Worried About Zika? What to Know About the Virus and Travel Insurance

The Zika virus has travelers scrambling to cancel or change their travel plans, but many are finding out the hard way that they’ll likely lose money if they cancel. 

Only a Cancel for Any Reason (CFAR) policy would cover trip cancellations due to Zika. While many people think travel advisories might provide reason for a refund, travel warnings have no influence on insurance. Fear of catching Zika isn’t a reason that most insurance policies will cover for cancelling a trip, unless, of course, the traveler purchased CFAR coverage. 

Zika is a virus spread to people through mosquito bites. The most common symptoms are fever, rash, joint pain and conjunctivitis (red eyes), and the illness is usually mild with symptoms lasting for several days to a week. However, the virus has been linked to cases of microcephaly, in which babies are born with underdeveloped brains. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the spread of the Zika virus a global emergency, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has advised pregnant women in any trimester to avoid traveling to affected areas because of concerns about birth defects. Health officials have said the Zika epidemic is in Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America. Check the CDC website for the latest Zika travel information. 

If you are concerned about the Zika virus enough to consider canceling a trip, first contact your airline, cruise line, hotels or other companies with whom you’ve booked travel or lodging and inquire about their cancellation policies. CNBC reported that most major domestic airlines and several cruise lines have said they are relaxing change policies for pregnant travelers with existing reservations to an affected region. Eligible travelers may be able to reschedule a trip, pick a new destination or receive a refund. 

If those companies don’t offer any breaks and you have not bought any travel insurance, can you still purchase it? Possibly. Usually, CFAR coverage is only available for purchase within 10 to 30 days of the initial trip payment depending on the plan selected. 

If you haven’t yet booked your trip and are concerned about Zika somehow impacting your travel plans, you can purchase CFAR coverage as part of a comprehensive plan. Understand, however, that trip cancellation coverage is different from CFAR coverage. Trip cancellation, which generally is included in comprehensive policies, allows cancellation for specific reasons, listed in the policy. (Again, fear of Zika would not be a covered reason, so CFAR is your best option.) 

CFAR costs vary, because they depend on the cost of your trip and other factors, like what’s available in each state. For illustrative purposes, let’s look at the cost for a single 34-year-old woman from California who is traveling to Brazil in July 2016, with a trip cost of $3,500. An AXA Assistance Gold plan would cost her $191. In contrast, a 34-year-old New York resident will have but one CFAR option available — a Travelex Travel Max CFAR policy would cost her $385.50. 

The US Travel Insurance Association (UStiA) recently issued a press release answering other common Zika-related travel insurance questions:

• Does travel insurance provide coverage if a traveler contracts Zika virus on their trip? Due to policy language differences, the answer will vary by company. If you are considering traveling to an area affected by Zika, or if you’ve already made travel arrangements to one of those areas, check with your travel insurance company for a definitive answer.


• Can I file a claim for trip cancellation if I’m pregnant and my doctor advises against travel to an area affected by Zika? Again, this is going to vary by company. Some companies provide trip cancellation coverage for pregnancy, so there may be cancellation coverage for that reason.


• If no one in our party is pregnant, can we file a trip cancellation claim if we don’t want to travel to an area affected by Zika? Most policies don’t cover cancellation due to fear of travel. If you purchased a Cancel for Any Reason policy, you could likely file a trip cancellation claim, subject to the terms and conditions of the particular plan.

If you have any questions about Zika and travel insurance, give us a call at 1-866-979-6753. Our travel insurance experts are happy to answer your questions and help you find a plan that is best for your needs, at the best price.