Destination being added to red list after you get there - any insurance for this??

[CaledonianSleeper]

Hi, does anyone know of any insurance products that will cover the costs of your destination being added to the UK red list - so the costs of a hasty early return, and the costs of quarantine if you cannot get back in time?
I’m coming up blank when I read the T&Cs of “Covid enhanced” travel products so I’m wondering if there’s something specific for this.
We (and I’m sure many others) are in a catch-22 where we booked when things looked very safe, destination is still green (so no reason we can’t go or make a claim now for cancellation) but god only knows what might happen after we get there when research on the omicron variant is finished.

Watching as have been thinking exactly the same thing.

I cant find any & tbh am thinking they dont exist as too risky for the insurance company, Ie they are quite likely to have to pay out & the costs would likely be thousands!

I can’t give you a definitive answer, but having worked in insurance I would be surprised if this existed. It’s just not a great risk for anyone to underwrite.

Lots of people stuck in SA have been stung by this. They thought they were covered for quarantine hotel, but they aren't!

Thanks everyone, glad to know I’m not missing something and there isn’t an obvious product that covers this. But it’s certainly a travel dilemma!

I don't think there is any. My staysure insurance covers if I get covid or have to isolate, but specifically excludes cancellations due to country wide lockdowns.

OP I asked someone I know who actually sets the rules for this sort of insurance in the UK. And they say no, this is not available at all. It’s too large and uncertain a risk as an aggregate for any insurer to be prepared to write it. Sorry!

Barclays does cover this as part of their travel insurance but you must have a bank account with them.

@ferretface Thanks, we actually have travel insurance via a Barclays account but I’ve gone through the T&Cs and there’s nothing about this sort of cover. Can you give me any more information about why you think it’s covered..?

Worried about the same thing. We stupidly booked when all travel restrictions were lifted and are now worried the country could end up on the red list whilst we are away. There's also the added worry of the country suddenly not letting our under 18s in as they've only had 1 jab and are therefore deemed to be unvaccinated. We can't travel without them.

I'm also interested in this. I still have a holiday booked & moved twice from March 2020.

@ferretface

Barclays does cover this as part of their travel insurance but you must have a bank account with them.

Hi, could you send a link for this please? I have Barclays and was told it’s not covered

www.barclays.co.uk/help/insurance/travel/coronavirus/

Am I covered if I have to come home early, because the country I am in changes or will change from the green list to the amber, red or green watchlist while I’m on my trip?
As long as there’s no FCDO advice against travel in place when you leave the UK, you’ll be covered to come home early if FCDO advice comes into place while you’re on your trip.

If there’s no FCDO advice against travel in place, but you want to return home early anyway, please contact us to see if we can consider your claim.

If the country I’m in goes into red unexpectedly during my stay, will you cover costs for hotel quarantine when I return to the UK?
As long as the country wasn’t on the red list, on the watchlist to move to the red list, and there was no FCDO advice in place when you left the UK, we’ll cover your hotel quarantine costs when you return.

This is specifically in relation to quarantine hotel cover. That said I don't know whether the UK gov currently advises against travel to red countries and this would be the deciding factor as to whether the insurance protection kicks in to allow an early return from a red country.

www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/south-africa

Looks like it does. So if you had been travelling in SA prior to the redlisting, Barclays insurance would have covered additional costs to return to the UK or the costs of the quarantine hotel.

Which? did a comparison of travel insurance products for covid cover and I think this Barclays product was one of only two policies which were deemed comprehensive.

@ferretface that’s really useful, thank you for the link!

Wow! My expert is completely amazed to see that being covered by anyone. Worth checking the FCO advice very carefully he suggests.

Indeed, I don't know what it means to be "no advice in place" in a strict sense because there is advice in relation to absolutely all countries that things can change quickly, even if it's not advice to avoid all but essential travel. I think this is about the best insurance you can get though and I would have thought it difficult for them to avoid paying out if you'd gone to a destination that currently looks ok (no watchlist) and then it suddenly goes red. Maybe they figure that it's worth the risk in order to have people signing up to personal bank accounts with them?!

@WorkingItOutAsIGo

Wow! My expert is completely amazed to see that being covered by anyone. Worth checking the FCO advice very carefully he suggests.

I think you need a new expert. A quick Google will tell you that most insurance companies now offer cover for quarantine in the UK

We have Barclays - and it's underwritten by Aviva. I have triple checked and we are covered.
I want to cancel the trip as I'm petrified of a red list addition and us having to quarantine in a hotel room (4 of us)
DH thinks I'm being melodramatic.
We can see his family another time but he's got it in his head that we have to go even with all these extra tests.
I just could not cope with the ramifications and I think he's not thinking straight.
It's a tough call - hope you are able to get away x

To note - I don't think Barclays cover for a hasty return - they only seem to cover the hotel cost of a UK quarantine.

I can’t get my head around this at all. If we cancel the holiday (from 2020) we lose thousands, to move it again we have to pay thousands (already have topped up once), if we go and it becomes red list we’ll have to pay £11k+ for hotel for 5 of us. I’m so stressed. Whatever we do we’re paying insane amounts of money. I wish we’d cancelled in 2020 when we could have with no penalty but we decided we wanted to support the travel company so said we’d postpone and are not penalised for that decision.

@Autumndays123 thanks for this - but could you post some links please? I looked but couldn’t find any so if you could point us in the right direction that would be great.

@notanaturalmum

To note - I don't think Barclays cover for a hasty return - they only seem to cover the hotel cost of a UK quarantine.

Hi *@notanaturalmum* I think they do, if you look at the link PP supplied it says: “Am I covered if I have to come home early, because the country I am in changes or will change from the green list to the amber, red or green watchlist while I’m on my trip? As long as there’s no FCDO advice against travel in place when you leave the UK, you’ll be covered to come home early if FCDO advice comes into place while you’re on your trip. If there’s no FCDO advice against travel in place, but you want to return home early anyway, please contact us to see if we can consider your claim.”

Staysure had an option for a price. Whether it's worth it will depend on destination. We booked through TUI for this very reason but luckily was last month so unaffected