Policies may not cover SARS

Travellers may not be covered for medical or cancellation expenses relating to the SARS virus, an online travel insurance provider is warning customers.Getcover.com says it will not cover people for medical expenses if they contract SARS in any of the destinations on which the World Health Organisation (WHO) has issued travel warnings, unless they had taken out their policies prior to such warnings.

The WHO issued guidelines advising against unnecessary travel to Hong Kong and the southern Chinese province of Guangdong on April 2nd.

It subsequently warned against travel to Toronto, Beijing and China's Shanxi province on April 23rd.

Getcover.com has also issued a policy disclaimer on its site warning new customers that cancellation cover will not extend to trips to areas that are subject to WHO warnings which are cancelled or curtailed as a result of SARS.

This applies to policies taken out after April 2nd or April 23rd, depending on the area to which the person is travelling.

Mr Finbarr Crotty, managing director of Crotty Insurance Brokers, which runs the Getcover site, said the insurance company had received a number of inquiries on the topic and hoped to make clear for customers what was and wasn't covered.

If the booking of the insurance policy predates the SARS advice, full medical cover will apply.

If the policy was booked after the World Health Organisation announcement was published, no medical cover will be available for SARS, although the policy will still cover other conditions.

"If they have a heart attack and they happen to be in Toronto or Singapore or wherever SARS is prevalent, they would be covered," Mr Crotty said.

Meanwhile, other travel insurance providers have clarified their position on claims relating to the virus.

A Bank of Ireland spokeswoman said its travel policy, underwritten by Royal & Sun Alliance, would only cover cancelled or curtailed trips relating to SARS if Government health restrictions forbid travel to a particular destination, not if they simply advise against travel.

Bank of Ireland will cover medical expenses if customers travel against WHO advice.

AIB has revised its position on cover for SARS under its travel insurance policy.

It had originally said policyholders would be covered for medical expenses if they contract SARS, as the virus is not specifically mentioned on its list of exlusions.

But earlier this week, AIB said policyholders who knowingly enter a region where there is a SARS outbreak will not be covered if they become sick.

At the same time, if customers follow WHO advice and decide not to travel to destinations such as Beijing or Toronto, it will be deemed a "disinclination to travel" under the terms of the policy and means they will not receive any compensation for the cancellation of their trip.

An AIB spokeswoman said it was a "very grey area" and each case would be looked at individually.

American Express, which provides travel insurance on its charge cards, has placed exclusion zones around areas where the number of SARS carriers is high.

Aer Lingus's travel insurance policy, underwritten by AIG Europe, includes a clause advising that reasons for cancellation or curtailment can include being prevented from travelling to a booked destination by government restrictions following an epidemic.

A spokeswoman said this meant if either the Government or the government in the destination country issued restrictions, policyholders could claim. But Mr Crotty of Getcover.com said some insurers were drawing a "peculiar line" in what they meant by "government restrictions". He questioned whether the term applied to WHO guidelines or advice from the Department of Foreign Affairs.