Covid Travel Insurance

If you buy  Post Office Travel Insurance now it will cover travel within the policy period to any destination official advice states is safe to visit. Policies bought on or after 6 September 2020 include the following Covid-19 cover.

Before you go

Cancellation – If, within 14 days of your trip, you, a member of your family or someone you are due to travel or stay with tests positively for Covid-19, you can claim for cancellation.

Curtailment – If, at your departure point in the UK, you receive a positive test for Covid-19, you can claim for unused travel and accommodation costs.

Missed departure – If you’re required to be tested for Covid-19 and, due to unexpected delays in receiving the results, your trip is delayed or you miss your scheduled journey, you can claim for additional accommodation or transportation costs to get you to you final destination. This applies for both the outbound and inbound legs of your journey. Please note: cover for missed departure is only available on the Standard and Premier levels of cover and limits apply.

While you’re travelling

Emergency medical and additional expenses – If, while you’re travelling, you need emergency medical treatment for Covid-19 or to be returned back to the UK, you can contact the emergency assistance line. We’ll help you seek the relevant treatment or, if medically necessary, arrange to bring you back to the UK.

Curtailment – If, on arriving in your international destination, you test positive for Covid-19 and are not allowed to continue with your trip, or are placed in Compulsory Quarantine for a minimum of 24 hours (upon the instruction of a Medical Practitioner) and are not allowed to continue your trip, or are confined to your hotel room, you can claim for any unused trip costs on your return to the UK. Available on Economy, Standard and Premier levels of cover

Curtailment – If, while you’re travelling, a close relative passes away due to Covid-19 and you want to cut your trip short and return home, you can claim for the unused portion of your trip up to the limits of the policy.

Please check the policy wording for full details of the Covid-19 and other cover provided by each level of cover and the maximum benefit amounts.

While we’ve enhanced our travel insurance on new policies to provide more protection against the issues caused by Covid-19, there are some things we will not cover. It’s important you understand what these are.

They include:

• Travelling against advice of the FCDO or any Government restrictions (including UK lockdowns or any travel bans )
• Changes in any advice from the FCDO or any local Government where it was safe to travel to and now being declared as un-safe and restrictions being put in place again. This includes any quarantine restrictions on entering a country, including the UK
• Not wanting to travel in fear of catching Covid-19
• Unlimited costs – each benefit is up to the maximum as per the level of cover you choose
• If You purchase this policy after receiving a positive Covid-19 test result or while waiting for a Covid-19 test result and your trip starts within 14 days
• Claims arising from You following general advice from a government to self-isolate including if You are tracked and traced
• The cost of any medical tests or results

Please check the policy wording for full details of what is and isn’t covered for Covid-19.

Policies sold from 17 June 2020 to the 5 September 2020 cover trips to any international destination to which the FCDO hasn’t advised against or all or all but essential travel when the time comes to go. They’ll also cover trips within the UK if Government guidance allows it at the time.

These policies cover Covid-19-related illness while you’re away, paying your costs for emergency medical treatment or transport home. But there’s no other cover for Covid-19 or any related or mutated form of Covid-19, under any other section of the policy.

If you bought a policy within these dates, you won’t be able to claim for costs due to cancelling or cutting short your trip due to Covid-19.

Please check if your airline, tour operator or travel company can move your trip, and we can look at moving the period your policy covers up to 1 year from your original dates.

The above is subject to the terms, conditions and benefit limits of your policy.

If you bought your policy before 12 March 2020, cover remains in place and you should check your policy terms and conditions.

Policies bought on or after 24 February 2020 (with policy numbers starting TC) include extra cover as standard. If, after you book your trip or buy your policy (whichever is later) the FCDO changes its advice to advise against all or all but essential travel to your destination, you’ll be able to claim for cancellation (unless the change in advice was due to Covid-19).

Policies bought on or after 12 March 2020 will cover emergency medical and repatriation costs if you fall ill on a trip taken after 1 June 2020, even with Covid-19. This cover is provided under Section B: Medical and Additional Expenses (on Collinson policies) or Section 4: Emergency Medical and Repatriation Expenses (ERGO policies).

There’s no other cover provided for claims relating to Covid-19 or any related or mutated form of Covid-19, this also applies to the optional extras Natural Catastrophe and Terrorism cover and Enhanced Trip Disruption cover (on Collinson policies) or our Extended Travel Disruption (on ERGO policies). Or if you have to cancel or cut short your trip due to it.

The Government’s guidance on travel within the UK and FCDO advice on international travel can change often and at short notice. So it’s important to check the latest advice before you book and again before you go to be sure.

Remember, your Post Office Travel Insurance policy will only cover you if you travel to a destination this advice indicates is safe. It won’t be valid if you travel against this advice.

Check the latest FCDO international travel advice here

Get the latest Government UK travel guidance here

Yes, you can currently buy Natural Catastrophe and Terrorism cover or Extended Travel Disruption cover (on Collinson policies) or our Enhanced Trip Disruption (on ERGO policies) now. These optional extras won’t cover claims for Covid-19. But they could provide cover if your plans are disrupted by something else, such as flight delays or cancellation due to airspace closure, or a natural disaster. Please check the policy wording for the terms that apply in these situations.

If you bought a Post Office Single-trip, Annual Multi-trip or Backpacker Travel Insurance policy on or after 17 June 2020, you’ll get a full refund if you cancel it within 14 days. There’s no refund if you cancel after that.

If you’re unable to take your trip on its original dates, you may be able to ask the companies you booked with to reschedule them. If you have a Single Trip Post Office Travel Insurance policy starting with TC or TE and your original trip or policy start date is before 1 May 2021, you can move the dates it covers by up to a year from that start date.

If your trip is due to start from 1 May 2021 onwards, we’re anticipating travel restrictions may be lifted. So we need to ask you to wait until closer to the time of travel to see if the situation changes. In any circumstance, please contact us if your trip gets cancelled or moved by your tour operator.

If you wish to extend your Single Trip policy duration, change your trip destination or you have a new or changed medical condition, you may have to pay a bit more. Please call us on 0330 123 3690 to arrange these changes.

This will depend on when you bought your policy. If you bought it before 12 March 2020 (for ERGO policies) or from 24 February 2020 (for Collinson policies) then yes, you can claim for cancellation under these following circumstances:

When you booked your trip or bought your policy (whichever was latest) the FCDO had NOT advised of ANY restrictions to your destination

AND

Since you booked your trip or bought your policy (whichever was latest), the FCDO have NOW advised against all, or all but essential, travel to your destination (for a reason other than Covid-19).

If you buy your policy from 17 June 2020 onwards the above would apply.

However, if the FCDO changed its travel advice to advise against all or all but essential travel to your destination for a Covid-19 related reason, then this would not be covered.

If you bought it from or after the 6th September 2020, there are additional reasons that you can claim for cancellation:

• You testing positive within 14 days of your trip
• A close relative, someone you were going to stay with or travel with, tests positive for Covid-19 within 14 days of travel

Please check your policy terms and conditions for full details.

If your travel or accommodation providers cancel, please contact them first. If an airline or tour operator cancel your flight or trip, they must reimburse you or provide an alternative.

If you’ve booked independently, some accommodation and car parking providers won’t give refunds. So, if you booked with a credit or bank card, contact your card issuer first to see if you’re covered.

If you’re able to rearrange your travel plans, we’ll happily transfer your cover to your new trip dates up to 12 months from your original policy start date. Please note that if a trip is booked whilst the FCDO are advising against all or all but essential travel to a destination that there is no cover under the policy.

Cutting your trip short for fear you may catch a coronavirus such as Covid-19 is not a valid reason to claim and won’t be covered. We suggest you first contact your travel provider to see if you can be moved to a different area.

If your airline cancels a planned flight, cutting your trip short, they must pay for meals, overnight accommodation and get you a replacement flight as soon as possible. They’re not liable if you cut the trip short but your original flight is still scheduled to operate. If a tour operator cuts short your trip, they’re obliged to get you home as soon as possible, paying for up to three more nights’ accommodation if needed.

For policies purchase from the 6th September 2020, should a close relative test positive with Covid-19 and passes away during your trip, you are able to curtail and claim back any unused costs. Please ensure to contact the Emergency Medical phone line for assistance.

Suppose you buy a new policy, travel to a destination the FCDO or Government declares safe but that advice changes while you’re there to avoid all or all but essential travel there.

If the reason for the change was something other than Covid-19, you can claim for unused travel and accommodation costs from the date it changed. If it’s coronavirus-related, you won’t be able to claim.

Check your policy wording, terms and conditions for more details.

If you bought a Travel Insurance policy from us before the lockdown was announced and your trip is yet to take place, or you buy a policy during lockdown for a future trip, the normal policy terms and conditions still apply. If the reason for cancellation is the lockdown itself then this is not covered. Please remember that travelling during lockdown and certain tiers of restriction may invalidate your policy altogether. Check the latest FCDO travel advice.