Covid-19 Information Center

Stay informed of what the Covid-19 pandemic means for travelers in terms of travel insurance coverage.

As always, we advise our travelers to read their plan documents or description of coverage thoroughly to understand what coverage they have.

Insurance Carrier Position Statements

The insurance company ("carrier") that underwrites each plan may have different rules and ways of handling situations that apply specifically to its own plan(s). Please see the statements from your plan's insurance carrier below.

For the following plans:

  • Travel Insurance Select
  • National Trust Tours Travel Plan

Crum & Forster / United States Fire  

For the following plans:

  • Explorer
  • Trip Care Complete
  • Voyager Annual Insurance
  • Various Tour Operator Plans

Starr Indemnity & Liability Company  

For the following plans:

  • Study USA-HealthCare
  • Visit USA-HealthCare
  • WorldMed
  • InterMedical

World Trips  

For the following plans:

  • OSUAA Travel Secure
  • Various Tour Operator Plans

Nationwide  

Travel Planning Resources

We recommend referring to the following resources to understand the current situation and travel requirements for your intended destination:

Questions & Answers

If my trip is canceled, can I get a refund of my protection plan cost?

If your travel supplier cancels your trip completely and provides a full refund of trip cost, you may request a voucher for your travel protection plan cost to be used for a future trip. (If you have a plan underwritten by Starr: Explorer, Trip Care Complete, or Voyager plans – see the Starr FAQs in the Insurance Carrier Positions section above. The Starr position on refunds differs from the information in this response.)

If you voluntarily choose not to go on your trip, but the travel supplier will still be running the trip, you are not eligible for a voucher for your travel protection plan cost.

To request a voucher, you must submit:

  1. A letter from the travel supplier stating that they canceled the trip and gave you a full refund of your trip cost. The letter must be addressed to the insured traveler.
  2. An invoice showing your trip refund.
  3. A statement in writing—email or letter—to USI Travel Insurance Services (contact info below) stating that you have not and will not make a claim on the current plan. This statement can be in the body of the email to USI Travel Insurance Services with your travel supplier letter and refund invoice.

We will then start the process for the voucher to be issued. (Note: USI Travel Insurance Services is not involved in any trip refunds for cancelled trips; that is handled by the travel supplier.)

The voucher can be used for a different tour/tour operator than originally booked. The voucher will be valid for 24 months from the current plan effective date.

Voucher requests should be sent to customer.care@usi.com.


My travel supplier canceled my trip and issued a voucher for future travel. What do I need to do with my travel insurance protection plan? If I choose not to take the trip in the future, can I receive a refund on my plan?

In the event that your trip was cancelled and you were issued a voucher for a future trip instead of a refund, you may have your travel protection plan for the cancelled trip transferred to protect your new trip. You can do so by calling Travel Insurance Services customer service (1-800-937-1387). If you don’t yet know your new trip dates, select some placeholder dates in the future and transfer your plan to these dates, then when you confirm your new trip dates, again transfer your plan to these new dates. Keep in mind that you must transfer your trip dates BEFORE your originally scheduled trip departure date, and trip dates can only be changed if you have not filed any claim.

Note: Each of our carriers has certain time frames in which you need to schedule new trip dates:

  • Crum & Forster/United States Fire (Travel Insurance Select plan) – New trip dates must be departing by 12/31/2023
  • Starr (Trip Care Complete and Explorer plans) – New trip dates can be for travel up to two years from original departure date.
  • Nationwide (OSU Travel Secure plan) – New trip dates are no more than 18 months from your original trip dates
  • Generali (National Geographic Travel Protection plan) – New trip dates must be within 24 months from the plan purchase date

If you were offered a voucher for a future trip but decide to forego this option and not take your trip, your travel protection plan will not cover a trip cancellation claim in this scenario, and we are unable to offer a refund of plan cost since you weren’t given a full trip refund by your travel supplier. (However, if you purchased Cancel For Any Reason coverage, you may file a claim under that provision.) Thank you for your understanding.


What are my options if I’m scared to travel?

Most standard travel protection plans do not provide coverage because someone has a fear of traveling to their destination. If you want coverage for that possibility, you would have to buy a specific plan upgrade called Cancel For Any Reason, or CFAR. The CFAR coverage available with many plans allows you to cancel for any reason at all, and recoup up to 75% of your pre-paid, non-refundable trip costs, provided you cancel 48 hours or more prior to your scheduled departure. For our plans, CFAR must be purchased within 14 days (for Trip Care Complete) or 21 days (for Travel Insurance Select Plus & Elite Plans) of the date your initial trip deposit or payment is received. If you miss that window, you are ineligible for the CFAR upgrade, which is standard practice. CFAR coverage typically costs 40-55% more than the base plan cost and other restrictions may apply.


With travel being unpredictable now, what are my options? Do I have to risk losing my travel investment?

If you plan a trip that involves an airline, cruise line, or tour operator, talk to those companies about the cancellation and refund policy. For many travelers, their first recourse should be to get a refund from these travel providers if their trip is canceled. In general, these providers will refund your money if they cancel the service you bought from them.

For example, if an airline cancels all flights to France, they may refund the ticket prices for anyone booked on a flight. The same goes for hotels and other travel services – please read their cancellation and refund policies carefully, or call the provider. Many airlines and hotels are waiving or reducing cancellation or change fees given the concern from their patrons. We encourage you to read the fine print or contact your travel provider.


Is travel insurance still important or useful?

If you felt travel insurance was important before the outbreak of the Coronavirus, you will find it to be just as--or perhaps more--important now. Travel insurance will still cover you for all the possibilities it was designed for: cancellations or trip interruptions due to illness (including Covid-19), accident or death in the family, certain weather issues and natural disasters, mechanical breakdown of an aircraft that causes delays or a missed connection, baggage loss or delays, emergency medical expenses, emergency medical evacuation, and more. Our travel protection plans include coverage for Trip Interruption or Travel Delay in the event of mandatory quarantine in your destination due to Covid. All of our plans come with 24/7 non-insurance travel assistance services, giving you access to support and answers any time, anywhere in the world so you can feel more at ease while away from home. Refer to your plan for specific details and don’t hesitate to call us if you have any questions.