Will our insurance be valid if we book for next year?
Q If I were to book a holiday for next year to a destination that currently has a Foreign Office warning against non-essential travel, would I be covered by insurance as long as the advice was lifted when we travel?
Jenny S
A Yes. Most travel insurers say that their policies are void if you are in a destination against the advice of the Foreign Office travel advice unit or the World Health Organisation (if the latter warns against travel, then the Foreign Office will usually follow suit).
What counts is the travel advice that prevails on the day you arrive in your destination. For example, you could book now for France, Spain, Croatia or Portugal for some time next year, on the basis that the Foreign Office cannot possibly continue to urge against travel to these usually benign countries in 2021. But as you no doubt realise, the insurer will not cover you if a Foreign Office warning is in force and you do not travel
as a result.
More broadly, though, I wonder about the wisdom of committing to a 2021 holiday at this stage? I would love to urge people to book for 2021. Buying a holiday for next year would have two important benefits: giving you something to look forward to in these difficult days, and providing the travel industry with some cash – and hope for the future.
But given the extraordinary developments and baffling decisions about travel during the coronavirus crisis, I am not buying my own travel further in advance than a week or two. The UK government has so far issued five different quarantine policies since the coronavirus pandemic began, each in effect for an average duration of seven weeks.
In addition, the Foreign Office has made it clear that it will warn against travel simply on the grounds of the prevalence of new coronavirus cases in a country, regardless of other risks or the degree of localisation of infections. Add to that the possibility of restrictions being (re-) imposed by other countries, and the picture of what will be happening in October, let alone next year, is opaque.
My hope and prediction is that by the end of October, the government will introduce a sixth variation to its quarantine policy – based on actual risks in specific areas, and backed by a system of testing. Were this to happen, it would open up large parts of Europe and the world, allowing many of us to start booking for 2021 with more confidence that the trip will go ahead.
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