ABOUT YOUR COVER

About the support tools available to you

A medical helpline available day and night

Any customers concerned about COVID-19 can contact our 24/7 medical advice line. Staffed by an experienced medical team, Medi-24 provides advice in English, German, French and Italian:

+44 (0) 208 416 3929

Helpline for cover or claim related questions

Our multi-lingual helpline is available day and night, if you have questions around cover or claims.

Free webinars

We’re also running free webinars for our customers, where they get the chance to ask questions of our experts. To ensure you never miss any of our upcoming webinars, you can subscribe to our webinar channel here.

Support for mental, financial, physical and emotional wellbeing

Customers can make use of our Assistance Programme. Designed to help you with all of life’s questions, issues and concerns, the service is delivered by professionals who provide multilingual and confidential support.

About what you’re covered for

Do you cover treatments related to COVID-19?

Yes. All insured members are covered for treatment of COVID-19 until discharge from home or hospital for this acute event. Experimental or unproven treatment or drug therapy, including the prescription of vitamins, is not covered.

Do you cover tests for COVID-19 when required for travel?

Travel related tests that are mandated by countries for entry are not covered by our policies, even if prescribed by a doctor.
Our policies do not cover the costs relating to mandatory or voluntary isolation required when entering a country.

Do you cover test for COVID-19?

Members who have symptoms of fever and cough and have consulted a doctor who prescribed a test are covered for virus detecting (PCR and Antigen) tests. Members who have been in close contact with a person who has tested positive for COVID-19 are also covered. Provided that the test has been prescribed by a doctor and has been undertaken under medical supervision and in a medical environment. Home testing or over-the-counter testing kits are not covered. We’ll cover costs that are reasonable and customary.

Treatment for COVID-19 infection and any resulting complications is covered, within the limits of the policy. When you make your medical claim, please also send in the medical prescription which confirms the doctor’s suspicion that you have COVID-19 or close contact with a confirmed case of COVID-19.

Do you cover COVID-19 treatments regardless of whether it’s a case of isolation or non-isolation?

All COVID-19 infections have to be treated in isolation either at home or in hospital.

About what you’re covered for

Do you cover vaccination costs for COVID-19?

Yes we’ll cover the cost for vaccination against Covid-19 if you have the vaccination benefit as part of your policy and if it’s not offered for free (or is only partially sponsored) by the government of the country where you’re resident. We’ll also cover the cost of an FDA/EMA approved vaccine, where the government sponsored vaccine is not FDA/EMA approved. The vaccine must be fully developed (including passing all pre-licensure clinical trials). It must also be approved and licensed for use in the jurisdiction where it’s being requested and the cost must be reasonable and customary in that jurisdiction. We won’t cover any travel costs that may be incurred when using this benefit. Vaccination cover will be subject to local public health policies in terms of the allocation and prioritisation.

Will you cover costs of a third dose of the Covid-19 vaccination?

Yes, we’ll cover the cost of a third dose of the Covid-19 vaccination if you have the vaccinations benefit in your policy and where it’s not offered for free (or only partially sponsored) by the government of the country where you’re resident. We’ll also cover the cost of an FDA/EMA approved vaccine, where the government sponsored vaccine is not FDA/EMA approved. The third dose must occur as a booster between 6 and 9 months after the second (or in the case of Johnson&Johnson, after first) shot.

The cost of travel won’t be covered. The vaccine must be fully developed (including passing all pre-licensure clinical trials). It must also be approved and licensed for use in the jurisdiction where it’s being requested, and the cost must be reasonable and customary in that region.

Have you introduced any new exclusions in relation to COVID-19?

No.

Do you cover vaccination costs if I'm outside of my country of residence?

Yes, we’ll cover the cost of Covid-19 vaccination if you have the vaccinations benefit in your policy and where it’s not offered for free (or only partially sponsored) by the government of the country where you’re resident. We’ll also cover the cost of an FDA/EMA approved vaccine, where the government sponsored vaccine is not FDA/EMA approved.

However, the cost of travel won’t be covered. The vaccine must be fully developed (including passing all pre-licensure clinical trials). It must also be approved and licensed for use in the jurisdiction where it’s being requested, and the cost must be reasonable and customary in that region.

If I go to hospital because of possible symptoms of the virus, is medical care covered?

Yes, if you’ve been advised by a doctor to go to hospital, care in the hospital and in transit (i.e. in an ambulance if medically necessary) is covered.

Is telemedicine covered?

Yes, including reasonable and customary cost of local medication delivery.

Are telehealth consultations covered?

If you have an out-patient plan and benefit and in countries/regions where it is compliant with the local healthcare regulations, your out-patient Telehealth consultations will be covered during this emergency period, for example having a consultation via Skype or FaceTime.

Do you cover the cost of hand sanitizers and protective clothing?

No, this is not covered.

If I go travelling now that restrictions are lifting, am I covered for COVID-19?

If the government in the country where you are currently, is allowing people to leave, and the government in the country you want to travel to is allowing people in, then you are covered if it’s within your region of cover. Our normal terms and conditions apply.

About evacuations and repatriations

Does COVID-19 have an impact on medical evacuations e.g. government restrictions on normal evaluations?

Potentially yes. If you are covered for medical evacuations, then this will be arranged if suitable treatment is not available locally. We have already identified Air Ambulance providers who have confirmed capability to transport COVID-19 infected patients via a negative pressure “Bubble” which they install in the aircraft. This protects the medical staff and flight personnel.

However, some local governments may prohibit international evacuations and insist on local treatment. This is outside of our control. If no nearby country will accept our evacuated customer, we will evacuate you to your home country.

Am I covered for medical evacuation for a non-COVID-19 condition, when access to treatment is not available locally because the medical facility is full or overcrowded?

Yes. If you are covered for medical evacuations then this will be arranged if all of the points below apply:

You have a negative COVID-19 test result.
The local health authorities allow evacuation of non-infected persons.
The receiving country accepts the evacuation of non-infected persons.

About your medical claims

Has the reimbursement of my claim(s) been impacted by the COVID-19 crisis?

In general no, however due to COVID-19 and the related quarantine and mitigation measures, some banks around the world have had issues processing payments in local currency and in some cases they may have delays. This appears to be a minor issue affecting very few countries. We will still process the payment and it will be issued from our bank account as usual but payment to your account will be dependent on the banking system in the country operating as normal.

Please use our MyHealth Digital Services to submit your claims. These will be processed faster than claims sent by post, due to possible disruption of the postal service in places and the fact that our claims team is currently working remotely.

About the impact on your business and services

Are you experiencing any impact on your ability to provide services to customers?

No. Currently all of customer services are working as normal. For their own protection, the majority of our staff are working from home. They were already set up to do this, to cater for a scenario such as this, and it is working very well. We have a robust business continuity plan in place.

What are you doing as a company to help fight Coronavirus?

We’re playing an active role in the fight against coronavirus, not only through the preventative measures we’re all taking by working from home, but also in the efforts we’re making as a responsible corporate citizen.

As well as caring for our own customers’ needs, our medical professionals have been working on the frontline, volunteering at local hospitals during their free time.
Our colleagues in Italy have created and donated €60,164 to a crowdfunding campaign to build a new hospital in Milan dedicated to the care of COVID-19 patients.
While in the U.S., China and Malaysia, colleagues have donated thousands of face masks to frontline medical staff.
Our colleagues in Dublin raised €3,400 for a number of Irish hospitals and foundations, supporting healthcare workers on the COVID-19 frontline, through a ‘formal Friday’ initiative. Staff dressed up in their formalwear and sent in photos of themselves doing day to day tasks such as mowing the lawn, or vacuuming. Watch our video here.