Virgin Atlantic has introduced Covid-19 insurance cover, to be included on all new and existing bookings.
The policy, which applies automatically to all flights booked with Virgin Atlantic, is designed to complement existing travel insurance and provide customers with ‘additional peace of mind’ for upcoming trips.
In the event that anyone on the booking becomes ill with Covid-19 while travelling, Virgin Atlantic Covid-19 Cover ensures related costs are covered, no matter how long the trip is or if they’re visiting another destination on the same overseas trip.
The policy is fulfilled by Allianz Assistance and covers emergency medical and associated expenses while abroad up to £500,000 per customer, with no excess payments.
It also covers expenses incurred up to £3,000 if a customer is denied boarding, at either departure or in destination, or has to quarantine due to positive or suspected Covid-19 during a trip.
Customers booked to travel from August 24, 2020, up to and including March 31, 2021, will automatically receive the cover, as will Virgin Atlantic Holidays customers where the flights on their holiday booking are with Virgin Atlantic or its joint venture partners Delta Air Lines and 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.”
Cover starts from the point of booking and ends when the customer returns home or to a hospital or nursing home in their home country. One-way trips are also included, with the insurance cover valid until the end of the journey, which is defined as 12 hours after the arrival of the customer’s final flight.
Virgin Atlantic has already introduced a flexible booking policy, whereby customers booking with the airline have the option to make two date changes to their flights for travel up until September 30, 2022, without incurring a fee.