Swine Flu and Travel Insurance Cover

A quarter of all calls to AA Travel Insurance are related to swine flu, with travellers concerned about whether they are covered if they contract swine flu while they are away. But despite fears about the pandemic, the AA advises concerned holidaymakers to approach their vacation in the same way as normal.

Although some countries are screening visitors and some airlines are reported to be refusing travellers with flu-like symptoms to board planes, travel insurers are treating swine flu as they would with any other medical condition.

The simple assumption is that holidaymakers who feel too ill to travel must seek treatment. Those who do go on to develop swine flu and are stopped from boarding a plane or are quarantined on arrival at their destination, are covered by travel insurance, providing the policy wasn’t taken out after the illness manifested itself. 
In both cases the illness must be diagnosed by a doctor or the national NHS helpline to be able to claim.  If a traveller is prevented from flying and they don’t have the disease, they should claim compensation from the airline.

Holidaymakers who feel poorly on the day of travel or have difficulty visiting a doctor to confirm their illness should be able to contact their insurance company’s 24-hour helpline for advice. A diagnosis from the national NHS Swine Flu helpline would be recognised.

"Case by case, we are treating swine flu the same way we would any severe illness while on holiday. An insurer has to work on the basis that a family will not jeopardise the health of a severely-ill member by embarking on a major trip, nor will they intentionally go abroad to spend a week in the unfamiliar surroundings of a foreign hospital or quarantine accommodation," says Christian Young, director of AA Travel Insurance.

"If a traveller is beginning to feel under the weather, as often happens, we would think it natural that they may continue to travel in the hope that their discomfort is temporary. If an airline says they can’t board or an airport picks up serious illness on a scanner, whether or not holidaymakers continue to travel is outside their control and is covered by their insurance."

Find out more about Swine Flu and Travel Insurance at: www.latesttraveldeals.co.uk/travel/swineflutravelinsurance

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