Allianz Partners is rolling out enhancements to its travel insurance products that may provide coverage to customers who become ill with COVID-19 or a future epidemic, are individually ordered to quarantine, or are denied boarding due to a suspected illness. This new coverage formalizes and adds to some of the temporary accommodations the company put into place in March 2020 to assist travelers who had been impacted by the COVID-19 crisis.
Specifically, the enhancements add epidemic-related illness as a covered reason to cancel or interrupt a trip, or seek reimbursement for emergency medical care, emergency medical transportation, change fees and loyalty points redeposit fees. The product enhancements also allow insured customers to cancel or interrupt their trip if they or their traveling companion have been individually ordered to quarantine, regardless of whether they are ill or have tested positive for a disease. The trip interruption and travel delay benefits on certain plans will also provide coverage if a customer or their traveling companion is denied boarding by their travel carrier due to suspicion of illness. These epidemic enhancements are currently available on certain Allianz Global Assistance travel insurance products offered through retail partners and directly to consumers in most states.
Responding to requirements at certain destinations that travelers have coverage for quarantine-related accommodations, Allianz’s product enhancements provide trip interruption coverage if an insured customer or their traveling companion is individually ordered to quarantine while on their trip. Under these benefits, insured customers may be eligible for reimbursement of the cost of additional food, lodging and transportation while quarantined. Additionally, as a temporary accommodation, customers who become ill with COVID-19 while on their trip will not be subject to the trip interruption benefit’s five-day maximum limit for additional accommodation and transportation expenses; however, the maximum daily limit for such expenses and the maximum trip interruption benefit limit still apply.
While the new Epidemic Coverage Endorsement adds certain covered reasons that apply to specific epidemic-related situations, Allianz Global Assistance travel insurance products otherwise generally do not cover claims due to known, foreseeable or expected events, epidemics, government prohibitions, warnings or travel advisories, or fear of travel, and coverage can vary by state.
Note: Benefits for quarantines only apply when an eligible traveler is specifically named and individually ordered to quarantine by order or official directive of a government, public regulatory authority, or the captain of a commercial vessel on which that eligible traveler is booked to travel during the covered trip, based on that eligible traveler’s exposure to COVID-19. The benefit does not cover travel restrictions (whether or not they are referred to as “quarantine”) that apply generally or broadly (a) to some segment or all of a population, geographical area, building or vessel (including without limitation shelter-in-place, stay-at-home, safer-at-home, or other similar restriction), or (b) based on to, from, or through where the person is traveling. Coverage may not cover the full cost of your quarantine and is subject to applicable benefit limits.
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