travel to Canada from the UK? 

onashoestring

A couple of options I can think of :

1)Book accommodation that is refundable in this scenario- as the insurance policy quoted won’t cover the cost if you can’t travel 

2) Take out a new insurance policy that will cover you . 

( Are you flights flexible ? Can they be changed without additional charges if necessary ? )

sheramber

  in light of the uncertainty at present, is your journey really necessary?

Lord_Frugal12

onashoestring said:

A couple of options I can think of :

1)Book accommodation that is refundable in this scenario- as the insurance policy quoted won’t cover the cost if you can’t travel 

2) Take out a new insurance policy that will cover you . 

( Are you flights flexible ? Can they be changed without additional charges if necessary ? )

Thanks for that response. 

Air Canada allows one change. If I can't travel, Air Canada would offer travel vouchers. So, I won't lose the money. 
The challenge now is to find accommodation.