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A number of airlines have been offering customers COVID-19 insurance as a free benefit for some time (some policies are more robust than others), but as the end-date for these policies draws nearer and as large areas of the world remain vaccine-free, we’re starting to see the airlines extending their offer of COVID cover deeper into 2021.
Etihad is the latest global airline to announce that it will continue offering travelers COVID-19 insurance as part of their travel benefits past the program’s original end date of 31 March and the airline has confirmed that cover will continue to be offered for trips of up to 31 days.
Etihad COVID-19 Insurance
Etihad’s COVID-19 insurance is now offered to anyone who makes an international booking with Etihad for travel through 30 September 2021 regardless of where the journey originates. Insurance cover is automatically included with all eligible bookings (passengers do not need to activate it) and is offered on award bookings as well as cash fares.
Here are a few key things you should know about Etihad’s COVID-19 insurance:
- Cover is valid for up to 31 days outside of a traveler’s home country.
- Award bookings, cash bookings, codeshare bookings, and even travel agent bookings all come with Etihad’s COVID-19 insurance as long as a trip is booked with an Etihad ticket number.
- The insurance covers infants and children as well as adults
- The insurance will take care of all medical expenses (up to €150,000) and quarantine costs (incurred as a result of COVID-19) but does not cover the cost of PCR tests.
- The insurance provider (AXA) must be contacted for pre-approval before costs will be reimbursed.
Full terms and conditions of Etihad’s COVID-19 cover can be found on this page.
It’s important to note that while Etihad’s COVID-19 cover is a nice fallback to have, it only covers illness as a result of the coronavirus and nothing else, so this isn’t a substitute for full travel insurance.
Bottom Line
All international travel bookings made through Etihad now include COVID-19 cover for travel through 30 September 2021. Customers who plan to rely on this insurance should make sure that they read the terms and conditions of the insurance very carefully and that they’re very clear on what is and what is not covered before they place any reliance upon the cover.