Does Travel Insurance Cover Covid-19?

What if I’ve bought travel insurance from Holiday Cottages?

Please contact Holiday Cottages directly or check their website for further instructions.

Does Towergate travel insurance bought online cover Covid-19?

If you buy Towergate travel insurance online or by phone through towergateinsurance.co.uk and towergatetravel.com, these are the things that are covered and not covered.

Coronavirus circumstances covered

• If you fall ill with Covid-19 abroad and need medical treatment
• If you fall ill with Covid-19 at home and cannot travel
• If you or a household member have to self isolate at home and cannot travel due to Covid-19
• If you have been denied boarding at the airport due to detected symptoms of Covid-19
• If no government restrictions are in place at time of purchasing your insurance/booking your holiday, but then you are made redundant, cannot cover the cost of your holiday and have to cancel the trip 
• If you are due to stay with your family, and a family member you are due to stay with has to self isolate due to Covid-19  and you wish to cancel the trip as you no longer have anywhere to stay
• If no travel restrictions exist at time of purchasing your insurance / booking your holiday / your time of travel, but during your travel, travel restrictions are imposed asking people to return to their country of residence due to Covid-19

Coronavirus circumstances NOT covered

• Where you cannot travel or choose not to travel because the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (or any other equivalent government body in another country) advises against travel due to a pandemic.
• Where you cancel your trip and the reason for cancelling is not listed in the ‘what is covered’ section, including but not limited to an event you were due to travel to being cancelled, or your change in desire to travel.

You will continue to benefit from all the remaining policies within your policy including:

• Emergency medical costs cover
• Cancellation cover (excluding Covid-19 coronavirus)
• Baggage and personal money cover
• Disruption to travel

What should I do before travelling abroad?

If you are planning to travel outside the UK you should check and follow the foreign travel advice on gov.uk. If you travel to a holiday resort or region that has been designated as a risk, and to which the UK government therefore advises you not to travel, you are likely to invalidate your travel insurance and you would not be covered if you fall ill with Covid-19.

What if I am advised to return from my holiday resort/region?

If you are advised by the UK government to return early from a trip abroad if the holiday resort or region becomes a risk, and you are unable to get other official assistance in doing so, your travel insurance is designed to help. It should cover any costs required to leave the area and return to the UK.

What if my package holiday is cancelled due to Covid-19?

Under the July 2018 Package Travel Directive, travel firms offering package holidays are legally responsible to provide either an alternative holiday / destination, defer or change travel dates or offer a 100% refund if they have to cancel or cannot provide travel service due to Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office advice / travel restrictions.

You will therefore should not suffer any financial loss if you have purchased a package holiday to somewhere which has been placed under UK government restrictions due to coronavirus, and should contact your tour operator / travel agent in the first instance. 

Do ATOL compensation arrangements cover me for Covid-19?

No. ATOL compensation arrangements are designed to assist holidaymakers if a provider of package holidays fails, and not for medical outbreaks like coronavirus.

Travel insurance from Towergate

Towergate offers a range of different travel insurance policies to suit your requirements, from long stay travel insurance to pre-existing medical conditions and business travel policies. For more information visit our holiday insurance section or call us on 0330 123 2249 to speak to a specialist adviser.

About the author

Tony Gilpin MCMI, CII COP is a highly respected and chartered industry leader with over 25 years’ experience in travel insurance, tour operators insurance financial failure insurance, travel agents insurance, bonding insurance and the travel industry, specialising in leadership, strategy, sales and account management. He is a Member of the Chartered Management Institute and also holds the Chartered Institute of Insurance's Certificate of Proficiency.