Travelling from any of the major destinations to or via Dubai while on Emirates is now a less stressful affair. Thanks to Emirates’ latest complementary expanded, multi-risk travel insurance cover on top of its current COVID-19 cover, the insecurity and unsurety of travelling in the pre-vaccine era now eases.

One of the perks now of being an Emirates customer is that there is peace of mind when planning for travel – knowing that borders may close abruptly, an outbreak or a large cluster could be detected leading to regional closures for a short period of time, or mandatory quarantines may be announced out of the blue – you are covered financially for medical or cancellation costs.

Emirates latest industry-first initiative to provide expanded, multi-risk travel cover on top of its current COVID-19 cover reassures its customers, existing and new that air travel continues to be one of the safest ways of getting around, despite most insurance companies going extra slow on Covid cover for new insurance plans.

HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Emirates Chairman and Chief Executive said: “Emirates was the first airline to offer complimentary global COVID-19 cover for travelers back in July, and the response from our customers has been tremendously encouraging. We’ve not rested on our laurels and instead continued to look at how we can offer our customers an even better proposition. We’re very pleased to be able to now provide this new multi-risk travel insurance and COVID-19 cover, which is another industry first, to all our customers.

“We see a strong appetite for travel around the world, especially heading into the winter holidays as people seek warmer climates and family destinations like Dubai. By launching this new multi-risk travel insurance and COVID-19 cover, we aim to give our customers even more confidence in making their travel plans this winter and moving into 2021.”

Emirates multi-risk travel cover for all

This new multi-risk travel insurance and COVID-19 cover will automatically apply to all Emirates tickets purchased in any class, from 1 December at no additional cost, and extends to Emirates codeshare flights operated by partner airlines, as long as the ticket number starts with 176.

Highlights of the insurance coverage include:

• Out-of-Country Emergency Medical Expenses & Emergency Medical Evacuation up to US$500,000, valid for COVID-19 (contracted during the trip) and other medical emergencies while travelling abroad.
• Trip Cancellation up to US$7,500 for non-refundable costs if the traveller is unable to travel because they are diagnosed with COVID-19 before the scheduled trip departure date, or for other named reasons – similar to other comprehensive travel cover products.
• Trip Cancellation or Curtailment up to US$7,500 if the school year is extended due to COVID-19 beyond the departure date, and the traveller is a full-time teacher, full-time employee, or a student at a primary or secondary school.
• Trip Curtailment up to US$7,500 for non-refundable trip costs and additional costs to return to their country of residence if the traveller falls critically ill, for instance, contracts COVID-19 while travelling abroad.
• Travel Abandonment up to US$7,500 if the traveller fails a COVID-19-related test or medical screening at the airport and is required to abandon the trip.
• US$150 per day per person, for up to 14 consecutive days if, while outside of their country of residence, the traveller tests positive for COVID-19, and if they are unexpectedly placed into a mandatory quarantine outside their country of residence by a governmental body.

In addition to Covid, Emirates’ cover also has provisions for personal accidents during travel, winter sports cover, loss of personal belongings, and trip disruptions due to unexpected air space closure, travel recommendations or advisories.

Other airlines such as Cathay Pacific, FlyDubai, Japan Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, WestJet and Etihad have also started offering complementary COVID-19 insurance cover that generally covers medical expenses related to COVID-19 diagnosis whilst overseas, hospitalisation, testing, mandatory quarantine and repatriation costs.

To pre-empt any developing situation that may arise, all tickets for travel on or before 31 March 2021 on Emirates have an easy rebooking option of extending the ticket validity for two years or change the travel dates.

When onboard the flight, in addition to the superb safety measures in place, the airlines provides a complimentary hygiene kit containing masks, gloves, hand sanitiser and antibacterial wipes to all customers. ◼

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© This article was first published online in Jan 2021 – World Travel Magazine.