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It is not so much questions about the next travel destination that vacationers are concerned with.
One is happy when travel opportunities appear on the horizon at all.
Because the corona virus has the world under control.
And so a topic comes to the fore that is about as exciting as a trip on the regional train: travel insurance in times of pandemic.
In the opinion of consumer advocates, the many unanswered questions about cancellation options and insurance coverage have contributed significantly to the current reluctance to book.
Examples: Can I cancel my package tour free of charge if I or a family member get Covid-19?
Will my travel cancellation insurance cover the cancellation costs if I have to be quarantined at home shortly before departure?
Who pays if my vacation stay is extended due to quarantine?
And does the travel health insurance take effect if I have to go to the hospital because of a corona infection?
Check offers from organizers and insurance companies
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In order to offer vacationers more planning security, numerous insurers have adjusted their service catalogs over the past year.
The protection ranges from Covid-19 supplementary policies to extending the insurance conditions of existing contracts.
The requirements for a travel cancellation and also for the use of travel health and travel interruption insurance have been revised.
If you want to be sufficiently insured, you have to compare the specific offers that insurance companies and organizers jointly offer.
If the planned trip suddenly falls into the water, it is bitter.
It gets even more bitter when you have to pay them anyway
Source: Getty Images / Matteo Colombo
With some tour operators, the new corona insurance is included in the travel package free of charge.
For example, the "Covid protect" insurance from TUI and some of its subsidiaries such as Airtours and Ltur is currently a mandatory part of the holiday - so it is already automatically integrated into the booking.
This currently applies to every holiday with a departure by the end of October 2021.
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The insurance covers the outpatient or inpatient treatment costs in the event of Covid 19 illness during the vacation.
The overnight costs for a possible quarantine in the country of travel will be reimbursed as well as rebooking fees or the cost of a new flight ticket.
But: Anyone who has to cancel their trip because they are in quarantine at the time of departure is not insured - in Germany it is still a relevant point.
Because travelers can get into quarantine shortly before their vacation relatively easily through contact with an infected person.
Additional protection for travel cancellation insurance
Insurance protection in the event of quarantine if there is a suspicion of infection, both before the start of the journey and at the destination - this is offered, for example, by a corona travel cancellation and travel interruption insurance from Hanse Merkur.
According to the provider, the additional protection can be taken out as a supplement to an existing travel cancellation insurance.
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Tour operators such as Olimar offer additional Corona protection when booking travel cancellation insurance.
Regardless of illness, the Portugal specialist also insures a positive corona test in advance.
Cancellation and rebooking costs, unused travel services and possible additional costs will be reimbursed - for example, if the airline refuses to travel due to increased body temperature.
The slogan “Book worry-free summer 2021” is used for advertising.
It is important to have health insurance abroad
Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines and Swiss have agreed two insurance packages with AIG Europe.
"Travel Care" and "Travel Care Plus" can be booked on the airlines' websites, for example.
The range of services includes a compensation payment for a quarantine at the destination and travel cancellation and travel interruption insurance due to a Covid-19 disease.
The Plus version also covers treatment costs and a medical emergency repatriation.
Independent experts advise checking carefully which risks are actually covered.
The new corona insurances from the travel providers are not all-round carefree packages, says Robert Bartel from the Brandenburg Consumer Center.
They should rather be seen as a supplement to the existing insurance coverage.
Good travel health insurance abroad, for example, is important anyway.
The annual policy usually does not cost very much.
It can be problematic if the travel health insurance refuses to provide benefits if a travel warning for the destination country was already in place at the time of booking.
Tiana Preuschoff, legal advisor at the Lower Saxony Consumer Center, advises that you check your own contract accordingly.
Otherwise important: The costs for a medically meaningful return transport should be covered.
A quarantine on site and the additional costs for a longer stay as well as the compensation for unused travel services would have to cover vacationers with travel interruption insurance, according to Preuschoff.
Combination policies are often offered: travel cancellation plus termination.
When Corona significantly affects the trip
However, the Stiftung Warentest (“Finanztest” magazine, issue 1/2021) makes it clear: “From our point of view, travel cancellation insurance is not a must - not even in times of Corona.” A policy could at best be worthwhile for families with children and seniors because health issues could often come up with them.
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Consumers should then check whether the pandemic is insured, because this is not the case with all providers.
In the Corona crisis, free cancellation is in some cases also possible without cancellation insurance.
However, it can happen that package holidaymakers encounter a lack of understanding on the part of the organizers when they wish to withdraw: Because fear alone is not considered a reason for cancellation.
If, on the other hand, there is a travel warning, the vacation can be canceled free of charge, even without insurance.
And not only that: If the restrictions caused by the pandemic significantly affect a trip, free withdrawal is also possible, as travel lawyer Paul Degott explains - even without a travel warning.
"Warn against writing off Easter already"
Many people long for recovery from the Corona crisis.
In an interview with WELT, the Federal Government's Tourism Commissioner, Thomas Bareiß, comments on the chances of an Easter holiday and possible opening steps in the travel industry.
Source: WELT / Tatjana Ohm