Back in July, Emirates became the first airline in the world to offer complimentary COVID-19 travel insurance on all flight bookings and now the Dubai-based carrier is taking it one step further by adding on free multi-risk travel insurance on all Emirates tickets and many codeshare flights as well. The cover will be automatically added on tickets purchased from December 1.
Emirates’ chairman and chief executive Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum said the move had been made after a “tremendously encouraging” response from customers to its COVID-19 insurance offer. “We’ve not rested on our laurels and instead continued to look at how we can offer our customers an even better proposition,” Sheikh Al Maktoum continued.
Describing the multi-risk insurance coverage as an “industry-first”, Sheikh Al Maktoum said he hoped it would “give our customers even more confidence in making their travel plans this winter and moving into 2021.”
The insurance will provide up to US$500,000 in emergency medical expenses and repatriation costs, valid for customers who contract COVID-19 on their trip, as well as for other medical emergencies.
In addition, the policy provides for up to $150 per day, up to 14-days, for a passenger who tests positive for COVID-19 and is subsequently placed into mandatory quarantine. The policy does not cover quarantine costs which are imposed as a standard condition of entry by some governments like Australia or Hong Kong.
Travel abandonment for a passenger who tests positive for COVID-19 before departure is also covered up to $7,500, while the same coverage applies if a relative is diagnosed with the novel Coronavirus.
The insurance policy will be supplied by AIG Travel and will be automatically added to new bookings from December 1. There are also 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.
A slew of other airlines have followed in Emirates’ footsteps in the last few months by adding complimentary COVID-19 insurance in an attempt to lure back wary customers. Virgin Atlantic, Air Canada, WestJet, Etihad and Finnair all now offer similar policies.
Coverage, however, can vary massively. While Virgin Atlantic offers an incredibly generous $668,000 in emergency medical expenses, the insurance from Finnair only covers expenses up to a maximum value of $59,000.
