Am I covered to cancel my trip if I contract swine flu?

Advice from Direct Travel Insurance for policy holders

(Effective if your policy includes cancellation cover)

If you are diagnosed with the H1N1 virus before you are due to travel, and wish to make a claim for cancellation as you are unfit to travel, we will consider the claim for cancellation costs once we have determined the following:

• Policy starting date
• When the trip was booked
• When a diagnosis was made

Important:

You will need medical documents to support the diagnosis - a doctor’s certificate is usually required to confirm that you are not fit to travel, but given the current circumstances we will consider alternative documentation to substantiate the claim. E.g. letter from GP confirming circumstances.

Collect as much evidence as possible that you have the virus; take notes of your symptoms and anybody who you’ve spoken to officially. Once the Government’s Swine Flu centre is up and running, obtain a unique identification number in addition to the other evidence. It is a policy requirement that you obtain medical certification or equivalent authority confirming your illness and inability to travel as a result of the diagnosis.

Is everyone in the party covered?

Not necessarily: The cover would extend to any other party members insured with Direct Travel Insurance as long as the cancellation is necessary* e.g.

1. Family of four travelling together – Mum/Dad or one of the children has swine flu: Yes, all four would be covered for cancellation.
2. Couple travelling – partner One has swine flu: Yes, partner Two would also be covered for cancellation.
3. A group booking of friends, one of you has swine flu: only the affected person would be covered to cancel.
4. Two couples travelling together: only the affected person and their immediate partner would be covered to cancel.

*All decisions are based on it being necessary and unavoidable for you to have to cancel your trip.

Am I covered for medical expenses should I have a firm diagnosis of swine flu whilst on my trip?

You are covered for emergency medical and associated expenses under the normal terms and conditions of our policy, providing that at the time of booking the insurance there was no known reason that a claim would arise.

If I arrive in resort/in the country and have what could be considered to be swine flu symptoms but no firm diagnosis and the local authorities put me in quarantine, would I be able to make a claim for my lost holiday?

Those who are quarantined as a precautionary measure and are not ill may be covered for loss of accommodation/ car hire etc and for rearranging flights home if necessary– however, claims of this nature will be assessed on their own merits. We will require written confirmation of the quarantine to substantiate the claim, confirmation of diagnosis etc. Strictly speaking there is no cover for curtailment if you are not ill, however, as stated above each claim will be looked at and decided on its own merits.

I arrive at my UK departure point and am prevented from travelling as a medic on site certifies that I am unfit to fly, am I covered to curtail my trip and claim under the policy?

Airlines have standard procedures for dealing with passengers who they believe to be medically unfit to travel for any reason. They have medical teams available to make assessments. If you have been refused travel as a result of screening you will need to establish whether the airline/tour operator is providing any redress/travel rearrangements.

If this has not been provided by the airline/tour operator we may consider the costs of rearranged flights and cancelled accommodation in these circumstances. Each claim will be assessed on its own merits in line with the policy terms and conditions.

Important: You will need written confirmation from the airline’s doctor or medical adviser that you are unfit to travel in order to validate a claim.

If I arrive at my UK departure point and am prevented from travelling as an airline employee will not allow me to board my flight, am I covered to curtail and claim under the policy?

Strictly speaking there is no cover for curtailment if you are not ill. We will require evidence that an airline medically qualified representative certified that you were unfit to travel.

I am refused boarding by the airline but have not managed to see the medic at the airport and decide to go home as I don’t want to wait. I then call my doctor and the advice is that I should assume that I have swine flu and follow the quarantine advice. Would I be able to submit a curtailment claim on my policy?

You need to get written evidence from the airline’s medic that you are unfit to travel. If this is not provided by a medic, you may not be covered and our claims department will make reasonable investigations into the circumstances of your claim. Each case will be decided on its own merits.

If a country refuses flights from the UK, what can I claim for?

A – If I am on a package holiday and therefore the contract is with one supplier/tour operator
B – I have booked flights and accommodation independently, I may get the flight money back but as far as my accommodation provider is concerned we have a contract and the accommodation is available for me.

Both of the above situations would not be covered by the policy; however we can offer the following advice.

A – Refer back to the tour operator in the first instance and any credit card company that are involved with the purchase of the trip if you used any.
B –Seek recovery of the cost of the flights from the airline, you would then have to negotiate with the accommodation provider with regards to the accommodation costs. This again is not something that would be covered by our travel insurance policies.