Last Updated: March 16, 2020 at 11:00 am ET

Over the past several days we have had a number of inquiries about how the COVID-19 outbreak is affecting travel insurance coverage and assistance for Snowbird Advisor Insurance clients, as well as individuals who may have their travel insurance coverage elsewhere.

To help answer your questions about how COVID-19 has affected travel insurance coverage, we are providing the following information.

Snowbird Advisor Insurance Clients:

We are currently experiencing extremely high call volumes that may lead to longer than expected wait times. Accordingly, if you have questions about your coverage or top-up coverage requests, we kindly ask that you submit them by email using the Contact Form found at the link below:

Email Snowbird Advisor Insurance

Snowbird Advisor Insurance – COVID-19 Coverage

On Saturday, March 14, 2020, the Canadian government issued an official statement encouraging all Canadians travelling abroad to return to Canada as soon as possible. Our travel insurance partner Manulife Financial supports this position and is encouraging travel insurance clients to return to Canada as soon as possible.

In response to the statement above and other recent events related to the COVID-19 outbreak, Manulife Financial has also implemented the following policies with respect to coverage for COVID-19 related claims, which apply to all Snowbird Advisor Insurance clients.*

*Please be advised that Manulife Financial is currently advising all travel insurance clients to return to Canada as soon as possible. Manulife Financial may change the coverage policies outlined below at any time as the COVID-19 situation evolves, and we will update any changes on this page as soon as reasonably possible.

Travel Medical Coverage

As of March 16, 2020

• Where policy holders have purchased policies that include Emergency Medical benefits and they have departed on or before March 15, 2020, they will be eligible for emergency medical treatment related to contracting COVID-19 at their destination unless the Government of Canada issued a non-essential travel (Level 3) or all travel (Level 4) travel advisory for their destination prior to their departure date.
• For Emergency Medical coverage purchased on or after March 16, 2020, any Emergency Medical claims related to COVID-19 will not be payable.

Top-Up Coverage

• Where policy holders have purchased Emergency Medical Top-Up coverage on or before March 12, 2020, they will be eligible for emergency medical treatment related to contracting COVID-19 at their destination unless the Government of Canada issued a non-essential travel (Level 3) or all travel (Level 4) travel advisory for their destination prior to their departure date.
• For Emergency Medical Top-Up coverage purchased on or after March 13, 2020, any Emergency Medical claims related to COVID-19 will not be payable.

Trip Cancellation and Trip Interruption Coverage

As of March 5, 2020

On March 5, 2020, our travel insurance partner Manulife Financial has determined that COVID-19 is now considered a “known event” for Trip Cancellation and Trip Interruption policies and any claims resulting from a “known event” (i.e. an event known to the policy holder at the time they purchase their policy) will not be covered.

Practically speaking, this means the following:

Trip Cancellation Coverage

• For policies that were purchased before March 5, 2020 that include Trip Cancellation benefits, policy holders will still be eligible to submit Trip Cancellation claims related to COVID-19 under the following circumstances:
  
  The Government of Canada has issued or issues a travel advisory related to COVID-19 prior to their departure date advising against non-essential travel (Level 3) or all travel (Level 4) to their destination.
• For policies that were purchased on or after March 5, 2020 that include Trip Cancellation benefits, any Trip Cancellation claims related to COVID-19 will not be payable.
• Travel Supplier Refunds/Changes: A number of  travel suppliers have started offering refunds and/or waiving change fees for trips impacted by COVID-19. If you need to cancel your trip, please contact your travel provider to find out if you are able to cancel or get a credit for your trip and what refunds/credits are available to them. Be aware that trip cancellation insurance is only available to reimburse the non-refundable and non-transferrable portion of your trip. Note that you are required to take advantage of credits and refunds being made available by your travel providers before you are able to make an insurance claim.

Trip Interruption Coverage

• For policies that were purchased before March 5, 2020 that include Trip Interruption benefits, policy holders will still be eligible to submit Trip Interruption claims related to COVID-19 under the following circumstances:
  
  The policy holder departed before March 5, 2020 and the Government of Canada issues a travel advisory related to COVID-19 after their departure date advising against non-essential travel (Level 3) or all travel (Level 4) to their destination.
• For policies that were purchased on or after March 5, 2020 that include Trip Interruption benefits, any Trip Interruption claims related to COVID-19 will not be payable.

Travel Advisories

• You can find the latest Government of Canada Travel Advisories for COVID-19 here.

Other Insurance Providers - COVID-19 Coverage

If you have coverage with a provider other than Snowbird Advisor Insurance, we suggest you visit their website or try contacting them directly to get information about how COVID-19 may be affecting your coverage, as every travel insurance provider has their own policies with respect to how your coverage may be affected.

Service Interruptions

All travel providers (i.e. airlines, tour operators, travel agencies and travel insurance companies), including Snowbird Advisor Insurance, are currently experiencing extremely high call volumes on an unprecedented level that may lead to long wait times and/or busy signals.

Accordingly, if you have a question about your coverage, you may want to consider the following methods to get information:

• Email - Try emailing your provider with questions about your coverage and top-up insurance requests, as you will often receive a faster response by email than by phone given the high call volume level that is currently taking place
• Website - Many travel insurance providers are posting information on their websites about service interruptions and how your coverage may be affected by COVID-19.

Emergency Contact Numbers

Regardless of who your travel insurance provider is, please do not call their emergency contact number with general questions about your coverage or top-up requests.

These numbers are reserved exclusively for individuals who require emergency medical assistance and by calling the emergency contact number you may be preventing someone who requires urgent medical care from getting the assistance they need.