【Insurance Decoded】Travel Insurance "Closure" Notice for Novel Coronavirus <a href="https://10life.com/en/products">Travel Insurance Products</a>

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The outbreak of the novel coronavirus has led many consumers to adjust or cancel their travel plans. In January this year, the Chinese government first confirmed the spread of the novel coronavirus within the country. Subsequently, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the situation a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. The outbreak then affected multiple countries, including South Korea, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States. On 11 March, the WHO defined Covid-19 as a "global pandemic". The Hong Kong government also issued a red travel alert for all overseas destinations, advising residents to avoid non-essential travel, highlighting the severity of the situation. In fact, many insurance companies have issued notices stating that the novel coronavirus is considered a "known event", and travel insurance policies purchased thereafter will offer reduced coverage. 10Life has analysed several travel insurance notices to identify which insurers have imposed the strictest restrictions, and consumers should take note!

If the Destination is Unaffected, Some Companies Still Cover Trip Cancellations Due to Covid-19

When insurance companies issue a "cut-off" notice, they typically specify from which point the novel coronavirus is deemed a "known event", which we refer to as the cut-off time. Policies purchased before the cut-off time will be subject to the original terms of the travel insurance, with the insurer fulfilling the relevant coverage. However, for policies purchased after the cut-off time, coverage for consumers will be limited due to amendments to the terms as per the notice.

Regarding Covid-19, many people naturally think of trip cancellation coverage. In most cases, travel insurance only covers trip cancellations for specified reasons. Some companies originally provided coverage for cancellations due to infectious diseases, and their notices have specifically targeted amendments to this clause. Additionally, consumers should pay attention to the timing of purchasing insurance and the travel destination. The impact of Covid-19 varies across the world and can generally be categorised into regions such as Hubei in China, other parts of China, areas with confirmed cases, and areas with no confirmed cases.

From the chart above, many insurance companies had already excluded coverage for trip cancellations due to Covid-19 for travel to Hubei and other parts of China as early as late January or early February. Some insurers (such as AIA, AIG, Starr, and Zurich) have even extended this "exclusion" clause to regions with no confirmed cases. Currently, for travel to regions with no confirmed cases, only FWD's trip cancellation coverage remains effective, and it will be handled based on WHO monitoring reports.

Although Many Travel Insurance Policies Cover Trip Cancellations Due to Travel Alerts, Coverage is Restricted by "Cut-off" Notices

Regarding the red travel alert issued by the Hong Kong SAR government, many travel insurance policies do cover trip cancellations caused by travel alerts. However, compared to a black travel alert, the compensation limit for a red travel alert is lower, possibly covering only half of the loss. Nevertheless, since this red travel alert is related to Covid-19, it may have become an excluded item under the "cut-off" notices issued by some insurance companies.

Moreover, even though many travel insurance policies originally covered "trip cancellations" caused by "infectious diseases", the definition of "infectious disease" varies among insurers. Most companies define it as "human-to-human transmission and widespread within the local population" (see note 1). However, Blue Cross's Smart Travel policy defines "infectious disease" as any type of infectious disease for which the WHO has issued a "Pandemic Alert", meaning a disease that is widely spread globally (see note 2), which is a very stringent definition. Given the recent WHO declaration of a "global pandemic", Blue Cross provides coverage for "trip cancellations" due to infectious diseases, with a cut-off date of 12 March 2020, which is later than other companies. For further details, policyholders are advised to contact the insurance company directly.

Medical Coverage of Some Travel Insurance Products Remains Unaffected

In fact, travel insurance includes various types of coverage beyond trip cancellations, such as medical coverage. If medical expenses are incurred during travel due to Covid-19, will travel insurance provide coverage? As the pandemic continues to worsen globally, many insurance companies have been updating their notices, imposing restrictions on medical expenses related to Covid-19. However, the cut-off time for these restrictions varies depending on the region and the time of purchase. As of the publication date (25 March), travel insurance policies from Blue Cross, FWD, and Zurich still cover medical expenses incurred overseas due to Covid-19.

As the pandemic is now classified as a "global pandemic", everyone should strive to stay at home and help prevent further spread of the virus. However, if overseas travel is unavoidable, remember to review the notices issued by insurance companies regarding Covid-19 before purchasing travel insurance, as these notices may be updated at any time. Generally, insurance companies post such notices in prominent positions on their websites, within the travel insurance product pages, to ensure consumers are aware of the updated terms before purchasing. However, we have also noticed that the placement of notices by some companies is not prominent, making it easy for policyholders to overlook them. We hope that insurance companies can improve in this area to ensure important information is effectively communicated to consumers.

If you have any questions about travel insurance, you can ask anonymously on the 10Life website or App under "Ask a Question", and receive prompt responses from multiple licensed advisors.

Notes:

AIA Smart Travel, BOCG Insurance Global Select Travel Protection Plan, and Zurich "Easy Travel" Insurance Plan define "infectious disease" as declared by the WHO as "human-to-human transmission and widespread within the local population".
Reference from the World Health Organization, What is a pandemic?

This English version of this article has been generated by machine translation powered by AI. It is provided solely for reference purposes. In the event of any discrepancy or inconsistency between this translation and the original Chinese version, the Chinese version shall prevail.

Last updated: 14 Apr 2026

10Life Editorial Team

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10Life Editorial Team

Our team of professional content researchers focussing on insurance

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