What to do if I get COVID-19 and I need medical attention while traveling?
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1. Get medical attention
If your overseas trip suddenly comes to a halt due to you or a traveling companion being diagnosed with Coronavirus (COVID-19), the first thing you need to do is get help from a medical practitioner or a hospital as soon as possible.
- If it's an emergency situation – either due to a case of COVID-19 or something else – contact local emergency services first, then contact our 24/7 Emergency Assistance Team as soon as possible.
- If it’s not an emergency, call our 24/7 Emergency Assistance Team for directions to an appropriate medical facility.
Travel insurance tip: depending on your Country of Residence and where you are, there may be Reciprocal Health Care Agreements in place (the 24/7 Emergency Assistance Team will let you know) but either way, take advantage of the public health system where possible, as there are exclusions for receiving private treatment when public care is available.
2. Rearrange or cancel your bookings
As soon as you know that you’ll be in hospital or quarantine due to a confirmed case of COVID-19 and you won’t be able to use any pre-booked or pre-paid accommodation, transport or tours, you must try to rearrange them, or if necessary, cancel.
Just remember, if you decide to rearrange, we’ll only pay up to the amount it would have cost you to cancel those arrangements. If you don’t rearrange or cancel straight away, we won’t cover any additional rearrangement or cancellation costs that arise as a result. But you should only cancel arrangements when it’s absolutely necessary.
For example: you must minimize your expenses by notifying your transport provider as soon as possible of any issues caused by another common carrier which may affect your connecting transport.
3. Keep your itineraries and receipts
You’ll need to keep all your receipts, along with your itineraries and booking and cancellation confirmations for any affected travel arrangements for when you claim. If you don’t do this, we may reduce or reject your claim.
To support your claim, you’ll need to get the following:
- Doctor’s (or other medical practitioner) report, confirming what happened and the nature of the illness or injury
- Hospital admission report (if you’ve been admitted to hospital)
- Ambulance and police reports (if you’ve been involved)
- Any other relevant documentation related to what happened.
4. Ensure you have the right level of COVID-19-related coverage for your travel needs
As part of World Nomads insurance coverage, we offer cover for some Coronavirus-related events on our Standard and Explorer plans. When selecting a plan, please take the time to read your policy wording as there are limits on your coverage depending on your Country of Residence and on which plan you have purchased.
World Nomads can offer benefits for medical issues related to Coronavirus. If you are diagnosed with COVID-19 while overseas and it’s not considered an ‘existing medical condition’ under our policy, your benefits may include:
- 24/7 access to our Emergency Assistance Team, who can help you access local medical care.
- Medical costs including hospitalisation.
- Evacuation or repatriation if deemed medically necessary by us and in consultation with your attending physician.
Depending on your Country of Residence you could have access to Coronavirus Travel Costs (Explorer Plan only) for certain events such as cancellation or trip interruption and if:
- You’re unable to stay at your pre-booked accommodation due to it being closed for cleaning following a confirmed case of coronavirus. We will pay for your reasonable travel and accommodation nearby. You must provide written confirmation of the closure from the provider.
- During your trip you are denied boarding on your scheduled public transport due to you being suspected of being infected with coronavirus. We will pay for your reasonable additional travel, meals, and accommodation. You must provide written confirmation from the carrier or relevant authority.
You can check out our Coronavirus cover article which has all the details, including benefit limits and exclusions.
5. Need to know more?
All travel insurance plans are different, and cover will vary, depending on what's happened, your Country of Residence, the plan you choose and any options or upgrades you buy. Your policy will always have the full details.
If you have questions about what's covered and not covered, just ask us.
Don’t forget to read the policy wording when you hit the quote button as all plans are different – don’t just assume you’re covered in every situation, as conditions or exclusions may apply.
A broken leg in Thailand
You’re in safe hands with World Nomads
Check out our True Claims video below to get a behind-the-scenes glimpse of how we help travelers. Our suggestions should help you when things go wrong and you want to make a claim
This is only a summary of coverage and does not include the full terms, conditions, limitations and exclusions of the policy. You should read your policy wording in full so you understand what is and isn’t covered. That way there won’t be any surprises if you need to use it. If you have any questions, get in touch.
Travel Insurance Benefits: how we can take care of you*
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Whether you need medical assistance or emergency evacuation, our teams are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year before and during your trip.
Are you in need of emergency assistance right now?
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Before your trip, check the latest government advice for any travel alerts for your destination.