What you need to know about your travel insurance during the coronavirus pandemic.
On 11 March 2020 the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the coronavirus outbreak is a global pandemic.
On 24 March 2020 the Australian Government announced a ban on overseas travel (with limited exceptions). They also advise avoiding all non-essential domestic travel. Read our claims advice.
If your travel plans have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic, you may be eligible for a refund of your premium when you cancel your policy. This depends on your situation, so check below for more information.
You’re eligible for a full refund of your premium if all these apply to you:
Once you've requested your refund, we'll process it as soon as we can (usually within 3 weeks).
The refund will be sent to the same card you used to pay your premium.
If there are any issues processing your refund, we'll contact you.
If your departure date is outside the periods listed above, you might still be eligible for a partial refund. Call us on 1300 135 640 (7:30am–6:30pm, Mon–Fri and 9:30am–2:30pm, Sat–Sun) or email redeem@covermore.com.au to learn more.
You’re eligible for a partial refund of your premium if all these apply to you:
To arrange a refund for your annual multi-trip policy, you have to call us on 1300 135 826.
If your trip’s been cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic and you don’t have new travel dates yet, you can also request a credit note.
We’ll give you credit for the full premium you’ve paid, and you can use it to pay for another travel insurance policy within two years of your original departure date.
You can get a credit note if your original departure date (shown on your Certificate of Insurance) is after 24 March 2020.
To request a credit note, call us on 1300 135 640.
If your trip has been postponed and you need to update your policy with your new departure dates, call us on 1300 135 640 (7:30am–6:30pm, Mon–Fri and 9:30am–2:30pm, Sat–Sun).
On 2 February 2020, the Australian Government issued a ‘Do Not Travel’ alert for China.
If you took out your policy on or after 2 February 2020 and are travelling to China, you might not be covered for medical expenses (and associated claims) related to the coronavirus pandemic.
No matter when your policy started, we don't cover cancellation costs if your trip was cancelled because of an epidemic, pandemic or outbreak of an infectious disease, including coronavirus (except if you have a policy with the optional extra 'Cancel for any reason', read the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) for more details).
For more information about what we can cover if you’re travelling in China, call us on 1300 135 640.
If you travel to a country that doesn’t have a ‘Do Not Travel Alert’, we could cover your overseas medical costs if you’re sick or hospitalised because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Your level of cover for overseas medical costs depends on your plan, when you took out your cover, and where you’re travelling.
Other than these overseas medical costs, we don’t cover any claims related to an epidemic, pandemic or outbreak of an infectious disease. For example, we wouldn’t cover cancellation costs if your trip is cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic (except if you have a policy with the optional extra 'Cancel for any reason', read the PDS for more details).
To check what’s covered on your plan, read the PDS.
For urgent advice, call our emergency helpline on +61 2 8907 5584.
For information about other incidents, read our claims advice.
For the latest government travel advice visit Smart Traveller.
