Does Travel Insurance Cover Coronavirus?

Does Towergate travel insurance cover me for coronavirus?

• For David Oliver Associates policies sold via towergatetravel.com up to and including 16 March 2020, yes. 
• For all new policies sold or existing policies amended from 17 March 2020, please check below.

Coronavirus circumstances covered (policies up to 16 March)

Any existing policies purchased up to and including 16 March 2020 are unaffected and full cover remains in place for claims caused by the COVID-19 Coronavirus, including but not limited to: 

• Cancellation due to you or a family member being diagnosed as having COVID-19
• Placing yourself into self-isolation suspecting that you or a family member have contracted COVID-19
• FCO travel restrictions
• Flights being cancelled

Coronavirus circumstances covered (policies from 17 March)

• 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 (policies from 17 March)

Any policy purchased from 17 March 2020 will not cover these cancellation claims in relation to the COVID-19 Coronavirus

• Where you cannot travel or choose not to travel because the Foreign and Commonwealth 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 the COVID-19 Coronavirus);
• Baggage and personal money cover
• Disruption to travel

Does travel insurance cover treatment if I contract coronavirus?

If you bought your Towergate travel policy on or before 16 March 2020 and haven’t amended it in anyway, please contact your insurer for their approval that your travel plans are essential. If they are, you will be covered.

if you bought a new or amended an existing Towergate travel insurance policy on or after 17 March 2020 you are not covered.

Do Towergate annual multi-trip policies cover coronavirus?

Trips booked before 11 March

Any annual multi-trip policies renewals from Friday 16 March 2020 on a Towergate annual multi-trip policy will continue to include cover for the COVID-19 coronavirus for any pre-booked holidays or trips booked before 11 March 2020.

Holidays booked on or after 12 March

All other holidays or trips booked on 12 March 2020 or later on a Towergate annual multi-trip policy do not cover cancellation caused by the COVID-19 coronavirus.

However, they will continue to cover medical expenses claims caused by coronavirus, as long as you are travelling to an area or country where no UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) travel restrictions exist.

If the FCO applies travel restrictions during your holiday or trip, your cover will remain in place.

What if I have Towergate travel insurance through Sykes Cottages?

See information below for:

• Changing your dates
• Cancelling

If you want to change your trip dates

If you wish to change your holiday dates instead of cancelling, please visit the Sykes Cottages website and login to your account, as this enables you to request a change to these.

See Sykes' FAQs.

If you want Sykes Cottages to defer your originally travel dates to later in 2020 or 2021

Sykes Cottages will amend the trip dates on your travel insurance automatically.

If you agree to Sykes Cottages issuing you with a holiday credit note to be redeemed before 31 December 2021

Unfortunately as the trip start date is not available the travel insurance policy which you bought from Sykes Cottages can’t be kept open whilst you are waiting to redeem this holiday credit note.

In this instance Sykes Cottages will refund your travel insurance policy premium to you directly.

If Sykes Cottages cancelled your scheduled trip due to the UK government’s Covid-19 restrictions

Please contact Sykes directly. They will explain what options are available to you and will find you the best option.

If you need to cancel because you or a member of your party contracted Covid-19

If you bought your insurance in 2018 or 2019

If you bought your travel insurance policy in 2018 or 2019 please download and complete this claims form and email it to towergatetravelclaims@directgroup.co.uk.

You will also need to email the claims handling service your NHS Helpline reference number and copies or photographs of any prescriptions or receipts for purchase of medicines you were prescribed or recommended to take by your medical practitioner.

If you bought your insurance in 2020

If you bought your travel insurance policy in 2020 please download and complete this ERGO claims form and email it to info@eti-services.co.uk.

You will also need to email the claims handling service your NHS Helpline reference number and copies or photographs of any prescriptions or receipts for purchase of medicines you were prescribed or recommended to take by your medical practitioner.

If you need to cancel for a reason not connected to Covid-19

If you bought your insurance in 2018 or 2019

If you bought your travel insurance policy in 2018 or 2019 please download and complete this ERV claims form and email it to towergatetravelclaims@directgroup.co.uk.

If you bought your insurance in 2020

If you bought your travel insurance policy in 2020 please download and complete this ERGO claims form and email it to info@eti-services.co.uk.

If you bought a new policy or amended an existing Sykes Cottages policy on or after 17 March 2020

These policies will no longer cover pandemics, including the Covid-19 coronavirus.

If you decide that this travel insurance policy no longer meets your requirements please contact Sykes Cottages to request a full refund of your policy premium.

If you have other questions about coronavirus and your Sykes Cottages policy

Please see Sykes Cottages' FAQs or contact them directly.

What if I have Towergate travel cover through Holiday Cottages?

See information below for:

• Changing your dates
• Cancelling

If you want to change your trip dates

If you wish to change your holiday dates instead of cancelling, please visit the Holiday Cottages website, as this enables you to request a change to these.

If you need / needed to cancel

If your scheduled trip could not take place due to the UK Government’s Covid-19 coronavirus restrictions

Please refer to holidaycottages.co.uk's information, which outlines the options available to you and will help you find the best option for your circumstances.

If you needed to cancel because you or a member of your party contracted the COVID-19 coronavirus

If you bought your insurance in 2018 or 2019

If you bought your travel insurance policy in 2018 or 2019 please download and complete this ERV claims form and email it to towergatetravelclaims@directgroup.co.uk.

If you bought your insurance in 2020

If you bought your travel insurance policy in 2020 please download and complete this ERGO claims form and email it to info@eti-services.co.uk.

In both cases you will need to email the claims handling service your NHS Helpline reference number or self-isolation note available from NHS online, and copies or photographs of any prescriptions or receipts for purchase of medicines you were prescribed or recommended to take by your medical practitioner.

If you bought a new policy or amended an existing Holiday Cottages policy on or after 17 March 2020

These policies will no longer cover pandemics, including the Covid-19 coronavirus.

If you decide that this travel insurance policy no longer meets your requirements please contact Holiday Cottages to request a full refund of your policy premium.

If you agreed to Holiday Cottages deferring your originally scheduled travel dates to later in 2020 or in to 2021

Holidaycottages.co.uk will amend the trip dates on your travel insurance automatically.

If you agreed to holidaycottages.co.uk issuing you with a holiday credit note to be redeemed before 31 December 2021

Unfortunately as the trip start date is not available the travel insurance policy which you bought from holidaycottages.co.uk can’t be kept open whilst you are waiting to redeem this holiday credit note.

In this instance the voucher holidaycottages.co.uk issue you with will include the amount you paid for your travel insurance policy.

If you need to cancel because of something not connected to the Covid-19 coronavirus

If you bought your insurance in 2019

If you need to cancel your trip and want to submit a claim for your travel insurance policy policy bought in 2019, please download and complete our claims form and email it to towergatetravelclaims@directgroup.co.uk.

If you bought your insurance in 2020

If you need to cancel your trip and want to submit a claim for your travel insurance policy policy bought in 2019, you will need to download and complete this ERGO claims form, and email it to info@eti-services.co.uk.

If you have other questions about coronavirus and your holidaycottages.co.uk policy

Please see Holiday Cottages' FAQs or contact them directly.

What if I am advised to leave a region and return to the UK?

If you are advised by the UK government to return early from a trip abroad as the 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 coronavirus?

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 UK Foreign and Commonwealth 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 coronavirus?

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 opeators 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.