Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Travel insurance firms are first to offer cover for red, amber and green list countries

Policies cover travel against Foreign Office advice

Helen Coffey
Friday 21 May 2021 12:04 EDT
Comments
Travellers to amber-list Valencia would be insured
Travellers to amber-list Valencia would be insured (Getty Images)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Three travel insurers have become the first in the UK to offer policies covering red, amber and green list countries.

CoverForYou, Cedar Tree and Outbacker have all launched policies that aren’t impacted by the current ambiguity of the government’s traffic light system for international travel.

The policies even cover travel against Foreign Office (FCDO) advice; the FCDO has a blanket advisory against non-essential international travel, with only a slim number of countries and islands exempt from this at present.

The expansion of cover has been added automatically to all policies, both new and existing, at no additional cost to customers.

Policy prices start from £8 for single-trip cover for a long weekend.

The extent to which travellers are covered depends on the specific FCDO advice for their destination and their reason for travel.

The only instance in which policy holders aren’t covered at all is if the FCDO advises against all travel to their destination.

If the FCDO advises against all but essential travel, and the customer’s travel is deemed essential – for example, for work or education – they are fully covered.

Whereas if their travel is non-essential, such as a holiday, cover is provided, but excludes any claim arising, either directly or indirectly, from the reason the FCDO advises against travelling there. In most cases, this means coronavirus-related claims would be excluded.

It follows a week in which government ministers advised Brits not to go to amber countries on holiday, despite the international leisure travel ban being lifted in England on 17 May.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in