Why do the Smartest travelers buy Covid travel insurance in 2022?
In this article we explain why Vietnam and which countries require travel insurance, the top reasons for travel disruption and the cheapest new Covid travel plans…
Here are the top reasons why travelers say they now buy travel insurance
Would you buy an umbrella… if the weather forecasts daily rain next month?
- COMPULSORY travel insurance imposed by many countries you travel to or transit, you will need to the airline company or transit immigration when boarding the plane. Here is the Map list by IATA Intl Airlines travel, and the rules are changing by the days
- CANCELLATIONS due to lockdown or Covid: tested positive, someone in the plane, airplane empty, delayed hotel booking
- CORONAvirus is looming: any suspicious cases means: quarantine, covid treatment, hospitalization or ICU Intensive Care Unit care. The cost range from à few hundred dollars for test and monitoring to $10,000 or more for 2 weeks in equipped International standard hospital
- NO COVID HOSPITALS in countries like Vietnam, only capital cities have international hospitals you can access; if you have the money to pay $1,500-$3,000/night to access Covid care units. NB. There are usually no more than 15 such beds.
- TRAVEL DISRUPTIONS: in 2020-2021 the insurance industry stopped selling travel insurance or excluded any ‘Covid-related claims refund’ as they saw every single trip with lockdown, delays, loss of luggage, transit cancellation flights, staff missing… you name it.
Why are developing countries in Asia requesting travel insurance?
Being infected by COVID-19 means at least 1 week treatment+ negative testing, sometimes it becomes a 15-21 days hospitalization at the minimum. For respiratory intensive care, the minimum cost is 1000$/night in Vietnam to 3000$/night costs at international american hospitals like in Bali for example. In countries like Phnom Penh, Laos or remote Borneo as there are no such hospitals, you may be evacuated by medical assistance plane to Thailand or Singapore. This explains the limits of $20,000+ adopted by most countries, just in case. Call it superfluous, too cautious or just fear to lose face; if you don’t have this money by insurers you may end up in a local hospital with no suitable treatment. Asia countries tourism authorities do not want this kind of BAD REPUTATION ADVERTISING especially when they push for medical tourism to attract patients.
This Covid Map by IATA International Airlines and Travel Association prompts what airline boarding desks can read on their screen in each country you board or transit. To be followed for any trips.
What are the best and cheapest Covid travel insurance?
Common mistakes in buying travel insurance
Let’s start killing some myth still seen on Facebook post-Covid with some fact:
- Credit cards and traditional insurers, because of the high risk for claims, have decided to ‘exclude any Covid19-related claims’
- If you think you are covered you will need a written confirmation ‘COI/IC= Certificate of Insurance’ mentioning your name, cover for Covid treatment costs up to a limit at least superior to the Countries of transit, travel or work request by immigration authorities (see Map above)
Which Covid travel insurance product is right for you
Here are Travel Visitors for work Expatriation or Tourism, will need a travel insurance to cover the costs of Covid with a minimum limit of $25K, 50, 80 or $100,000. In effect, it is a medical insurance that is requested because a Covid ICU hospitalization is a minimum of 20 days including the recovery time and the 2 PCR negative tests
- Vietnam Travel pass by Luma Health Thailand
- Thailand Travel pass by Luma Health Vietnam
- ASEAN Travel pass -for serious travelers in multiple ASEAN countries-
- Rest-of-the-World travel pass -for any duration, anywhere- by ACS Globe partners
- ACS Globe travelers is For Expatriates visiting their home country.
Over 6-month, most travel insurers consider you are not traveling but resident, this is the reason why travel cover is cheaper than resident medical insurance -in case of expensive treatment costs the travel insurer can terminate your policy and repatriate you to your home country as you are ‘unable to continue travel trip healthily’-. For this reason Expat resident workers you will need a Expat private medical insurance as you stay over 183-days.
P.S If you think you are covered, get a confirmation in writing that your travel insurer does cover you as a resident.
Beware bad advice from social media groups
NB. to Facebook groups travelers and members have 3 main problems giving advice:
- They give good old pre-Covid advice because they have been in the country so many times, as if Covid never existed for the immigration, country health authorities and the travel insurers
- They tend to consider their 1-time experience at health declaration or visa immigration controls as the general practice if not the current law… regardless of the laws and country official restrictions
- They are outdated as Covid19 announcements change with the variants and government reactions to the pandemic evolution in the country or each region/city
Conclusion on smart travel insurance in times of Covid
With increased risk for travelers, it makes perfect sense purchasing travel insurance protection to avoid losing your hard earned savings during a holiday trip.
With Covid19 omni-present threat on health and travel disruptions, it has never been a better time to make a smart decision purchasing travel insurance for a few dozen US dollars being protected for hundred thousands of dollars, thus traveling with peace of mind that any problem during your trip will not eat into your hard earn savings, indebted you for a few years or worse affect your long-term health due to improper treatment in a poor developing country local hospital.
