Insurance basics
Coronavirus travel update (July 2020)
Our July 2020 round-up of the coronavirus travel rules at the time: quarantine-free destinations, travel insurance, refunds and falling ill abroad.
This article was first published in 2020 and is kept for reference. Rules may have changed since.
Coronavirus stopped many people travelling abroad in 2020, and plenty had to cancel or rearrange their holiday plans.
With lockdown measures being lifted in many countries, foreign travel was becoming possible again and people were looking to make the most of what was left of the summer. Some were even looking at winter breaks.
Air travel was slowly returning to normal and airlines were keen to win customers back. The Foreign Office lifted its advice against all non-essential travel for countries where the risk of infection was no longer judged to be high, and quarantine rules were relaxed for some travellers returning to the UK.
The virus had not gone away, though, and there were still rules and guidelines to follow when travelling overseas. Here is what we knew at the time, and the advice from the UK government.
Which countries could I travel to without quarantining afterwards?
The UK government allowed travel to a list of overseas destinations, which meant travellers would not have to self-isolate for 14 days when they came back. These destinations were judged to pose a lower coronavirus risk, and included most of Europe as well as New Zealand and Japan.
If you were returning to the UK (except Scotland), you could travel to the following destinations without having to quarantine:
Akrotiri and Dhekelia, Andorra, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Australia, Austria, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belgium, Bermuda, Bonaire, St Eustatius and Saba, British Antarctic Territory, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, the Channel Islands, Croatia, Curaçao, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominica, Falkland Islands, Faroe Islands, Fiji, Finland, France, French Polynesia, Gibraltar, Germany, Greece, Greenland, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, the Isle of Man, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macao (Macau), Malta, Mauritius, Monaco, Montserrat, the Netherlands, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Norway, Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands, Poland, Reunion, San Marino, Seychelles, Slovakia, South Korea, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, Spain, St Barthélemy, St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Pierre and Miquelon, Switzerland, Taiwan, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Turks and Caicos Islands, Vatican City State, Vietnam.
Travellers returning to Scotland had to follow different rules and were still required to quarantine for 14 days.
Correct as of 22 July 2020.
Which destinations meant quarantining when I got back?
Some popular holiday destinations were not on the list, and if you travelled there you had to quarantine for 14 days on your return. These included the United States, Canada, Sweden, Portugal and Russia.
Most countries in South America, Africa, the Middle East and Asia were also off limits unless travel was essential.
The government was updating the list often and adding or removing countries at short notice. Slovakia, for example, was added on 21 July 2020, so it was worth checking the latest news regularly.
Would my travel insurance cover me if I caught coronavirus?
Most travel policies cover you if you fall ill or are injured while abroad, but at the time not all of them covered coronavirus-related illness. Some policies were being sold that covered emergency treatment or repatriation if you caught the virus while away, but not if you had caught it in the UK before you left.
It was important to check with your insurer exactly what was covered before you travelled. Many policies were not valid for travel to countries outside the exempt list.
The Foreign Office advised against cruise holidays, because they were likely to visit several higher-risk countries, which meant travel insurance would not be valid. For countries where travel was allowed, cover varied from policy to policy, so it was worth checking with your insurer first.
It was very unlikely that a policy bought at that point would cover coronavirus-related delays or cancellations. Those who had bought or renewed their insurance before March 2020 might still have been able to claim for cancellations, so it was worth checking the policy.
Travel companies were also unlikely to give a refund, or let you rearrange, if you developed symptoms or were told to self-isolate before you left. If you were affected by the virus while abroad, you could make a claim on your travel insurance, subject to its terms.
Could I get a refund for cancelled plans?
Refunds were available for cancelled flights and package holidays, but there were delays because of the backlog. Travel companies and airlines were dealing with a very large number of requests, so refunds were taking longer than usual.
Many airlines offered vouchers for future flights instead of refunds, but you could still choose a full refund if you didn't want the voucher.
With airlines under financial pressure, there was a risk that an airline could go out of business, which could make its vouchers worthless. That was worth weighing up before accepting one.
If you chose to rebook your flight for a later date and then didn't fly, you would no longer be entitled to a refund, and your travel insurance would not cover it because the flight had not been cancelled.
If you had booked hotels or car hire, it was worth reading the terms on disruption cover, as it might pay out for lost costs.
What if I caught coronavirus while abroad?
If you had been in contact with coronavirus while abroad, the advice was to follow local public health guidance where available and speak to your healthcare provider or travel insurer as soon as possible.
The symptoms to look out for were:
- a new, continuous cough
- a high temperature
- a loss of, or change in, your normal sense of taste or smell
If you developed any of these symptoms, the advice was to:
- stay indoors and avoid contact with other people
- call your healthcare provider or travel insurer to discuss what to do
- follow local public health guidance where available
If you became unwell in an airport, or a train or bus station, before or after a long journey, the advice was to get medical help straight away and not to start or carry on with your journey. Once you had recovered, you could check with your healthcare provider whether you were fit to travel. You might also have had to self-isolate for 14 days when you arrived back in the UK.
For current advice on travelling abroad, see gov.uk foreign travel advice. Kompare doesn't currently offer quotes for travel insurance.