The Lemon Fool

Hi All

We have a holiday booked later in the year that visits most South & Central american countrys , plan is to be away for around 2 months , we've factored in an amount ot cover covid tests ect for travel between countrys and our present travel insurance covers should we get the dreaded lurgi and have to isolate whilst abroad.
The one thing we dont have is some sort of insurance to cover if we end up with traveling through a red list country and having to isolate in a government hotel on the return to the uk. have tried a google search but cant see anything that would cover such an event , is anyone aware of such insurance as last thing we want on return home is a bill for nearly £5k

I am not aware of any such insurance, although a specialist insurance broker might be the best place to enquire.

What I am aware some people have done, is to come back home via a ‘staging point’ and spending 10 days there before their flight to the UK.

For example last year when mainland Portugal was red but Madeira was green I bumped into a couple in Madeira who had been in mainland Portugal for a few weeks but had then flown to Madeira with no requirement to isolate as it was Portugal to Portugal, just a free COVID test on arrival. They were then spending 10 days in Madeira before flying home to the UK and could correctly declare they had not been in a red list country in the preceding 10 days so no need to isolate in the UK.

Given Portugal and Spain’s history with South America then it might be worth checking to see what the rules are for entry into those countries from your final South American stop, and perhaps arranging your flights to and from there to avoid needing to change things if those countries do go ‘red’ suddenly. And it might be cheaper due to the lower APD.

steelman99 wrote:... is anyone aware of such insurance as last thing we want on return home is a bill for nearly £5k

Out of interest what premium would you (or anyone) consider paying as a way of avoiding that potential £5k? The (collective) answer might indicate why no such product appears to exist.

dealtn wrote:

steelman99 wrote:... is anyone aware of such insurance as last thing we want on return home is a bill for nearly £5k

Out of interest what premium would you (or anyone) consider paying as a way of avoiding that potential £5k? The (collective) answer might indicate why no such product appears to exist.

It could hardly be for less than say £150 per head as a standalone policy but as an add on to travel insurance for 2 months? £50 each? I am just guessing as I have no idea.

Dod

Self-insure. Assume your holiday will cost £5k more. Ideally (and I agree at this point unrealistically) save up £5K in advance. If it is needed you have it; if not you get back the premium (plus interest - ha ha). I admit this system works much better when planned well in advance.

Chris
(I self-insure my health and my watch.)

csearle wrote:Self-insure. Assume your holiday will cost £5k more. Ideally (and I agree at this point unrealistically) save up £5K in advance. If it is needed you have it; if not you get back the premium (plus interest - ha ha). I admit this system works much better when planned well in advance.

Chris
(I self-insure my health and my watch.)

Absolutely. I agree with Chris. If the £5,000 seems too much then do not set off in the first place. Not necessarily the best idea in the middle of a pandemic anyway.

Dod