Does any travel insurance cover the stay in a Covid hotel including food?

[waynenjanice]

We were stuck in a Covid Hotel in Venice for 25 days after one of us tested positive on the next to last day of a Uniworld trip.  We were pushed into a special taxi and were sent to a hotel used for covid positive people in Venice.  Uniworld communication was nil, we had no idea about who was paying for what, and the English doc in the room we couldn't leave was greatly uninformative.  We ended up having to pay for the hotel and pay for the food we had to order since we could not leave the room.  Since we both had 2 shots we had a mild case of the virus so we did not have to go to a hospital.  We had to wait 10 days for the first re-test and by then the other one had it.  It wasn't until day 25 that both of us had negative tests in our hands.  Our insurance paid nothing towards the hotel stay nor the food - is there one that will if this happens again?  [Note: we were able to order tissues, thermometer, a fan since the room AC was not operational, and other items from amazon.IT  It may have been literally a life save.] 

[Babr]

You did not say what kind of insurance you had. Almost any comprehensive travel policy with travel delay/ trip interruption would have paid up to the policy limits for your quarantine expenses. Some companies, like Allianz may exclude or require an endorsement for COVID, but there are many other choices these days.

 

Before you travel again, contact a professional like the people at Trip Insurance Store and let them help you find a policy that meets your needs.

[Jersey42]

@waynenjanice  Are you referring to the problems you had with the Chase card you mentioned before?

Did Chase give you a reason for denial?  I and others would like to know why Chase rejected your claim.  Two possibilities I can see on a quick glance are:

1. Your disinclination to travel, a country closing its borders, or a Travel Supplier cancelling or changing travel arrangements due to an epidemic or pandemic
2. Quarantine of You or Your Traveling Companion imposed by a Physician or by a competent governmental authority having jurisdiction, due to health reasons

From your description, it looks like number 1 should not apply even though your hotel stay was caused by a pandemic.  Number 2 might apply if you can not show you met the definition of "quarantined". And was it "imposed by a Physician or by a competent governmental authority having jurisdiction, due to health reasons". If so, do you have documentation to prove it?

 

One thing I have learned from reading these boards is whenever you have an incident, get plenty of records so you can provide adequate documentation when trying to file a claim.  This applies to any kind of insurance. The only significant travel insurance claim I have ever filed (not with Chase) was paid promptly.  But, I provided plenty of organized documentation to support the claim.

-----------------------------

By the way, here is a further definition of Quarantine from the Guide to Benefits – You or Your Traveling Companion is forced into medical isolation by a recognized government authority, their authorized deputies, or medical examiners due to You or Your Traveling Companion either having, or being suspected of having, a contagious disease, infection, or contamination.

Edited January 29, 2022 by Jersey42
typo

[ljones]

"If you test positive for COVID-19 while you are traveling, your travel plan’s medical benefits will apply only if they specifically cover COVID-19 costs. Most travel insurers are now treating COVID-19 like any other unforeseen sickness, but it is important to read the “COVID-19 FAQs” information next to each plan that you find on TravelInsurance.com, in order to understand the coverage related to this pandemic." 

 

As I recall from my travel insurance - it specifically did not cover "Pandemics" (this was in reading BEFORE Covid).

[GeezerCouple]

2 hours ago, Babr said:

You did not say what kind of insurance you had. Almost any comprehensive travel policy with travel delay/ trip interruption would have paid up to the policy limits for your quarantine expenses. Some companies, like Allianz may exclude or require an endorsement for COVID, but there are many other choices these days.

 

Before you travel again, contact a professional like the people at Trip Insurance Store and let them help you find a policy that meets your needs.

 

We definitely also recommend getting travel insurance through a broker; the one we've used is also 

www.TripInsuranceStore.com - which we learned about here on CC just before our first major trip back in 2013.  Steve, the owner, really helped us by answering all sorts of questions, and by asking us questions as well so he could do his best to get us the policy that was best for our particular needs.  (His associates are also terrific.)

 

They obviously can't customize a policy to add some sort of coverage one might want but isn't included, but what they CAN do is help get the policy that has the best match.  Additionally, they can make it clear if some concern you have would *not* be covered, so at least one isn't blind-sided... or one can handle that other cost risk some other way.

 

They'll also help with claims, which ordinarily hasn't been needed.  But in some sort of complicated situation they are there.  We've had several claims (all with Travel Insured, all paid without any hassles), and for most, we just submitted the claim ourselves, with all necessary documentation.  In a couple of cases, including the very first insured trip we took (and thank goodness we had it!) and also a case where I was hospitalized overseas and our travel plans were really disrupted in the middle of a trip, we did ask for some help.  In the second case, we managed to be able to continue with the last part of our trip, fortunately. Steve helped us figure out how to handle the situation so that the changes we needed to make, while I was sick and then afterwards, were covered.  When we got home and submitted the claim/documents, everything was indeed covered.

 

I can't emphasize enough that you MUST keep receipts.  For obvious reasons, the insurers want to make sure they whatever claims they pay are for covered costs.

But we really, really are starting to miss our travel, and those cruises we had planned.  😞

 

GC