Buying Travel Insurance in 2021: Your Guide

As the world reopens for business and leisure, mostly on the back of robust vaccine programs and declining infection rates, it can still seem a scary place out there. When you have to travel for business, not leisure, you want the peace of mind to know you’re covered no matter where you are, but you also don’t want to waste money on a trip that may still be cancelled without notice. Here’s Hencilla Canworth and the Performing Arts Travel Insurance team’s top tips for buying travel insurance in 2021.

Good for business, good for you

A global disease incident is never good, of course, but historically we always see a boom in the travel insurance industry when there’s news of a disease outbreak. Why? It forces people to do something we typically like to shy away from- evaluate the risks of our travel, and think about things like what would happen if we got sick or needed care far away from home.

Of course, the smart traveller- especially the smart business traveller- knows you should be doing that all the time, especially if your livelihood literally depends on it. Business travel insurance should cover all unforeseen circumstances, including trip interruptions, medical care.

Know your insurance needs

One way to make sure your business travel insurance policy doesn’t disappoint is to have a strong idea of what you need it to do. We’ve looked before at the exact intricacies of performing arts travel insurance, and how a policy can look different depending on if you’re headed out to work on a cruise ship, on tour with your band, or a background dancer. Why not start by reading through these? It may make you aware of some things you hadn’t considered before about your industry.

Once you know what aspects of a policy suit your industry best, add to the list the aspects that matter most to you. In 2021, everyone is likely to want to know they have medical coverage to suit their needs. Remember, it’s not just about potential COVID-19 exposure. With medical systems globally still strained by the pandemic, little things like accessing replacement prescriptions if yours are lost could be annoying.

Read the fine print

Insurance in general has always suffered from a bit of an image issue among the general public. We look at the thick document we’re given, and give up- who has time to read all that legalese?

You should. Really. To get the most from your performing arts travel insurance, you need to know what’s in it. It’s not as overwhelming as it may seem, especially if you took our previous tip into account. Remember that your travel insurance company is a partner in your working life. We’re always happy to answer questions and explain aspects you may not understand, so take advantage of that! No good travel insurance company has to hide behind indecipherable paperwork. We want you to feel comfortable with your package.

Don’t assume

This tip ties closely to the proceeding one- but don’t assume things are covered. Ask. Especially for working people, you need to know your specific working activities are covered under your policy. The same goes when you’re evaluating medical coverage- ask if things like a pandemic are covered, and how.

The vaccine passport dilemma

We still don’t have much clarity on whether vaccine ‘passports’ are needed for travel. To date, in the EU, we’ve only seen France offer clear guidelines for travel tiers, and even then they have been vague on how they will evaluate vaccination status. Some independent companies, and even travel operators, however, are asking for proof of vaccine before travel independent of government regulations. Be sure to check with your venue operator, cruise ship line, your agent, or the person overseeing your gig. Make sure you know their specific requirements or that of their chosen travel services on this matter so you can plan accordingly.

Travel corridors and travel insurance

This issue affects leisure travellers more than working performers, but it’s worth keeping in mind. Some leisure travel insurance companies will not cover people travelling to areas that don’t have greenlight clearance with their country of origin, seeing it as ‘going against’ government recommendations.

For most areas performers will be travelling to from the UK you will be covered as a worker with ‘compelling reason to travel’, however. All the same, you will get better premiums and more peace of mind if you can confine your travel- including stop-overs- to areas approved by the government and without remaining quarantine needs.

Automatic coverage extension

One last thing to consider when buying business and performing arts travel insurance in 2021 is that there’s still some chance of unexpected quarantine popping up, although it’s diminishing monthly. You want to know that your coverage will be extended to match if you have to extend your stay somewhere to comply with a sudden quarantine need, so check it’s on the policy!

And there you have it! While it’s great for the Hencilla Canworth and Performing Arts Travel Insurance team to see our performers back on the road and earning again after a disruptive 2020, 2021 will still be a strange year. Make sure your travel insurance matches, and have peace of mind no matter where your work takes you!