Credit Card Travel insurance and COVID?

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openmedia

3050 posts

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#295257 16-Mar-2022 18:31

Has anyone seen any updates around COVID provisions from any of the Credit Card travel policies?

Certain countries, EG Singapore, require you to have a certain level of Covid specific cover in case of infection during a visit.

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.

aaristotle

119 posts

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#2887475 17-Mar-2022 08:25

The Westpac credit card travel insurance policy no longer covers anything covid related ie if you catch covid just before you are due to leave, or while you're away they won't pay for missed flights, healthcare etc. When covid came in they were one of the few policies that didn't have a pandemic exception and I was able to claim flights to Europe and an ocean cruise due to the lockdown.
I'll be looking at commercial travel insurers who have a covid addon for a cruise we will be doing in the Med later this year, and not rely on the credit card insurance. I have booked Lufthansa flights which are fully refundable and cost no more than other airlines non refundable flights.
I don't see the credit card policies adding covid cover any time soon, unless they make it a chargeable add-on.

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duckDecoy

795 posts

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#2887510 17-Mar-2022 10:02

aaristotle:
I'll be looking at commercial travel insurers who have a covid addon for a cruise we will be doing in the Med later this year, and not rely on the credit card insurance.

Keep us all updated with whatever info you find, I am certain that i'm not the only one who will be wanting to know where we can find this cover.

openmedia

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#2888180 18-Mar-2022 12:28

So with KiwiBank's Credit Card travel policy (backed by Tower) there is a specific Pandemic exclusion

Pandemic exclusion
This policy does not cover any liability, loss, cost or expense
arising out of, resulting from, caused or contributed to by
influenza or any other virus or disease that is declared to be an
outbreak or epidemic by the World Health Organisation, or any
Government or ruling body of a country in which the outbreak or
epidemic has occurred.

On the other hand Tower have now updated their travel policy to provide Pandemic and Epidemic cover, but with some exclusions including

There is no cover for claims arising from any lockdowns, changes
in government alert levels, quarantine or mandatory isolation that
applies generally or broadly to some or all of a population, vessel or
geographical area, or that applies based on where You are travelling to,
from, or through.

This wording in the Tower policy concerns me as it applies additional exclusions

an actual or likely Epidemic or Pandemic, or, the threat of an Epidemic
or Pandemic

As COVID-19 is still classified by WHO as a Pandemic in theory a bunch of major exclusions still apply.

Anyone looked at other travel policies in detail?

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.

rayonline

1730 posts

Uber Geek

#2896065 3-Apr-2022 10:05

Something related than starting a new thread. Re: credit card insurance policies, Kiwibank says they only cover travel "bubbles" with covid. I did some hunting around I couldn't find any recent info. Are there any travel bubbles that still exist now? The AirNZ website says the Australia bubble will be updated this their websites but nothing as of yet. Tonga, Fiji? Are travel bubbles going to be resumed or might they just cease to exist anymore?

Cheers.

razor2000nz

148 posts

Master Geek

#2896603 4-Apr-2022 10:31

We have booked flights to the UK in July, this is what the westpac platinum credit card insurance says, seems as though you are covered re covid.

c3rn

282 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2899269 9-Apr-2022 23:15

My NFA, skip the "free" credit card insurance and purchase a stand-alone travel insurance product that includes C-19 cover.

The old adage is true: you get what you pay for. You might think that your credit card fees 'pay' for insurance but it generally works out to be $20-30 per card that gets sent to the insurance company - do you think you're going to get premium cover when paying those prices?

lissie

495 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2903000 16-Apr-2022 17:14

If you are looking for insurance cover for Fiji - then there is a specific way to get free insurance which fulfils their requirement to prove covid cover

https://fijivisitorsinsurance.com/

Fill all your details in - the price will look like US$39pp - but on the last page - before entering your card check the promo code and use FIJIAIRWAYSBULA - reduces the price to zero - they will instantly send you a insurance cover cretificate.

We do have comprehensive insurance cover too - but taking the option that inc Covid cover (limited) would have approx. doubled the price. Seemed a little crazy to pay given the chance of getting covid and needing to be hospitalized at a resort in Fiji when tripled vaxed has gotta be zero to v. low

I help authors publish their books - DIYPublishing.co.nz

jonathan18

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#2903007 16-Apr-2022 17:25

BNZ sent us a letter the other week about exactly this - that the travel insurance with our Platinum Visa would specifically include COVID-19-related cover (with limitations, of course!). We have no plans on international travel for a couple of years at least so I didn't read it carefully.

Edit: I've dug this up on their website; looks like the policy is now provided by AIG, so is no doubt similar to the Westpac offering posted earlier in this thread. The following is from https://www.bnz.co.nz/assets/bnz/personal-banking/insurance/pdfs/FAQ-BNZ-Advantage-Visa-Platinum-Credit-Card-Travel-Insurance.pdf

What are the new COVID-19 Cancellation, and Overseas Medical benefits that have been added to the BNZ Advantage Visa Platinum credit card travel insurance policy?

Insurance is designed to protect you from a loss following the unexpected. As COVID-19 is a known global issue, most travel insurance policies now contain exclusions for cancellation, delay, travel disruptions, and medical expenses due to epidemics or pandemics including COVID-19. However, we know that the costs of treatment for illnesses like COVID-19 can be expensive. With AIG, we’ve introduced a new benefit to support cardholders with these expenses, including: • cancellation cover up to $100,000 if you’re diagnosed with COVID-19 and as result are unable to commence or continue your trip; and • medical expenses up to $350,000 should a cardholder contract COVID-19 while travelling overseas. Coverage is subject to the terms and conditions, including any applicable limitations and exclusions, of the insurance policy.

What are the new COVID-19 exclusions?

You won’t be covered for any claims arising from COVID-19, including claims for travel disruption due to border closures or travel advisories, except as described above where you’re claiming for cancellation or overseas medical expenses having contracted COVID-19.