Feature

Travel Insurance, needed for vaccinated travelers too

By Satyaki Dutta

Travellers are pretty ready to explore the globe this summer after the pandemic lockdown lifts up.

When you are among those lucky few who got their Covid jab, you can travel without worrying about the disease. Still, for some places, youneed to carry correct category of travel insurance. Some of the countries presently require Covid medical coverage before you can enter. While travel insurance may feel like an added burden to some, it can be an actual lifesaver at the time of distress.

According to WorldTrips, a travel insurance provider, Thailand is the most popular international destination. Thailand currently requires travellers to provide proof of medical insurance with a minimum of $100,000 covering Covid-19 treatment. Costa Rica, Thailand and Turks and Caicos need medical insurance before you are allowed entry. Typically your health plan will not cover you outside USA. Covid is not the only disease out in the world, is it? Moreover, the vaccine only can give you protection to a certain level only.  This is the reason why travellers need to be aware of any insurance requirements before they book a trip.

If your destination requires medical insurance, you’ll need a travel insurance policy covering Covid-related medical benefits. You can find Covid-medical coverage for up to $500,000 per person. According to a new report by the travel insurance comparison site, Squaremouth, most travellers who had trips impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic weren’t forced to cancel their trips due to contracting the virus. Due to travellers contracting the virus, the number of Covid-related claims, the company saw, was less than 30 percent.The other 70 percent comprised travellers who could not reach their destination or leave their residence due to other factors related to the pandemic, including border closures, quarantine requirements and cancelled flights and cruises.

“The pandemic proved the vulnerability of the travel industry, it hasn’t recovered yet,” says Squaremouth CMO Megan Moncrief, “We are still getting information from the travellers whose trips are impacted.”

In case of any cancellation, if you have made prepaid, non-refundable deposits for a trip, whether it’s within the U.S. or abroad, booking travel insurance can save you from financial trouble.Trip interruption can also reimburse your lost money if your travel comes to a halt—like if you get sick in the middle of your journey.

A medical emergency can be covered by travel medical insurance. This includes ambulance service, doctor bills, X-rays, diagnostic tests, and medicine. It’s essential outside the U.S., where domestic health plans and Medicare provide limited or no coverage.

There are some travel interruptions still happening despite the widespread vaccine rolls out. Squaremouth reported hearing from travellers who are still facing lasting impact of the pandemic. The problems of the travellers’ range from flight changes and cancellations, rental car shortages to the vaccine and Covid testing requirements.

Furthermore, new strains and variants of the Covid-19 virus mean that the travel industry is not out of the woods yet. The uncertainty around the effectiveness of vaccines on these strands may cause borders to remain closed and destinations to continue to enforce restrictions, like negative test results and enforced quarantines at the destination.

For the types of impacts travellers have been facing throughout the pandemic, Squaremouth recommends a ‘Cancel for Any Reason’ insurance policy. While the company is typically slow to recommend this upgrade, it provides travellers with the most enormous blanket of coverage, including the Covid-related impacts travellers’ face today. Travelers can search the extensive portfolio of travel insurance products that offer coverage related to the Covid-19 pandemic, including cancellation and emergency medical benefits for contracting the virus and cancel for any reason coverage on squaremouth.com.

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