Coronavirus, Travel & Business Interruption Insurance: Are You Covered?

The outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19) in Wuhan, China, in December 2019 has continued to develop with documented cases now reported all around the globe. Cities around the world have been sent into lock-down to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 which has now been deemed by the World Health Organisation as a pandemic.

The World Health Organisation works worldwide to promote health, keep the world safe, and serve the vulnerable. A pandemic is declared when a sudden emergence and rapid worldwide spread of a new infectious disease poses as a significant risk.

How does Travel and Business Interruption Insurance most likely respond to claims relating to a Pandemic.

Travel Insurance:

Many travel insurance policies have a specific exclusion for ‘pandemics’ and claims arising from ’known events’, which means that cover may not be available for cancellation, medical and/or emergency evacuation.

What you should do before you travel:

• Review your Policy Disclosure Statement and discuss with your insurer or broker whether what cover is available before you travel.
• Refer to the smartraveller.gov.au website. It is important that you read and understand the advice level for the country you are planning to travel to. These advice levels reflect the risk associated with the country, which affects your safety and travel insurance.

• • If government issues a ‘do not travel’ advice as a result of a pandemic, travel insurance may cover a traveller for trip cancellation costs, depending on when the policy was purchased and what general exclusions the policy contains relating to claims for pandemic or epidemic.
  • If an Australian who is already travelling falls ill as a result of a pandemic, their travel insurance may cover medical treatment overseas and medical evacuation to Australia if covered by their policy.
  • Many travel insurance policies do explicitly exclude any claims related to pandemics. Once a traveller returns to Australia, or if symptoms only present on home soil, the traveller is covered by Medicare.

Business Interruption Insurance:

Business interruption insurance policies typically cover loss of income during catastrophic events or disasters. However, most policies will exclude cover once declared by the government that the disease is a pandemic or communicable disease.

If your business is exposed to the impact of the Corona Virus, you should:

• Review your Policy Disclosure Statement and discuss with your insurer or broker whether there is any cover in place.

Government Economic Response to the Coronavirus

The Australian Government has announced an economic response totalling $17.6 billion across the forward estimates to protect the economy by maintaining confidence, supporting investment and keeping people in jobs.

Additional household income and business support will flow through to strengthen the wider economy.

The Government’s economic response targets four key areas:

• Delivering support for business investment
• Cash flow assistance for employers
• Stimulus payments to households to support growth
• Assistance for severely affected regions

For further information, please click the link above and download the fact sheets that may be relevant to you.

Keeping Up to Date

Businesses should keep up to date with the latest COVID-19 information and advice to ensure that any action taken is measured and appropriate. This includes closely monitoring the Australian Government Department of Health, the Smartraveller website and any advice from state or territory government agencies.

Contact Us

For further queries about Business and Corporate Travel Insurance, contact us online or call one of our friendly staff on 1300 739 861.