Coronavirus: Unprecedented Jump in sales of travel Insurance

After the fast spread of Coronavirus outbreak across the world, the insurance companies are facing unprecedented demand for insurance policies.

The three major areas where rise in insurance demand experienced are: travel insurance, business insurance, and life insurance. Out of these three, call for travel insurance is more prominent. While not all travel insurance policies will cover cancellations, companies offering "cancel for any reason" plans are seeing a spike in new customers.

Moreover, the claims for Travel insurance are also remarkably went up. As flights and trips got cancelled in the wake of the disease, Insurance companies also expected more claims. Meanwhile, companies whose operations get interrupted and events get cancelled will turn to insurance to absorb the financial blow. As multiple countries grapple with the novel coronavirus infection, individuals and organisations are scrutinising their insurance policies to see if they are covering the losses caused by the epidemic. On the ground, several insurers have also launched efforts to support the fight against the infection.

Some third-party insurance companies offer a higher level of coverage that will let you cancel a trip for any reason also compel many travelers to raise demand for compensation. Some Insurance experts, who do not want to be quoted, say such policies are in high demand lately -- with a 60 percent jump in sales since coronavirus started making headlines.

But in many cases, airlines, cruise lines, hotels, and even travel insurance providers are not ready give insurance coverage for rescheduling or canceling trips. After coronavirus outbreak, many travelers who've run into trouble rescheduling or canceling Asia trips over coronavirus fears. A lot of travel websites and airlines advertise travel protection. Sometimes, you can't even finalize a booking, unless you say "Yes" or "No" to travel insurance. For example, one travel booking website we checked suggested travelers "...join 2,483 smart customers who chose trip protection in the last 24 hours." Not everyone believes travel insurance is so savvy. Many travel insurance experts urges caution before making a purchase.

Most of the policies sold by airlines and most travel booking sites don't cover you for pandemics, epidemics, and lots of other things you'd expect them to cover you for: earthquakes; terrorist acts; wars; hurricanes. So travel insurance complaints are also equally rising as customers started to approach court after feeling cheated by insurance companies.

A report by the Financial Times said that while experts agree that many insurance policies may pay out, quite a few policies also have deliberate exclusions for epidemics and pandemics. The experts added that it is too early to say how much the virus outbreak will cost the insurance industry.

Source: Pen News

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