A masked Virgin Atlantic crew member

Virgin Atlantic has become the latest airline to introduce complimentary COVID-19 global insurance.

The policy with Allianz Assistance, applies to all to all existing and new bookings, travelling from 24 August 2020 up until 31 March 2021, and covers the event that a Virgin Atlantic customer or travel companion becomes ill with COVID-19 while on a trip.

Emergency medical costs, associated expenses such as transport and accommodation and repatriation up to £500,000 are included, as well as costs if a customer is denied boarding or held in quarantine.

In the event that they or anyone else on their 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 even if they’re visiting another destination on the same overseas trip.

The policy 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.

Juha Jarvinen, Chief Commercial Officer at Virgin Atlantic said: “.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.”

In late July, Emirates became the first airline to announce it would offer free, global cover for COVID-19 related costs, regardless of class of travel or destination. The cover became effective immediately and will last until 31 October 2020 and is valid for 31 days from the moment they fly the first sector of their journey.

The airline will cover medical expenses of up to EUR 150,000 and quarantine costs of EUR 100 per day for 14 days, should they be diagnosed with COVID-19 during their travel, while they are away from home.

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