Coronavirus (COVID-19) Advisory and FAQs

Last updated March 30, 2023

Travel Updates: Our plans provide coverage if you, a family member, or a traveling companion become ill with COVID-19 and plan requirements are met. See Coverages

Generali Global Assistance is closely monitoring COVID-19 and its potential impact on our travelers. This notice is intended to help you better understand your travel insurance plan coverages or potential purchases of the Standard, Preferred and Premium plans available on this website. While we will be updating this page regularly, we also encourage you to consult the World Health Organization (WHO) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) websites for the most up-to-date information.

Message from Our CEO

To Our Customers:

First, I sincerely hope that this note finds you and your loved ones safe and healthy during this very difficult period.

As the COVID-19 outbreak continues to rapidly evolve, Generali Global Assistance wants to make sure that we keep you informed and that all of our customers receive all assistance and benefits from us to which they may be entitled. Also, we want to inform you of steps we are taking to accommodate our customers who are understandably choosing to postpone their trips until more is known about the spread and impact of COVID-19.

Although our Global teams are experiencing unprecedented assistance and call volumes, we are 100% committed to fulfilling all of our contractual commitments and providing assistance and medical aid in this unprecedented time of need.

With one call, we can provide live help with almost any issue while traveling. Our plans provide many broad-ranging non-insurance services to assist you—from changing travel plans and pre-trip services, to the urgent coordination of emergency medical transportation and medical care to you, our customers and families in need.

We are also happy to assist and encourage you to work closely with your travel suppliers to ensure that you are receiving all benefits and accommodations to which you are entitled.

Again, assisting our travelers with virtually any problem in their time of need is and always has been our number one mission and priority. We will continue to keep you informed of developments and options for travelers as this current crisis evolves.

Sincerely,

Chris Carnicelli

*All benefits are subject to plan purchase, claim documentation submitted and plan provisions.

See our Coronavirus/COVID-19 position statement for more coverage details

Coronavirus & Travel Insurance Frequently Asked Questions

If you have questions that aren't addressed below, check for an answer at our Main FAQ page or see our COVID-19 Travel Insurance Guide.

Buying a Plan

If I buy a travel insurance plan now, how can it help if COVID-19 affects my trip?

If you, a family member or a traveling companion are diagnosed with COVID-19 before or during your trip, and meet the requirements for coverage due to sickness, you can be covered for Trip Cancellation, Trip Interruption, Travel Delay, Medical & Dental, and Emergency Assistance & Transportation, in addition to our 24/7 Emergency Assistance services. You can also be covered for additional lodging expenses and extension of your travel insurance plan if you are required to isolate at your destination and your return is delayed.

See our COVID-19 Travel Insurance Guide for more details

For your safety and the safety of others, travelers who believe they may have contracted the virus should call our 24/7 Emergency Assistance team who will coordinate local treatment on your behalf.

Read Plan Documents for coverage details.

Can I insure a trip purchased with a travel credit or voucher?

Yes. If you received a voucher or credit from a travel company based on previous payment for a booking that is being transferred to a new trip, the new trip can be covered by one of our travel protection plans.

Learn more

What's Covered

I have a trip planned to an affected area. Will I be able to cancel my trip and be reimbursed?

You can be reimbursed for unused, non-refundable, pre-paid trip costs if you need to cancel your trip for one of 20 covered reasons. Generali Global Assistance plans do not offer coverage if you cancel your trip due to fear of traveling due to Coronavirus, unless you added Trip Cancellation for Any Reason coverage to your plan. In that case, you could be reimbursed a specified percentage of the penalty amount for your trip, if you meet certain requirements.

In response to COVID-19 many cruise lines, airlines, and other travel suppliers are canceling service and refunding trips or waiving change fees. To ensure you are aware of all your travel change options, we encourage you to check with your airline or travel supplier before filing a travel insurance claim. See our list of the most commonly used suppliers with links to their COVID-19 policies.

Please read your Plan Documents for coverage details.

If I bought Trip Cancellation for Any Reason coverage, can I cancel for COVID-19?

Yes. If you purchased Trip Cancellation for Any Reason coverage it is your choice whether to travel or cancel your trip according to the terms of the plan. The naming of COVID-19 as a pandemic does not affect your coverage.

Please read your Plan Documents for coverage details.

How can travel insurance help if I am traveling to a part of the world with heightened risk?

If you are planning to travel to an affected area, your travel insurance plan can help if you get sick during your trip and need to seek treatment or medical evacuation. In addition, our plans include access to worldwide Emergency Assistance services, which are available 24/7 should you need help while traveling. Emergency Assistance and Transportation, Medical and Dental, Trip Interruption and Travel Delay coverages can also help if you get sick on your trip.

Please read your Plan Documents for coverage details.

If I am quarantined due to the Coronavirus, how can travel insurance help?

Please note that a “shelter in place” order is not considered a mandatory “quarantine” and is not a covered event under our plans.

If you are diagnosed with Coronavirus or another sickness and are quarantined, you can be covered. Learn more.

If you are quarantined, but not sick, coverage depends on when you bought your plan and when the loss occurred. Coverage is unavailable if the insurance plan was purchased on or after January 29, 2020. For plans that exclude pandemics, coverage is unavailable for losses that occurred on or after March 11, 2020, the date COVID-19 was formally declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization.

If I test positive for COVID-19 more than a week before I’m supposed to go on my trip, can I be covered for Trip Cancellation?

Yes, coverage may be provided if you receive a positive test result from a testing facility or a positive test result from an at-home test that meets certain requirements and the diagnosis or sickness prevents you from traveling. You must take your test while your Trip Cancellation coverage is in effect. Trip Cancellation coverage goes into effect at 12:01 a.m. the day after you purchase your plan.

Do I have to have symptoms and see a doctor to qualify for COVID-19 sickness coverage?

We will accept a positive test result from a testing facility or a positive test result from an at-home test that meets certain requirements. You do not need to have COVID-19 symptoms to qualify for coverage.

If I am diagnosed with COVID-19, how can travel insurance help?

If you, a family member or a traveling companion are diagnosed with COVID-19 before or during your trip, and meet the requirements for coverage due to sickness, you can be covered for Trip Cancellation, Trip Interruption, Travel Delay, Medical & Dental, and Emergency Assistance & Transportation, in addition to our 24-Hour Emergency Assistance services. You can also be covered for additional lodging expenses and extension of your travel insurance plan if you are required to isolate at your destination and your return is delayed.

For your safety and the safety of others, travelers who believe they may have contracted the virus should call our 24/7 Emergency Assistance team who will coordinate local treatment on your behalf.

Please read your Plan Documents for coverage details.

What are the requirements for coverage due to sickness?

In order to qualify for coverage due to sickness, including COVID-19:

You, a Traveling Companion or your Service Animal get Sick after you purchase your plan, must seek the in person treatment of a Physician and can’t travel according to a physician. Or a non-traveling Family Member is hospitalized after you purchase your plan and you are unable to make the trip.

Important Note: Your or your traveling companion’s sickness must first occur after you purchase your plan in order to have coverage. Pre-existing medical conditions are generally excluded from coverage. However, coverage is available with the Premium plan if you purchased your plan prior to or within 24 hours of making Final Payment for your trip, provided other requirements are also met. Review Plan Documents for full details.

Also see: Do I have to have symptoms and see a doctor to qualify for COVID-19 sickness coverage?

If my trip is delayed past the original return date, does my travel insurance coverage extend as well?

Yes. All travel insurance coverages will be extended if your entire trip is covered by the plan and your return is delayed by unavoidable circumstances beyond your control. If coverage is extended, coverage will end either on the date you reach your originally scheduled return destination or seven days after your scheduled return date, whichever comes first.

If a travel companion tests positive for COVID-19 and can’t travel, will I qualify for Trip Cancellation coverage?

Yes, for plans that include Trip Cancellation coverage, coverage may be provided if a travel companion or family member is diagnosed with COVID-19.

If someone in my travel party tests positive, but I test negative, can I qualify for coverage to isolate at my destination past my scheduled check-out date?

Yes, Travel Delay coverage may be provided up to the maximum benefit limit if your traveling companion is diagnosed with COVID-19 and you have to pay for additional lodging at your destination.

Testing and Vaccination

What if I test positive at my destination? Will insurance cover additional lodging?

If you are diagnosed with COVID-19 or another sickness, you can be covered for certain additional unexpected expenses on your trip, such as lodging.

I tested positive with an at-home test. Do I qualify for COVID-19 sickness coverage?

To qualify for COVID-19 sickness coverage, your at-home test must meet certain requirements:

You must take your test while your Trip Cancellation coverage is in effect. Trip Cancellation coverage goes into effect at 12:01 a.m. the day after you purchase your plan.
The test must be a viral test and have Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). You can view a list of approved nucleic acid amplification tests (NAAT) and a list of approved antigen tests.
The testing must include a telehealth video call during which someone authorized by the manufacturer supervises the testing procedure in real time.
The telehealth provider must issue a report confirming the patient’s identity, the name of the laboratory or healthcare entity, the type of test and the specimen collection date.

See what tests qualify

Will insurance cover my test costs?

Travel insurance will not cover the cost of COVID-19 tests before your trip. However, travel insurance may cover the cost of COVID-19 testing during your trip if you get sick and are required by a physician to take a COVID-19 test for diagnostic purposes.

What if vaccination for Coronavirus is a requirement to travel? How might travel insurance help in that case?

Our plans include “new vaccination requirements” as a covered reason for trip cancellation. If your destination country announces and publishes a new vaccination requirement after you buy travel insurance, and you are medically unable to receive the vaccination, you can be reimbursed for your insured trip cost. This applies when vaccination is a requirement to enter the country, but not in the case of new quarantine rules for unvaccinated travelers.

If you are traveling with a child that is too young to receive the vaccination for COVID-19, pursuant to CDC guidelines, that would typically qualify as being medically unable to receive the vaccination.

Some airlines and other travel suppliers are enacting new COVID testing requirements in order to use their services. Are the new requirements a valid reason to cancel my trip and will I be covered by travel insurance?

It depends. If your Coronavirus test comes up positive and you are diagnosed before your trip, you can be covered for Trip Cancellation.

On the other hand, if you cancel your trip because you simply don’t want to go through the testing required, our plans will not cover you unless you purchased Cancel for Any Reason add-on coverage and meet the CFAR requirements.

What if I can’t get tested in time to take my trip? Is this covered under travel delay?

No. If you do not get tested or do not receive the results in time, our plans do not provide coverage for those situations.

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