UPDATE: Outbreak of Coronavirus Worldwide – How Does It Affect You?
Updated 10:15 AEDT, 19th March 2020.
On 18 March 2020, Prime Minister Scott Morrison updated the travel advice for Australians to level four (Do Not Travel) for the entire world.
If you haven’t yet started your trip, you may be covered for the Cancellation Costs under our policies^ sold before 4pm on 31 January 2020 (AEDT).
When making a claim, we remind you it is a policy condition that you take reasonable steps to avoid or reduce any loss. For this reason, we suggest that all travellers contact your airlines, tour operators, travel agents, transport providers, or accommodation providers to seek refunds (or credits, if refunds are not possible). Subject to this, any outstanding out-of-pocket expenses may be submitted for consideration of payment. Please note that there may be some delays with airlines and hotels and other providers as they are experiencing high volumes of claims and enquiries at this time. If there is no necessity for you to cancel your trip at this time please consider waiting as the travel advice could change, allowing you to continue your travel as originally planned.
If you purchased your policy after 4pm on 31 January 2020 (AEDT), please note there is no cover available on any of our travel insurance policies^ if your claim relates to COVID-19. After this time, we consider COVID-19 to be a known incident. The travel insurance policy^ does not provide cover for any claims relating to an incident which you were aware of at the time you took out the insurance and which could reasonably be expected to lead to a claim. You should seek refunds from the relevant travel providers.
Our teams are working non-stop to serve all our customers and to review each customer’s situation as soon as possible. We are all affected by this unique situation, so we ask for your cooperation at this difficult time.
We strongly encourage you to gather all the information regarding your claim including evidence of all costs refunded and credited to you (if any) before lodging your claim by emailing assistance@tickinsurance.com.au.
Please note that while the level 4 alert is in place for the whole world, your Policy will now not cover you if your claim results from any overseas travel, including if you decide to remain overseas.
For those overseas who wish to return to Australia, the Australian government recommends you do so as soon as possible by commercial means.
Whether or not you intend to return at this time, we urge you to stay abreast of the government updates via www.smartraveller.gov.au/.
We appreciate your patience and cooperation during this unimaginable situation.
You will appreciate that the situation continuous to evolve and we encourage you to stay up to date with both our website and all relevant government advisory bodies.
This update is for information and assistance and does not alter the terms of your Policy.
Regards
The Tick Insurance Team