When your travel insurance takes effect in the corona pandemic - and whether additional protection is worthwhile

In the Corona crisis, travelers are afraid of being left at their expense in the event of a cancellation, quarantine or illness.

What does travel insurance do?

Extensive travel warnings and complicated entry rules have ensured that people hardly travel any more at the moment.

In addition, many holidaymakers are afraid that airlines * or hotels will no longer reimburse their costs if they are canceled or if they are sick during the corona pandemic.

In this case, the question arises to what extent travel cancellation or travel health insurance provides more security.

Vacation canceled due to corona crisis: does travel cancellation insurance pay?

If you

cancel

your

vacation of your own accord

- for example because a travel warning or an entry ban has been issued for your holiday region - you will

not

receive

any money from your travel cancellation insurance

.

The same applies if you cancel the trip because you are afraid of infection or suspect that you may have Covid-19, as Stiftung Warentest informs.

According to the experts, there are also only a few providers who reimburse you if you cannot travel due to a prescribed quarantine.

Sometimes an additional insurance module has to be taken out here.

It looks a little different if you have to

cancel your trip due

to an

unexpected and serious illness

- including a serious Covid 19 illness.

But you also have to exercise caution here: some insurance companies exclude protection in the event of a pandemic.

It is therefore imperative that you take a look at your insurance conditions before booking a trip.

Find out here

: Travel without restrictions for corona vaccinated people: The first countries in Europe allow entry without quarantine.

Does travel health insurance also cover corona disease?

You must read in your contract documents whether your travel health insurance will apply if you get Covid-19 while on vacation.

Stiftung Warentest would like to point out that

some insurers do not pay any treatment if the Federal Foreign Office has issued a travel warning for your country or holiday region due to the corona pandemic

.

So make sure that your insurance policy

generally excludes

reimbursement in the event of

a

pandemic or when traveling to countries with a travel warning

.

In the case of an exclusion clause due to travel warnings, however, you should take a closer look: If the exclusion explicitly refers to travel warnings due to war events or riots, a Covid-19 disease could be covered despite the travel warning.

Also interesting

: Rebooking and canceling holidays - these are the current rules of the tour operator.

Additional corona protection with travel insurance: What is it really good for?

Some insurers have now responded to the corona pandemic and offer

travel insurance with additional corona protection

.

However, clear differences can arise here, as the Hamburg consumer advice center warns.

For example, you should pay attention to whether the provider covers a quarantine at the holiday destination, a higher price for a hotel room or an additional flight booking.

A refusal of transport by the travel provider due to a temperature measurement is also not always included in the protection.

According to the Hamburg Consumer Center, many policies are unfortunately only vaguely worded or cannot be clearly understood.

That is why the consumer advice center basically sees no need for special insurance due to the corona pandemic.

Most international health insurances would already offer good protection.

Only if certain services are excluded due to a pandemic does an additional insurance or a foreign health insurance that protects against Corona make sense

.

Lock offers from holiday countries: is free corona insurance trustworthy?

According to the Hamburg Consumer Center, the free insurance policies offered by some holiday destinations should be taken with caution.

Here vacationers are lured with the prospect that all additional costs will be covered that could arise due to a Covid-19 infection during the vacation.

However, in the opinion of the consumer advice center, travelers should not trust that such insurance will actually work.

(fk) * Merkur.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA.

Also read

: Vacation in Corona summer: How to cancel your trip - free of charge.

You should urgently avoid these mistakes in travel cancellation insurance

You should urgently avoid these mistakes in travel cancellation insurance