Tourists, beware: Foreign visitors’ travel health insurance might exclude pandemics

It was evident that the fever, nausea and loss of appetite Vlastimil Gajdoš felt on his wedding day was not a mere case of cold feet. Gajdoš, 65, fell ill in Honolulu in March after arriving with his bride-to-be from the Czech Republic. He and Sylva Di Sandro, 58, intended to marry and honeymoon on the island. While they did tie the knot, they also engaged in serious battle with the novel coronavirus.

He was in the hospital for two weeks, some of it in intensive care, on a ventilator. Like many visitors to the U.S., who are aware that health care prices here can be higher than back home, Gajdoš purchased a travel insurance plan that covered up to $300,000 in medical expenses.

After Gajdoš was diagnosed with COVID-19 and his wife called to check whether his care would be covered, the newlyweds discovered a catch: The insurer said it wouldn’t pay upfront. It would consider reimbursing the couple only after Gajdoš was released from the hospital.

“I was really afraid that they (doctors) would not give him any assistance if they were not sure that this would not be covered,” said Di Sandro, who had only a mild case and was not hospitalized.

The coronavirus pandemic has wreaked havoc on the travel industry — including insurance companies.

Many plans offer health care coverage in case a person needs medical attention during a trip. But policies vary tremendously by company — containing limits on payouts, copayments and circumstances, such as whether they cover an evacuation.

Most travel insurance plans contain exclusions for known or “foreseen events,” said Kasara Barto, a spokesperson for Squaremouth, an online service that allows travelers to compare insurance options.

In some situations, a traveler can anticipate the risk of visiting a destination. A regular insurance policy might not cover a mountaineering accident while climbing Everest, for example.

Also common is the pandemic exclusion, in which the insurer will not pay for a traveler’s medical expenses if they are related to an outbreak such as the coronavirus.

To make matters worse, some policies don’t specifically name a pandemic as a circumstance that is covered or excluded — and how they count the start and end of a pandemic period.

The World Health Organization declared the spread of the coronavirus a worldwide outbreak on March 11. Travelers who purchased plans after that date should take extra care to make sure they have medical coverage for COVID-19, said Christopher Mosley, a lawyer who specializes in insurance litigation at the law firm Sherman Howard.

However, that cutoff date might be earlier in some policies. Some insurers considered COVID-19 a risk in certain areas as early as January, Mosley added.

The risk is perhaps highest for foreigners visiting the U.S., which has the highest health care costs in the developed world. Many of the national health systems in European countries will treat foreigners at no charge or for much lower rates.

Foreign embassies are stepping in to help their citizens in the U.S. decipher insurance policies. In a notice, the Slovenian Embassy in Washington, D.C., specifically mentioned the high cost of health care when advising citizens traveling in the U.S. to check whether their insurance covers pandemics. Officials at the Spanish Embassy also said insurance is an issue that has come up in conversations with its citizens here.

The Czech Republic intervened in Gajdoš’ case and at least one other time recently on behalf of citizens with health insurance problems, said Zdenek Beranek, the deputy head of mission for the Czech Embassy in Washington, D.C.

Given the chaos of the pandemic, some insurers are choosing to stop selling travel insurance policies altogether . But others, such as Allianz, are expanding benefits to include care for COVID-19. The company announced it will accept some trip cancellation and medical claims related to the virus that aren’t typically covered in their plans, according to a press release.

“This is kind of uncharted territory for every insurance company that’s in this market,” said Don Van Scyoc, vice president of individual sales at the travel insurer GeoBlue.