Covid Travel Insurance 22 December 2021 at 9:27PM in Coronavirus travel help & info 4 replies 181 views

saragwatty

Me & my partner are scheduled to fly out to Jamaica 13/01/2022.
I have, stupidly, not purchased travel insurance yet, I was waiting for results of an investigation so held off purchasing.
We have both recently tested positive for Covid 19 and I'm worried that our fit to fly tests may come back positive & we won't be able to travel.
If we can't travel due to positive tests will the insurance cover us as we've purchased after having covid?
TIA

onashoestring

Sorry to hear that you have tested positive.

An insurance policy won’t cover a pre-existing condition unless you declare it. I doubt you will find an insurer who will cover you if you declare you have Covid. 

However it’s likely by 13/01 that you will have recovered and will test negative. Jamaica only requires a negative antigen test for vaccinated travellers  ( which is less likely to test positive after Covid recovery than a PCR )

In the unlikely event that you do still test positive (Depending on who you booked your flights with )the airline may give you the option to rebook for a later date .

saragwatty

I will obviously declare that we have had Covid, but am just stressing myself now over the potential of still testing positive and not being covered.
This is what most insurance companies are saying in their covid cover if you can't travel sure to falling ill...'Subject to medical certification / test result. No cover if symptoms or diagnosis occurred prior to your policy purchase'

Sorany

Me and my partner where due to fly out 3rd Feb to Caribbean and we had to take a PCR test within 24 hours of travelling, just to be on the safe side we tested ourselves each day for a week before with the LFT's and were both negative. Unfortunately, one of us tested positive on the PCR the day before travelling, which meant we couldn't go, informed the airline to cancel  the trip and we were advised to contact our insurers.  We did and found out that we were not covered for covid, does anyone have any advice for travel insurers that they have used for a similar situation. Is this the 'norm' that you cannot get cover, as we had no symptoms before taking the test.  Has this happened to anyone else on this forum?  thanks MSE 'newbie'  

eskbanker

Sorany said:

Me and my partner where due to fly out 3rd Feb to Caribbean and we had to take a PCR test within 24 hours of travelling, just to be on the safe side we tested ourselves each day for a week before with the LFT's and were both negative. Unfortunately, one of us tested positive on the PCR the day before travelling, which meant we couldn't go, informed the airline to cancel  the trip and we were advised to contact our insurers.  We did and found out that we were not covered for covid, does anyone have any advice for travel insurers that they have used for a similar situation. Is this the 'norm' that you cannot get cover, as we had no symptoms before taking the test.  Has this happened to anyone else on this forum?  thanks MSE 'newbie'  

If your current insurer doesn't offer cover for cancellation due to a positive Covid test then there isn't anything you can do about that now, but if you're asking about insurers to use in the future, some companies are definitely better than others, and the degree of Covid-related cover does indeed vary widely.  The MSE guide is a reasonable place to start, and Which? magazine also did a market study, highlighting those companies considered to offer the most comprehensive cover:

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

https://www.which.co.uk/money/insurance/travel-insurance/best-and-worst-travel-insurance-akxsn9g15kgb