Australians left in limbo as travel plans disrupted by coronavirus pandemic
Millions of Australians have been forced to cancel their travel plans amid the coronavirus crisis. Here’s what you need to know about insurance, domestic travel and the chances of a bargain break later in the year.
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Millions of jetsetters have had their travel plans thrown into disarray and will be left out-of-pocket for trips they won’t be able to take.
For the first time in history, Australians were ordered by the Federal Government not to travel overseas indefinitely.
And on top of this Prime Minister Scott Morrison told Australians, “all non-essential travel abroad should be cancelled.”
For many it has meant cancelling their holidays or postponing them, which will ultimately hit many people’s hip pockets.
Airline carriers have drastically slashed flights including Qantas and Jetstar who have reduced their international routes by 90 pent and domestic trips by 60 per cent until the end of May.
Virgin Australia also suspended all international flights from March 30 through to June 14.
Laurie McPherson, 36, is among the many holiday-makers who decided to cancel her upcoming overseas trip before the ban was introduced and will be left hundreds of dollars out of pocket.
She was due to take an eight-day break to Bali next month but decided to forfeit one flight she had already booked and remains hopeful of getting back money she had already paid for accommodation.
“We thought we may as well cancel it now and get as much money back as we could,” she said. “There’s worse things that happen though.”
Ms McPherson already shelled out $1200 for the getaway and had travel insurance but she took out cover after the coronavirus outbreak was known.
This means she will not covered by her policy.
Comparetravelinsurance.com.au’s director Natalie Ball said the first thing any travellers should do is check the Government’s Smart Traveller website for up-to-date information.
“You should definitely take heed of government advice,” she said.
For those who have disrupted plans due to coronavirus and have travel insurance, she said whether they were covered or not was “very grey”. “All claims are assessed on an individual basis,” Ms Ball said.
“Some travel insurers will cover you if your plans have been affected by the coronavirus as long as you purchased a policy before it became a known event. This is, for most, before January 31, and depends on who you purchased your policy with as to whether you are covered.”
She said many insurers had a pandemic exclusion, which meant travellers would not be covered regardless of when they purchased their cover.
Flight Centre’s spokesman Haydn Long said while many people remained in limbo about upcoming trips there was an opportunity to snap up some competitive deals later in the year.
“Some suppliers are also looking to provide additional peace of mind by offering travellers greater flexibility if they book now and later choose to postpone their holidays,” he said.
TRAVEL TIPS
• Visit the smarttraveller.gov.au website.
• Do not travel overseas indefinitely.
• Australians overseas should come home ASAP.
• For existing bookings see if you can postpone and get a travel credit.
• If you have travel insurance see what you are covered for.
• All non-essential travel in Australia should be cancelled.