Virgin Atlantic’s Free Covid-19 Insurance Brings £500,000 Of Coverage

For many travellers, the desire to see the world never left. Confidence, safety and border restrictions are what stands in the way, and covid-19 is at the heart of all those issues. But what if you could travel anywhere, knowing you have up to half a million in covid-19 coverage, and you don’t even need to pay fo it?

Virgin Atlantic has introduced complimentary covid-19 coverage for all passengers, and it might just be a reason to give them a look on your next trip…

Virgin Atlantic Comps Covid-19 Coverage

For travel between the 24th of August 2020 and the 31st of March, 2021, Virgin Atlantic is giving all customers up to £500,000 ($655,000) in complimentary covid-19 coverage. It doesn’t matter whether you use points and miles, whether you’re already booked, or are making a new booking: the only things that matter are when you travel, and where.

Sadly, the coverage does not apply to any destination which is on the UK Foreign Travel Office “Essential Travel Only” list. For now, destinations including the United States, for example, would be exempt from coverage.

Virgin Atlantic states…

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 insurance policy is fulfilled by Allianz Assistance and covers emergency medical and associated expenses while abroad totalling £500,000 per customer – the highest value of policy offered by any airline to date, with no excess payment required. 

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.

Virgin Atlantic

Virgin Atlantic is now the second airline to launch covid-19 coverage, following Emirates. But Virgin’s £500,000 level of coverage is significantly higher than that of Emirates, which caps off at €150,000. That’s a huge level of peace of mind, and takes what could be a significant expense, and hassle out of the travel equation.

Virgin Atlantic doesn’t presently require a negative covid-19 test prior to boarding, but Emirates does. This will be an interesting space to watch, as airlines push governments toward testing measures in place of lengthy quarantine, in hopes of rebooting key travel routes and business opportunities.

The airline recently revamped its loyalty program, including a world’s first in airline loyalty, where you can earn elite status points when you redeem miles for flights. New measures were also put in place to make perks easier to redeem, including companion vouchers from the Virgin Atlantic Credit Cards, which can now be spent when using points or cash, not just points.

On the news, Virgin Atlantic now offers the most generous covid-19 coverage of any airline globally. With key routes rebooting now, and in coming months, the airline may see an influx of bookings, with one less thing for passengers to worry about. Love Virgin or loathe it, it certainly puts pressure on other airlines to look after passengers with as much care and certainty in these uncertain times.

You can read full details on the Virgin Atlantic covid-19 coverage here.