COVID-19 is an insured event
Vienna/Hamburg, 22 July 2020. The Year of Corona 2020 also presents holidaymakers with unprecedented challenges. In order to ease this tense situation, HanseMerkur Travel Insurance Austria relaxed its regulations and waived the general pandemic exclusion for travel bookings in the event of COVID-19 illness retroactively from 1 June 2020 until further notice, or until revocation. This applies to existing annual insurance policies and new bookings of single-premium and annual insurance policies from 1 June for the following insured events in the lines of business:
Cancellation and travel curtailment
If the insured person or a close relative falls ill with COVID-19 before departure.
If the insured person is already en route and an elevated temperature is measured at the departure or destination airport, a doctor must be consulted immediately afterwards at the airport to discuss everything further and obtain a medical certificate.
If the trip has to be interrupted due to a COVID 19 illness, HanseMerkur will reimburse the unused travel services and – depending on the tariff selected – also the costs of an early return trip.
Fear of infection, mere suspicion of infection or quarantine after contact with persons tested positive on the basis of mere suspicion of infection are not insured.
Travel health insurance
If the insured person falls ill with COVID-19 during the trip, HanseMerkur will cover all medical treatment costs including a COVID test carried out on the basis of clear symptoms.
The insurance does not cover the costs of a quarantine, costs incurred in the event of a negative test result based purely on the presumption of COVID, costs for a COVID test to comply with entry requirements and costs if travel warning level 5 or 6 already existed prior to departure.
Travel warnings obligate us to act
If the travel warning level is upgraded to 5 (partial) or 6 (entire country) during the trip in the holiday country or in the region of the holiday country, the insured person is obliged to return home as soon as possible. If he is unable to travel home through no fault of his own, HanseMerkur will extend the insurance cover for a further month for a corresponding premium surcharge.
"By adapting our policy conditions to the current pandemic situation, we hope to take a big step towards meeting the needs of both the travel industry and holidaymakers," says Fuad Izmirlija, Country Manager of HanseMerkur Travel Insurance Austria. "Basically, I advise all travellers to pay close attention to the information provided by the Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs bmeia.gv.at regarding COVID-19."
About HanseMerkur
With an annual turnover of € 2,288.4 million (2019), HanseMerkur is the only independent insurance group in Hamburg's financial centre. The roots of this 145-year-old personal insurer lie in health insurance, which is still the company's main line of business today. HanseMerkur is also a specialist in private supplementary protection for people with statutory health insurance and is one of the largest German providers in this segment with around 1.2 million supplementary policyholders. Furthermore, with premium income of € 223 million (2019) in the Travel and Leisure business segment, HanseMerkur is one of the market leaders in the tourism insurance industry. Further information at www.hansemerkur.de