Ebola – are your travellers covered?

THE World Health
Organisation has
declared the Ebola
outbreak in West Africa
an international health
emergency, but as long as
there is no travel warning
or ban to Ebola-affected
countries, there will be no
restriction in terms of travel
insurance cover and policy,
providers say.
WHO recently reiterated that
there should be no general
ban on international travel
or trade to Ebola-affected
countries.
Hanri Pretorius, manager
of Bidvest Travel Insurance,
says medical insurance would
include cover for emergency
medical treatment,
transportation, evacuation
and repatriation. “Cancel for
Any Reason would provide
cover should the traveller
wish to cancel due to further
outbreaks/change in travel
advice, etc.”
Simmy Micheli, sales
and marketing manager
of TIC, says although
travel insurance will cover
passengers for costs related
to unexpected illness,
wilful exposure of any kind
is a general exclusion.
“The TIC policy will provide
transportation to the nearest
centre of medical excellence.”
However, finding the nearest
centre of medical excellence
could prove to be a challenge,
as medical facilities in Ebolaaffected
areas have been
severely strained by the
outbreak. Uriah Jansen, md
of Oojah Travel Protection,
says each case will be
dealt with on a case-by-case
scenario, depending on the
type of treatment required.
“Our medical director will
assess the condition as well
as the facilities available and
make a decision on medical
evacuation.”
Evacuating travellers could
also be a challenge. Uriah
says it is only possible to
evacuate travellers within
legally permitted parameters
and the traveller needs to
receive a ‘fit to fly’ from a
local doctor. “It is important
to understand that we
cannot force an airline to
allow commercial evacuation
and that we are limited by
each government’s policy
on whether they will allow
someone to leave or enter
their country.”