Travelling to High-Risk Areas for Epidemics: Will Travel Insurance Cover COVID-19?

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The COVID-19 pandemic continues, and global travel has almost come to a standstill. Many of you may not have travelled for a long time. However, if there are important reasons such as visiting elderly family members or carrying out critical work that necessitate travel to high-risk areas with severe outbreaks, which travel insurance plans cover the novel coronavirus (COVID-19)? 10Life compares travel insurance options for you.

Some Medical Insurance Still Covers COVID-19 Medical Expenses

Travel insurance includes various coverage items such as accidents, medical expenses, trip delays, trip cancellations, and loss of belongings. Regarding COVID-19, people are particularly concerned about trip cancellation and medical coverage. First, regarding trip cancellation, due to the unpredictable nature of the pandemic and the risk of resurgence, currently, only a very small number of travel insurance plans offer this coverage. For instance, AXA Hong Kong and Macau's "Signature" Smart Traveller and HSBC Life's TravelSurance provide coverage for trip cancellations due to reasons such as the insured being subject to mandatory quarantine imposed by the Hong Kong government, or the insured (or their family members/travel companions) contracting COVID-19 in Hong Kong.

Extended Reading: 【Insurance Decoded】Travel Insurance "Closure" Notices for the Novel Coronavirus

Another key area is medical coverage. If you contract COVID-19 while abroad and require treatment, the risk cannot be overlooked due to varying medical costs and the severity of outbreaks in different travel destinations. The chart shows that many travel insurance plans still cover medical expenses related to COVID-19. Consumers should pay attention to the country or region they are travelling to and choose an appropriate plan. For example, if travelling to places like the US or UK, a higher-tier plan may be necessary.

10Life has obtained the policy terms of relevant products from insurance company websites and interpreted them to provide the above information. However, whether a claim is approved ultimately depends on the insurance company's final decision. Recently, the Insurance Complaints Bureau announced that in the first three quarters of this year, it received 45 complaints related to travel insurance and COVID-19 (see Note 1). Therefore, before purchasing insurance, it is advisable to check with the insurance company whether the COVID-19 coverage (if any) meets your needs.

Returning to Hong Kong from High-Risk Areas: Ensure Documentation is in Order

When travelling to high-risk areas, it is essential to purchase insurance before departure and prepare the required documents before returning to Hong Kong to ensure a smooth boarding process. Due to the evolving global situation with the COVID-19 pandemic, the Hong Kong government periodically updates the list of high-risk countries. As of the time of writing, countries such as the UK, France, and the US are classified as high-risk areas. If flying to Hong Kong from a high-risk area, you must prepare a nucleic acid test report for COVID-19 issued by a qualified laboratory or medical institution with a negative result, as well as a confirmation of a hotel booking in Hong Kong (for a minimum stay of 14 days) to board the flight (see Note 2). However, there are still many details to consider. A friend of the author, who recently returned from the US, witnessed other passengers on the same flight being denied boarding by the airline despite having a nucleic acid test report. Therefore, please note the following points:

The nucleic acid test must be conducted within 72 hours before the scheduled departure time of the flight.

The laboratory or medical institution must be ISO 15189 accredited or recognised or approved by the local national authority.

The report must be in Chinese or English.

What constitutes a nationally recognised laboratory or medical institution? You will need to enquire with the local health department at your travel destination. After finally boarding the flight and arriving in Hong Kong, you will undergo another nucleic acid test at the airport. Depending on the arrival time of your flight, you may need to wait at the airport or be transferred to a government quarantine centre hotel to await the results. If the test result is negative, you can proceed to your booked hotel to begin a 14-day quarantine period.

If you have any questions about travel insurance, readers are welcome to consult the licensed advisors on the 10Life website.

Notes:

Reference: SCMP dated 7 Nov 2020 “Is Covid-19 an outbreak or natural disaster? Hong Kong insurers tussle with policyholders over claims”

Reference: Hong Kong SAR Government’s Fight Against the Epidemic Together website 《Specified Conditions for Persons Who Have Visited High-Risk Areas》

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

Our team of professional content researchers focussing on insurance

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10Life Editorial Team

Our team of professional content researchers focussing on insurance

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Travelling to high-risk areas for pandemics: Will travel insurance cover COVID-19?

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