Airlines that offer free Covid insurance
Traveling, in pandemic times, is as uncertain as one can imagine. Especially if you have to/want to take a plane. [...]
Virgin Atlantic
Turkish Airlines
Lufthansa
Etihad Airways
Emirates
British Airways
Traveling, in pandemic times, is as uncertain as one can imagine. Especially if you have to/want to take a plane. Why? The epidemiological curve has an unpredictable pattern, and you can go from "free" to lockdown in a matter of days. With all that entails.
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What to do, then? How can one plan a trip, hoping to go but without the fear of losing money? In addition to keeping track of the Travel Safe, coming to the rescue of travelers are the airlines with their Covid insurance. Let's see how it works.
How Emirates' Covid insurance works
Not only that flexible tickets, which allow you to change your travel date even last minute: Emirates, Dubai's national airline, has decided to offer Covid insurance to its passengers.
Developed by American International Group (Aig), the policy will be applied automatically and free of charge to all tickets purchased as of December 1, 2020, with no difference in class or destination. It will also cover flights with partner carriers and sets only one condition: the ticket must begin with the number "176".
Emirates' Covid insurance includes:
- medical expenses and emergency consultations of up to $500,000 while traveling abroad;
- trip cancellation (with reimbursement up to $7,500) if the traveler or a family member tested positive for Coronavirus;
- Trip cancellation or interruption (with reimbursement up to $7,500) if the traveler is a student, teacher or school employee and the school year should be extended due to Coronavirus;
- refund up to $7,500 in case the traveler is forced to return due to the serious infection of a family member;
- coverage of up to 7,500 in case the traveler cannot continue travel due to medical screening at the airport or because he or she has failed an anti-Covid test;
- coverage up to 150 euros per person per day, for up to 14 days, in case the traveler tests positive for Coronavirus while traveling or is under preventive quarantine by decision of the authorities of the country in which the traveler is located.
In addition to being the safest airline in the world because of its anti-infection provisions (as determined by the Safe Travel Barometer), here is Emirates also becoming the most affordable airline for travel during the pandemic. When, you know, the unexpected can be just around the corner.
How Eithad's Covid insurance works
As well as Emirates. Eithad introduced afree Covid insurance In cooperation with AXA. The policy is automatically included in all tickets for travel up to the March 31, 2021.
Therefore, you do not have to do anything to purchase it: it is coverage that is activated automatically, from the day of departure and for 31 days from that time. Be careful, however: if you contract Coronavirus while traveling, you must necessarily contact Eithad's Covid-19 support team. (in English at +971 45074007), because only services arranged by the company are reimbursed.
Eithad's insurance covers medical and quarantine expenses, but not the cost of PCR testing.
How Virgin Atlantic's Covid insurance works
Covid Insurance of Virgin Atlantic is free and is automatically included in all tickets for travel up to the April 30, 2021.
In cooperation with Allianz Assistance, the policy covers any trip regardless of destination or duration and includes:
- coverage of up to $500,000 for the medical expenses achieving Coronavirus infection.
- repatriation, if made necessary by clinical conditions
- refund Of expenses incurred for denied boarding or a mandatory quarantine
How Japan Airlines' Covid insurance works
In collaboration with Allianz, Japan Airlines offers free insurance that-with a ceiling set at $180,000-cover expenses for travelers who test positive for Covid-19 while traveling.
Valid on international flights until June 30, 2021, also covers the associated costs of eventual isolation and those of returning home.
How Cathay Pacific's Covid Insurance Works.
For flights until the May 31, Cathay Pacific offers free Covid insurance that includes:
- Expenses for the COVID-19 PCR test and possible hospitalization
- quarantine expenses
- repatriation expenses (even with children)
British Airways, Lufthansa & co: Covid insurance for a fee
While Emirates, Eithad and several others offer free insurance, other companies sell ad hoc policies at a special price.
British Airways, for example, works with Allianz Global Assistance. You are therefore assisted in case you contract the virus while traveling or undergo preventive quarantine, but insurance comes at a cost (variable, depending on the destination and length of stay).
Lufthansa, in collaboration with AIG Europe S.A, offers two alternatives: Travel Care and Travel Care Plus. The former reimburses the expenses of the passenger forced into quarantine in the country of destination; the latter also supports medical expenses in case of infection.
Turkish Airlines offers Covid insurance for those who choose to spend their vacation in Turkey. Signing up for "Tourist Protection and Support Insurance" will provide reimbursement, for up to 40 days, for hospitalization costs in case of infection.
TAP, in cooperation with Chubb, offers comprehensive insurance. Not only does it cover loss, theft and damage to luggage, but also flight cancellation fees and medical assistance while traveling. It can be purchased when booking the flight and extends free of charge to children up to 2 years old.
How to sleep soundly without ever paying for insurance
All the insurances mentioned above cover, it is important to remember, only Covid-19 related problems. This means that in case of any inconvenience such as a delayed flight or baggage claim, or hospitalization for a sudden health issue or death of a fellow traveler, you will not be covered. This is why one of the most important benefits of the travel insurance included in the American Express Platinum is precisely an all-round protection one of the most comprehensive travel insurance available on the market today: up to €5 million medical insurance.
A benefit that saves hundreds of euros on a trip to, for example, the States or Japan, where having health insurance is not mandatory but strongly recommended. Up to thousands of euros if we are talking about family travel with perhaps car rental.
The N26 alternative
An alternative, for traveling covered, is offered by online banking. N26. Those who have an N26 You, N26 Business You, N26 Metal or N26 Business Metal account in their Allianz insurance package can enjoy the Covid travel cover And all its benefits.
The insurance covers expenses for trip interruption or cancellation due to the pandemic up to €10,000, and is valid for both the travel abroad and even within national borders as long as in destinations at least 100 km away from one's residence. Obtaining compensation is, moreover, very simple: just access "My Account," click on "N26 You" or "N26 Metal," and then on "Manage," "Allianz Insurance Coverage," and "Initiate a Claim."
