Coronavirus: what will travel insurance cover if my trip is cancelled or disrupted – or if I become infected?

You were supposed to be going to China, but coronavirus has scared you and you want to cancel your trip. “I have travel insurance,” you say to yourself. “No problem.”

Not so fast. Even if you have travel insurance, you may not be covered. Travel insurance covers what has happened to you, not what might happen to you.

“Travellers should be prepared for travel restrictions to be put into effect with little or no advance notice,” the latest warning says. “Commercial carriers have reduced or suspended routes to and from China.”

Travellers who had booked trips or are considering them must now face difficult questions, partly because their health and safety could be at risk and partly because their investment in a holiday may be threatened. Here’s what we know so far:

Are outbreaks like the coronavirus covered by regular travel policies?

Doubtful. “Unfortunately, there is limited cancellation coverage [for coronavirus] under most standard travel insurance policies,” Kasara Barto of Squaremouth.com, a travel insurance comparison site, said in an email. “Virus outbreaks do not fall under the standard cancellation reasons on most travel insurance.”

But didn’t the US CDC tell travellers they should “avoid non-essential travel” to China?

Yes, but in terms of insurance, Squaremouth noted, travellers “are not prevented from” going.

The WHO said on January 28 that the outbreak is an international health emergency. Does that change the dynamics of insurance coverage?

No, insurance experts say, because now the coronavirus is not unexpected. The risk is there and therefore not a surprise.

What if everything I wanted to see is closed?

Too bad. Even if big attractions are closed and visiting them was to have been a big part of your trip, you still aren’t covered. “While the closure of portions of the Great Wall of China, Hong Kong Disneyland and Shanghai Disneyland may be an inconvenience to travellers, it isn’t enough to trigger cancellation benefits,” Squaremouth said.

What if my flight was cancelled and I had prepaid, non-refundable plans, such as hotels or day trips?

Many airlines are cutting back or cancelling services in the face of this outbreak. (Some airlines are refunding money; others are giving credit or waiving change fees.) Regardless, cancelled service means other prepaid plans fall by the wayside. But there may be good news in this.

“Comprehensive travel insurance plans can cover prepaid, non-refundable expenses such as hotels, tours, flights, etc,” said Meghan Walch, product manager for InsureMyTrip.

“When purchasing a policy, the total of those costs would need to be insured in order to receive reimbursement if cancelling for a covered reason.”

What if I have insurance and catch the coronavirus?

The good news about coverage in that case is bad news for you: if you contract coronavirus before you travel or while you’re travelling, your care probably will be covered if you have standard travel insurance. The key word is “probably”. Many insurers set a deadline – a date before which you might be covered but after which you won’t be.

Coronavirus is now a “foreseen circumstance”. If you bought insurance, note that the cut-off date for when this outbreak became a “foreseen circumstance” will vary by provider so it’s important to know the “buy by” date that was or is being offered.

Is there anything I can do to be covered for a trip I wanted to make but now I’m not sure about?

There is one kind of travel insurance that can help: “cancel for any reason”, or CFAR, insurance. If you decide you don’t want to risk (fill in the blank for anything that you consider problematic) or you just don’t think the trip sounds fun any more, if you have CFAR, it should have you covered.

CFAR comes with some downsides, however. Your reimbursement generally will not cover your total trip costs, and the initial premium probably will cost more – sometimes much more – than a standard travel insurance policy.

What are my chances of being infected with coronavirus?

That depends a little on where you are. “I would say there’s always a risk of developing an infection when you’re travelling internationally,” said Dr Robert Winters, an infectious disease specialist in Santa Monica, California. “I would avoid China, but I would not change my plans for any other part of the world.”

But, Winters noted, the rapid increase in the number of cases reported suggests the potential for a pandemic. One of the issues, Winters said, is that someone may be asymptomatic but still able to transmit the disease.

He echoes the CDC’s handwashing advice and also suggests packing a face mask, hand sanitiser and disposable gloves, just in case.

Does that face mask really help?

Its value may not be what you think it is. Surgical masks are porous and germs are tiny. The real value, said Dr Robert Quigley, senior vice-president and regional medical director of International SOS, a medical and security assistance company, is that you can’t touch your mouth and nose as easily, which means you might be less likely to ingest a germ.

So should I go on my trip?

No easy answers here. It’s a serious illness and a growing problem. Also, Quigley said, viruses can mutate. And such diseases often put the young, the old and those with compromised immune systems at greater risk.

In the end, only you can decide on the risk level. Gather information about the disease and think carefully about your choices. You may not catch coronavirus, but you could be caught in a quarantine. (The good news is that if you have trip interruption insurance, that could mean your delay is covered.)