Should I cancel a China trip?
You planned to go to China, but coronavirus has reared its ugly head. “I have travel insurance,” you say to yourself. “No problem.” ¶ Not so fast. Even if you have travel insurance, you may not be covered. ¶ The standard wisdom about travel insurance: It covers what has happened to you, not what might happen to you. ¶ Here is a Q&A on what’s covered, what’s not, in light of the novel coronavirus outbreak detected in December in Wuhan. The World Health Organization has declared it a public health emergency of international concern.
“The only way we will defeat this outbreak is for all countries to work together in a spirit of solidarity and cooperation. We are all in this together, and we can only stop it together,” Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of WHO, said in a news conference.
The State Department has elevated its travel advisory for China from a 3 (reconsider travel) to a 4 (do not travel).
Travelers who have booked trips or are considering them now face difficult questions, partly because their health and safety could be at risk and partly because their investment in a vacation may be threatened. Here’s what we know:
Question: Are such outbreaks as coronavirus covered by regular travel policies? Answer: 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.”
Q. But didn’t the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tell travelers they should “avoid nonessential travel” to China? A. Yes, but in terms of insurance, Squaremouth noted, travelers “are not prevented from” going.
Q. If the State Department is saying you should not travel to China, isn’t that sufficient reason for coverage to kick in? A. No. “Most travel insurance companies are declaring coronavirus a known event as of Jan. 21,” said Stan Sandberg, co-founder of TravelInsurance.com. “Losses resulting from the coronavirus would be excluded from standard coverage for plans purchased after Jan. 21.”
Q. I just don’t want to travel anywhere right now. I’d like to cancel all my travel. A. You certainly may cancel your travel, but you probably won’t get your money back.
Q. What if my flight was canceled and I had prepaid, nonrefundable plans, such as hotels or day trips? Do I get money back? A. Maybe. Many airlines are cutting back or canceling service in the face of this outbreak. (Some airlines are refunding money; others are giving a credit or waiving change fees.) Regardless, canceled service means other prepaid plans would fall by the wayside. But there may be good news in this.
“Comprehensive travel insurance plans can cover prepaid, nonrefundable expenses such as hotels, tours, flights, etc.,” Meghan Walch, product manager for InsureMyTrip, which also lets you comOne pare policies, said in an email.
“When purchasing a policy, the total of those costs would need to be insured in order to receive reimbursement if canceling for a covered reason, ” she said.
Q. What if I have insurance and get sick with coronavirus? A. The good news about coverage in that case is bad news for you: If you contract coronavirus before you travel or while you’re traveling, your care probably will be covered if you have standard travel insurance. The key word is “probably.”
Q. Why probably? A. Many insurers set a deadline — in many cases, Jan. 21— for having bought insurance. If you bought before that, you may be covered.
That’s because coronavirus is now a “foreseen circumstance” — that is, people now know about it.
If you bought insurance, note that the cutoff 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.
Q. Is there anything I can do to be covered for a trip I wanted to make but now am not sure about? A. There is one kind of travel insurance that can help: cancel-for-anyreason insurance. It means what it says: If you decide you don’t want to risk (fill in the blank for anything you consider problematic), if you have CFAR, it should have you covered. Q. Really? A. It is true, but be aware that CFAR has some downsides. Your reimbursement generally will not cover your total trip costs, and the premium probably will cost more than a standard travel insurance policy.
“If your concern is canceling your trip due to fear of traveling and potentially contracting the coronavirus, then … CFAR is the only way to protect your prepaid, nonrefundable trip cost,” Walch of InsureMyTrip said.
Q. What else should I consider when contemplating a trip anywhere coronavirus is present? A. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said there is no vaccine for this type of coronavirus. It suggests washing your hands and keeping them away from your eyes, nose and mouth; avoiding sick people; staying home if you’re unwell; covering your nose and mouth with a tissue if you sneeze; and making sure you disinfect anything you or people around you have touched.
Symptoms of coronavirus include fever, cough and shortness of breath, according to the CDC. You may experience those symptoms as soon as two days after you’re exposed and as long as two weeks later.
Q. What are my chances of being infected with coronavirus? A. That depends a little on where you are. “I would say there’s always a risk of developing an infection when you’re traveling internationally,” said Dr. Robert Winters, an infectious disease specialist in Santa Monica.
But, Winters noted, the rapid increase in the number of cases reported points to a pandemic. 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 suggests packing a face mask, hand sanitizer and disposable gloves.
Q. Does that face mask really help? A. 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 pick up a germ.
Q. So what do the doctors say? Should I go on my trip? A. No easy answers here. It’s a serious illness and a growing problem. Also, Quigley said, viruses can mutate. Like a hurricane, they may gather strength over time. And such diseases often put the young, the old and the immunocompromised at greater risk.
In the end, it’s not their job to tell you whether to go, both said. 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. (If you have trip interruption insurance, that delay may be covered.) Let your brain and your heart play an equal role in the decision.