After two long years, the day is finally here when VTL flights are in full force and borders have finally fully reopened. It’s all peaches and cream with the easing up of travel restrictions but it’s important to bear in mind – Covid-19 has not gone with the wind. Before you renew your passport, pack your luggages and hop on the first flight out, remember to purchase your travel insurance with Covid-19 coverage.
You might’ve left it on the backburner in the past but crossing the borders without travel insurance that includes Covid-19 coverage is not a bet you want to make. Take it from seasoned globetrotting Singaporean couple, and Moneysmart customers, Adrian Chew Bang Yu and Chia Kim Hui, who are better known as Pang & Kim to their burgeoning following online. The pair took a leap of faith when they quit their corporate jobs last year to travel full-time for nearly six months.
Their brush with Covid-19 began like the fantasy of every wanderlust starved travel junkie at the leg of their journey to the picturesque Istanbul, no less. As their trip to the cultural mecca concluded, the pair was all set to fly to the next leg of their adventure – Phuket.
However, Pang & Kim were thrown a curveball when Kim tested positive for Covid-19 prior to their scheduled flight to Phuket. Testing Covid-19 positive in a foreign country is the stuff of travel nightmares, which unfortunately came true for Kim.
Covid-19 Travel Insurance Costs $300 per pax
The couple was presented with two options for Kim’s recovery. The first, be transferred to a hotel where she would self-isolate or the second, be hospitalised. The choice was obvious. Being under medical care not only meant a faster recovery time, with the benefits of their Covid-19 travel insurance, hospital bills were also not a cause for concern.
Despite testing negative for Covid-19, Pang, too, was given a bed at the hospital to quarantine with Kim for the next three nights. The ordeal drew to an end when Kim subsequently tested negative. The pair were then discharged and cleared to fly out of Turkey.
The couple’s decision to purchase the Hong Leong Assurance Travel Protect360 Enhanced annual insurance plan through us prior to embarking on their extended travel no doubt ironed out the kinks in the road.
Covid-19 Travel Insurance Claims
Here’s a quick run-through of the Covid-19 coverage offered by the HL Assurance Travel Protect360 Enhanced plan purchased by Pang & Kim:
| Premium with COVID-19 coverage | Medical expenses due to COVID-19 coverage | Overseas hospital cash due to COVID-19 | Trip Cancellation | |
| HL Assurance Travel Protect360 Enhanced Insurance | S$600.60 for 2 pax* | S$50,000 | S$100 per night | S$1,000 |
*the cost of the premium reflected is accurate as of time of purchase by Pang & Kim
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Total Premium
S$837
- Med. Coverage (Overseas)
- S$250,000
- Trip Cancellation
- S$7,000
- Loss/Damage of Baggage
- S$5,000
- Total Premium
- S$837
At the end of their hospital stay, Kim’s total hospital bill of S$1,215 was entirely claimable. Plus, she had the added benefit of S$300 in total for hospital allowance. This worked out to be more than enough to cover Pang’s stay, which totalled S$150. As Pang was unaffected, his hospital accommodation was not claimable.
Either way, if you ask us, it’s quite the deal given that the meals were also included.
Although the couple had to foot the hospital bill upfront, the claims process was seamlessly done online regardless whichever part of the world they were in. Ah, what would we do without the internet and insurance!
Covid-19 Claim vs Natural Disaster Claim
Incidentally, the pair’s flight to Phuket had been postponed due to a snowstorm in Istanbul. The silver lining to the natural disaster was that the pair’s flight was rescheduled by the airlines at no extra cost.
However, in another reality where there hadn’t been a snowstorm in Istanbul and Kim had tested positive for Covid-19 and hopitalised, their travel insurance policy would have covered a S$1,000 each in travel curtailment.
On top of that, all prior paid for activities would also be claimable under the same travel curtailment clause. S$1,000 might not seem like a lot of money but it beats having to foot the entire bill from the rescheduling of flights and travel plans you didn’t get to in time.
In the past, travel insurance was an optional thing, but now, no matter how long or short your trip, travel insurance is a necessity. You never know when you might be struck with Covid-19, but you best be prepared for it!
Travelling soon? Gear up with the best travel insurance with Covid-19 coverage here.