On this page,you will find all historic Coronavirus updates. To see the latest Coronavirus updates and all current information, please visit our Travel Alerts Page.
On 18 March 2020, the Australian Government issued its highest travel warning (Level 4 - 'Do Not Travel') advising Australians not to travel overseas to any country in the world.
The Level 4 warning is in response to the global coronavirus pandemic:
" We now advise all Australians: do not travel overseas at this time. This is our highest advice level (level 4 of 4).
If you are already overseas and wish to return to Australia, we recommend you do so as soon as possible by commercial means.
Regardless of your destination, age or health, our advice is do not travel at this time."
Emergency Contacts
It is always our priority to assist our customers when they need help. If you are overseas and have contracted the Coronavirus or have developed symptoms, please contact our 24/7 Emergency Assistance team on listed on this page.
Our 24/7 Emergency Assistance provider are receiving a high number of enquiries from people who are not in an emergency medical situation. We will all get through this situation by working together and prioritising people who are sick, injured and vulnerable. Please do not call this line if you are not in a medical emergency.
Policy coverage position
Our policies contain an exclusion relating to an epidemic or pandemic.
Therefore, regardless of when you purchased your policy and the destination to which you are travelling:
Why is there a general exclusion for pandemics and epidemics?
We understand that this is a difficult and stressful time for our customers. It is extremely difficult to assess and predict the scope and severity of wide-reaching catastrophic global events like pandemics, epidemics, or the outbreak of war. We do continue to assess all claims on a case-by-case basis, even with the general exclusion in place.
Can I still make a claim if you have an exclusion in your policy?
If you suffer a loss, you are still entitled to lodge a claim. Please do this through our online claims process. Every claim is assessed individually on a case-by-case basis by our claims team, and we will consider the policy wording and personal circumstances. Before and during the claims process, you can ask our claims team questions regarding your claim if you are unsure of what documents you need to provide. If, after your claim has been assessed, you are unhappy with the outcome, you can make a complaint, and will reconsider your claim in accordance with our Complaints Policy.
Your duty to mitigate costs
Your policy requires you to mitigate your costs. If your travel has been affected, we recommend you contact your travel agent, airline and accommodation provider as soon as possible if you would like to amend your travel plans. Some airlines, accommodation and tour providers have announced they are offering refunds and rescheduling.
Some airlines have announced they are offering refunds, and some are even offering to waive cancellation fees. Some hotel providers have issued statements that they will offer free cancellations on all bookings in countries affected by the coronavirus.
Further Info: Coronavirus Information Hub
We've created a comprehensive Coronavirus Information Hub which contains our official statement, answers commonly asked questions, and provides tips on how you can recover costs. You can find the guide here.
In order to help customers who have questions about Coronavirus, please read our latest update below.
The government issued a statement on Friday 13th March stating that all Australian should “reconsider their needs to travel” unless travel is necessary. The Prime Minister stated the following:
“Only essential travel should be considered if you are going overseas from this point forward, and we would encourage Australians to heed that advice.”
Should you choose to travel, the policy exclusion regarding epidemics/pandemics means that no matter when you purchased your policy, you are unlikely to be covered for cancelling your trip to any destination. This applies to all countries, even those that DFAT has not raised a travel-warning about.
Policy coverage position
Our policies contain exclusions relating to an epidemic or pandemic and also known events in the mass media.
Therefore, regardless of when you purchased your policy and the destination:
Why is there a general exclusion for pandemics and epidemics?
We understand that this is a difficult and stressful time for our customers. It is extremely difficult to assess and predict the scope and severity of wide-reaching catastrophic global events like pandemics, epidemics, or the outbreak of war. We do continue to assess all claims on a case-by-case basis, even with the general exclusion in place.
Can I still make a claim if you have an exclusion in your policy?
If you suffer a loss, you are still entitled to lodge a claim. Please do this through our online claims process. Every claim is assessed individually on a case-by-case basis by our Claims Team, and will consider the policy wording and personal circumstances. During the claims process, you can ask your Claim Manager questions regarding your claim if you are unsure of what documents you need. If, after your claim has been assessed, you are unhappy with the outcome, you can make a complaint, and will reconsider your claim in accordance to our Complaints Policy.
Your duty to mitigate costs
When submitting a claim, you must do everything you can to minimise and reduce the cost of your claim and provide all supporting documentation of the event and expenses incurred. If your travel has been affected, we recommend you contact your airline and accommodation provider as soon as possible if you would like to amend your travel plans.
Some airlines have announced they are offering refunds, and some are even offering to waive cancellation fees. Some hotel providers have issued statements that they will offer free cancellations on all bookings in countries affected by the coronavirus.
Emergency response assistance
It is always our priority to assist our customers when they need help. If you are overseas and have contracted the Coronavirus or have developed symptoms, please contact our 24/7 Emergency Assistance team details can be found here https://www.1cover.com.au/contact/
In order to help customers who have questions about Coronavirus, please read our latest update below.
Policy coverage position
Our policies contain exclusions relating to an epidemic or pandemic and also known events in the mass media.
Therefore, regardless of when you purchased your policy and the destination:
Emergency response assistance
Government Advice
Your duty to mitigate costs
When submitting a claim, you must do everything you can to minimise and reduce the cost of your claim and provide all supporting documentation of the event and expenses incurred. If your travel has been affected, we recommend you contact your airline and accommodation provider as soon as possible if you would like to amend your travel plans.
Some airlines have announced they are offering refunds, and some are even offering to waive cancellation fees. Some hotel providers have issued statements that they will offer free cancellations on all bookings in countries affected by the coronavirus.
It is always our priority to assist our customers when they need help. If you are overseas and have contracted the Coronavirus or have developed symptoms, please contact our 24/7 Emergency Assistance team on +61 2 8776 3010.
The novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) has been widely reported in the media and continues to make headlines around the world.
The Australian Government (DFAT) raised its travel advice level to 'Do Not Travel' to all of China on 2 February 2020.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) declared it a global health emergency on 31 January 2020.
All of our policies contain exclusions relating to an epidemic or pandemic and also known events in the mass media. Therefore, regardless of when you purchased your policy, it is unlikely that any claim (to anywhere in the world) will be covered if it relates to the coronavirus. However, we will assess each claim based on its individual facts and circumstances and policy terms and conditions.
Your policy requires you to mitigate your costs. If your travel has been affected, we recommend you contact your airline and accommodation provider as soon as possible if you would like to amend your travel plans in and out of China.
Some airlines have announced they are offering refunds for travel to and from mainland China, and some are even offering to waive cancellation fees. Some hotel providers have issued statements that they will offer free cancellations on all bookings in Wuhan or in greater China.
To see the latest Coronavirus updates and all current information, please visit our Travel Alerts Page.
The Australian Government (DFAT) raised its travel advice level to 'Do Not Travel' to all of Hubei Province, China on 25 January 2020.
The novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) has been widely reported in the media and by authorities such as the World Health Organisation (WHO), and continues to make headlines around the world. The situation of the outbreak, which originated in Wuhan, China, has rapidly escalated. There are now more than 4,500 reported cases in mainland China.
Travel restrictions have been heightened and wearing masks in public is now mandatory in some cities. The outbreak of the virus comes during the Lunar New Year celebration resulting in an expected increase in travel disruptions.
For any policies that may offer cover for risks associated with contagious disease, there is unlikely to be any cover for claims arising from any event related to coronavirus (2019-nCoV) for travel to and/or from China on policies purchased after: 10:00am AEDT on Saturday, 25 January 2020.
Policies purchased before the time above may also be subject to exclusions relating to an epidemic or pandemic. Please read your policy wording for the full policy terms, conditions, limitations and exclusions.
We recommend you contact your airline and accomodation provider as soon as possible if you would like to amend your travel plans in and out of China. Some airlines have announced they are offering refunds for travel to and from mainland China, and some are even offering to waive cancellation fees.
Some hotel providers have issues statements that they will offer free cancellations on all bookings in Wuhan or in greater China.
Chinese authorities have identified an outbreak of a new type of Coronavirus, in Wuhan City in Hubei Province, China.
We are aware of concerns regarding travel to China and destinations with known cases of the Coronavirus. We are continuing to monitor this issue in association with the relevant travel, government and health bodies. Chinese officials have reviewed this health concern and travel outbound from Wuhan has been restricted.
We advise all customers who are travelling to, or are already in the affected areas, to take care and please do not hesitate to contact our emergency assistance if you need help.
We also urge all travellers to remain up-to-date with the latest travel advice for China from Smartraveller.
If you already have travel booked and you are concerned about whether you should travel to China, we recommend that you contact your airline, hotel and tour providers regarding the best option in altering your trip. There is no provision to claim under your policy for change of mind or fear of travel. Some travel service providers may provide penalty-free options to amend travel arrangements.
If you were planning on travelling to Wuhan, you must have purchased a policy before 11:59PM (ASDT), 22 January in order to be covered. If you entered into a policy after 11:59PM on the 22 January 2020, we would expect that this was done with an awareness of this event, the upgraded travel warning for Wuhan and the applied travel restrictions. Limits, conditions and exclusions apply under your policy and for full details you should refer to the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) and Certificate of Insurance you received when you purchased your travel insurance.
To see the latest Coronavirus updates and all current information, please visit our Travel Alerts Page.
From Overseas:
(+) 61 2 8776 3010
Within Australia:
1300 884 508
1Cover ® is a registered trademark of 1Cover Pty Ltd. 1Cover Pty Ltd ABN 91 105 954 265, is an authorised representative of Coffre-Fort Pty Limited ABN 66 125 358 518, AFS Licence No. 472457. Before you buy, please read the Product Disclosure Statement and Target Market Determination. Any information contained on this website is general advice only and has been prepared without taking into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. You should consider these having regard to the Product Disclosure Statement (‘PDS’). Before you purchase, please note in particular, the eligibility criteria, travel warnings in place and limitations to claim under multiple policy sections.
This insurance is underwritten by HDI Global Specialty SE – Australia.
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