Travel insurance for COVID bubbles?

Forums › Travel (planes, train, cruise) › Travel insurance for COVID bubbles?

openmedia

3449 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 877

Trusted

#284613 4-May-2021 17:53

Has anyone looked at the options. I noticed Air NZ is advertising some insurance with additional COVID centric coverage.

My credit card insurance will now cover our travel bubbles, but still excludes anything COVID centric.

Generally known online as OpenMedia, now working for Red Hat APAC as a Technology Evangelist and Portfolio Architect. Still playing with MythTV and digital media on the side.

1 | 2

4054 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2651

Trusted

#2701890 4-May-2021 18:44

Pretty risky proposition IMHO to be travelling on holiday to Aus or the Cooks at the moment if you don’t have family there and will have to rely on hotel accommodation if stuck there for unspecified period following an outbreak pop up (and it will, the only unknown is when).

And if you have to return from holiday to 14 days MIQ following unexpected outbreak in Aus/the Cooks, will you have to pay the MIQ cost (I suspect so, but haven’t specifically looked into it).

sbiddle

30853 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 9996

Retired Mod

Trusted

Biddle Corp

Lifetime subscriber

#2701915 4-May-2021 19:58

dafman:

Pretty risky proposition IMHO to be travelling on holiday to Aus or the Cooks at the moment if you don’t have family there and will have to rely on hotel accommodation if stuck there for unspecified period following an outbreak pop up (and it will, the only unknown is when).

And if you have to return from holiday to 14 days MIQ following unexpected outbreak in Aus/the Cooks, will you have to pay the MIQ cost (I suspect so, but haven’t specifically looked into it).

This is not correct - if managed isolation is required for returnees (whether it be 14 days or a shorter period) due to a hotspot declaration individuals will not be charged.

mentalinc

3384 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1023

Trusted

#2701917 4-May-2021 20:08

@sbiddle, can you please link a source for that? This is not great news to be supporting people who can and are going on holiday then the tax payer is footing the bill for their return following voluntary travel!

CPU: AMD 5900x | RAM: GSKILL Trident Z Neo RGB F4-3600C16D-32GTZNC-32-GB | MB: Asus X570-E | GFX: EVGA FTW3 Ultra RTX 3080Ti| Monitor: LG 27GL850-B 2560x1440

Quic: https://account.quic.nz/refer/473833 R473833EQKIBX

sbiddle

30853 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 9996

Retired Mod

Trusted

Biddle Corp

Lifetime subscriber

#2701919 4-May-2021 20:11

mentalinc:

@sbiddle, can you please link a source for that? This is not great news to be supporting people who can and are going on holiday then the tax payer is footing the bill for their return following voluntary travel!

It's been reported in the media pretty extensively, and the PM also talked about this.

sbiddle

30853 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 9996

Retired Mod

Trusted

Biddle Corp

Lifetime subscriber

#2701920 4-May-2021 20:12

Here's a link

https://www.miq.govt.nz/travel-to-new-zealand/quarantine-free-travel/quarantine-free-travel-australia-and-new-zealand/

kiwiace

54 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 12

#2701922 4-May-2021 20:22

It looks like that link says you will have to pay. Also, the MIQ capacity is limited, so if say 10,000 Kiwis try to return from larger Oz states, couldn't you get stuck in Oz for a few unintended weeks before MIQ?

Samsung

Shop now on Samsung phones, tablets, TVs and more (affiliate link).

cshwone

1091 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 844

#2701934 4-May-2021 20:52

@sbiddle

You actually totally contradicted yourself between your original post then posting the link.

Anyone who goes away at the moment, for whatever reason, could be liable to 14 days quarantine on return if so decided by the government The only difference for Aus and the Cooks is that an emergency allocation of facilities has been put aside should that requirement be exercised. Be interesting how the MIQ system works for that!

cshwone

1091 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 844

#2701936 4-May-2021 20:58

And back on topic.

It would be great to know which insurance companies are offering what type of cover for bubble travel. I have a daughter in Sydney I would love to see but until I know where we are then I will have to wait......................... and wait

sbiddle

30853 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 9996

Retired Mod

Trusted

Biddle Corp

Lifetime subscriber

#2701939 4-May-2021 21:09

Sorry I pasted the wrong image there.. No point in editing that now.

There are two scenarios where somebody can enter MIQ when returning from Australia -

- if you are caught out by a change of status while in the air and are required to enter MIQ you will not be required to pay. One theoretical possibility in this situation is that the whole planeload of people could be sent back to Australia midflight, or potentially returned once on the ground if MIQ space is not available.

- if a travel bubble is suspended and you decide to return while a hotspot declaration is in place (which will potentially then be classed as a red flight) you will be required to pay.

cshwone

1091 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 844

#2701993 5-May-2021 05:36

The image is quite correct. It was your initial post that was incorrect in ascertaining you wouldn't have to pay.

sbiddle

30853 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 9996

Retired Mod

Trusted

Biddle Corp

Lifetime subscriber

#2702043 5-May-2021 07:19

cshwone:

The image is quite correct. It was your initial post that was incorrect in ascertaining you wouldn't have to pay.

But you won't have to pay. That's exactly my point.

It's highly unlikely anybody would willingly chose to travel and pay for MIQ costs, and the reality is the traffic light system pretty much ensures this won't even be an option for you. If a hotspot declaration is made the simple reality is you're going to be stuck in the state you're in, and won't be able to get back to NZ.

As has already happened airlines will immediately suspend flights from hotspots, and unless you are like the guy from Northland who purposely lied on 3 different declarations he would have had to make to get from Perth to Auckland to make it here the simple reality is you're not going to get a flight.

The biggest risk of travel (which is a scenario that has already happened several times in Australia) is finding yourself mid air during a sudden lockdown which could result in the whole planeload of people being sent to MIQ. This is a scenario that's been carefully planned for and in this situation it is very clear that you do not need to pay.

To add to that the Govt have made it very clear that they do not expect MIQ to be a “common response” to outbreaks. The bubble traffic light chart details all the process and outcomes, and it's worth noting Australia hasn't had a lockdown exceeding 5 days since last year so unless things escalated very quickly out of control the typical scenario anybody planning to travel should be looking at would be the risk of a 3 or 5 day regional lockdown meaning they be stuck where they were and unable to travel back to NZ.

Dyson

Shop now for Dyson appliances (affiliate link).

frankv

5705 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 3666

Lifetime subscriber

#2702048 5-May-2021 08:05

mentalinc:

This is not great news to be supporting people who can and are going on holiday then the tax payer is footing the bill for their return following voluntary travel!

The tax payer is not supporting holidaymakers. The tax payer is paying the costs of protecting the tax payers from the pandemic.

dafman

4054 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2651

Trusted

#2702066 5-May-2021 08:59

sbiddle:

cshwone:

The image is quite correct. It was your initial post that was incorrect in ascertaining you wouldn't have to pay.

But you won't have to pay. That's exactly my point.

You do pay. Either for the unplanned extended hotel stay in Aus/Cooks while you sit out the bubble suspension, or for the hotel stay in MIQ if you decide to return during the bubble suspension.

Either way, you run the risk of additional hotel costs during any bubble suspension.

dafman

4054 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2651

Trusted

#2703058 6-May-2021 19:32

dafman:

You do pay.

Point in hand. If you are a kiwi currently on holiday in Sydney, due to fly back tomorrow, you are now paying for a minimum of two extra days, possibly many more.

sbiddle

30853 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 9996

Retired Mod

Trusted

Biddle Corp

Lifetime subscriber

#2703086 6-May-2021 20:24

The comments weren't about paying hotel costs though, they were about paying for MIQ entering NZ.

Just like I said above there is now no option to return to NZ from NSW so nobody will be paying for MIQ in NZ.

1 | 2