Virgin Atlantic has introduced free COVID-19 insurance cover on all new and existing bookings for customers travelling from 24 August 2020 up until 31 March 2021.
The airline will cover emergency medical and associated expenses up to £500,000 per customer, which Virgin says is the most comprehensive COVID-19 cover provided by an airline to date.
The policy will also cover expenses up to £3,000 if a passenger is denied boarding or required to quarantine on their trip due to actual or suspected COVID-19.
The insurance, fulfilled by Allianz Assistance, applies automatically to all flights booked with Virgin Atlantic, even if the flight is operated by a partner or joint venture carrier such as Delta or Air France KLM.
Juha Jarvinen, Chief Commercial Officer at Virgin Atlantic said: “Our priority is always the health and safety of our people and customers and this industry-leading Virgin Atlantic COVID-19 Cover ensures customers can continue to fly safe and fly well with us.
“Following our return to the skies to much-loved destinations like Barbados, we’re planning more services in the autumn, as travel restrictions continue to ease, including London Heathrow to Montego Bay, Antigua, Lagos and Tel Aviv. Whether it’s to visit friends and relatives or take a well-deserved break, we believe this complimentary cover will provide some added reassurance for our customers as they start to plan trips further afield. It applies in parallel to existing travel insurance policies which may now exclude COVID-19, and provides comprehensive cover for coronavirus, recognising the needs of our customers as we restart services.”
Key features of the COVID-19 Cover include:
- 24-hour emergency medical assistance
- £500,000 of emergency medical expenses if a customer is taken ill due to coronavirus during his/her journey, including treatment, transport and accommodation costs
- Additional costs should a customer be denied boarding due to suspected or actual COVID-19, or if they are held in quarantine, including accommodation, transport charges, refreshments, booking amendment fees and other travel expenses
- Repatriation home, including private air ambulance where necessary
- No excess payable
- Cover for the whole trip, with no upper limit on the length of customer’s time away
- Cover for all passengers with no restrictions on age, travel class or length of journey
Virgin Atlantic’s announcements follows a similar initiative from Emirates launched last month.
The circumstances surrounding COVID-19 are continuously evolving. Our friends at APEX have a dedicated COVID-19 page, which they’ll be updating regularly to help keep you up-to-date on how the novel coronavirus is impacting the aviation industry. Visit the page for the very latest news >>
