Is it possible to travel responsibly (during a pandemic)?

[Jcp2]

If you get insurance the financial side shouldn't be steep at all.

That presumes that there is flexibility in return time that does not affect your earning capability.

 

[waterone]

That presumes that there is flexibility in return time that does not affect your earning capability.

I was responding to:

pay thousands to not get your trip plus stuck in a hotel for indeterminate time.

Insurance will cover both the trip and/or extended stay due to sickness.

If you have no flexibility in return time, I would say it is unwise to travel at all during these times.

I know I'm booking a few more trips this year, all with insurance.

 

[Joneill]

Did you miss this post?

Umm… that post was not a response to the post that I replied to?

Regardless, I merely presented my OPINION on the OPINION posted by @drrich2 and why I felt that way - take it or leave it - it was not presented as absolute fact.

As I said previously, it’s called having a civil discussion on a posted topic - everyone has different takes on a topic and we learn from each other by presenting different POV’s and experiences.

 

[Shasta_man]

Understood that insurance could pick up some or all of the tab though any money spent on insurance increases the cost. Also understood that's the situation we are in.
Any examples to share for insurance cost as percentage of what you are insuring?

 

[drrich2]

Understood that insurance could pick up some or all of the tab though any money spent on insurance increases the cost.

There's also the issue of understanding the specifics of the policy. I was recently reading up a bit on DAN's trip insurance (which is different than the medical insurance one generally buys with them). There are different tiers. The big questions are:

1.) How far in advance of the trip, or testing positive, does one have to buy the policy?
2.) Does it cover losses from cancelled or rescheduled flights due to COVID-19 or just testing positive for SARS-CoV-2?
3.) Does it cover the cost of extended stay due to quarantine for same?

They have a blurb on COVID-19:

"The Coronavirus outbreak is considered a foreseeable event as of January 29, 2020. This means coverage is unavailable for losses related to the Coronavirus if the insurance plan was purchased on or after January 29, 2020.

COVID-19 was formally declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization on March 11, 2020. For insurance plans that exclude pandemics, coverage is unavailable for losses that occurred on or after March 11, 2020. Plan exclusions for a pandemic can vary according to your state of residence and the plan you purchased. To review your coverage details, please see your Description of Coverage or Insurance Policy.

For any plans that include coverage for losses due to sickness, we are providing coverage if you, a family member, or a traveling companion contract COVID-19 and plan requirements are met. Eligible coverages can include Trip Cancellation prior to your scheduled departure, Trip Interruption, Travel Delay, Medical and Dental, and Emergency Assistance and Transportation coverage during your trip.

Customers are strongly encouraged to read their Description of Coverage or Insurance Policy for details regarding their available coverage."

Aaaaaannnd....I still don't know.

What policies are you guys using?

---

In other news, here's a blurb from some notes I made to document ongoing pandemic history for our kid (in case she cares someday, looking back):

Per the New York Times 'The Morning' edition, Jan. 31, 2022, using CDC data for the period of Oct. to Nov. 2021, the weekly average death rate per 100,000 people was 7.8 (unvaccinated), 0.6 (vaccinated but no booster) and 0.1 (with booster). NYT noted the risk an average American will die in a car crash this week is about 2.4 per million, or 0.24 per 100,000.

So, if you are traveling and worried about whether you are making yourself a biohazard by potentially transmitting the virus abroad, or bringing a new variant home, there are some numbers. But that's from data Oct. to Nov. when Delta predominated in the U.S.; Omicron's numbers will likely be a little different, and prevalence rates of virus and vaccination in the population will change them further, and fatalities heavily skew to the age 65+ segment of the population, but at least it's a place to start thinking.

 

[waterone]

Understood that insurance could pick up some or all of the tab though any money spent on insurance increases the cost. Also understood that's the situation we are in.
Any examples to share for insurance cost as percentage of what you are insuring?

It does increase the cost but to me it is worth 5% or so when Im putting my money down. It'll of course cost more if you go for CFAR.

Some things like flights you might not even need insurance for currently. Flights and many hotels are easier to work with for rescheduling if you get sick. I canceled and rescheduled my flight and hotel at no charge 3 days before a trip to Mexico.

On some liveaboards if you get covid within 30 days they will reschedule up to two years out.

There's also the issue of understanding the specifics of the policy. I was recently reading up a bit on DAN's trip insurance (which is different than the medical insurance one generally buys with them). There are different tiers. The big questions are:

1.) How far in advance of the trip, or testing positive, does one have to buy the policy?
2.) Does it cover losses from cancelled or rescheduled flights due to COVID-19 or just testing positive for SARS-CoV-2?
3.) Does it cover the cost of extended stay due to quarantine for same?

DAN has confusing info up regarding covid. I use Generali which I believe is who Dan uses.

As far as you specific questions best to go to the source...

COVID-19 Travel Insurance Guide and FAQs

Our plans can provide coverage if you, a family member or a traveling companion contract COVID-19. Read our FAQs for other information.

www.generalitravelinsurance.com

 

[Shasta_man]

@waterone @drrich2 Excellent info, thanks for the assistance. Ballpark of 5% is relatively negligible.

BTW, I was also looking in the Indonesia forum and they said that Omicron had not really hit there yet but was expected in the next couple months. They have mandatory quarantine of 5-7 days on entry . That's if you don't exhibit having the virus of course otherwise it's quarantine until you test negative.

I pushed out a sabbatical from work another year last year and travel is still screwed up even now.

 

[scubaozy]

I'd call that risk tolerance and that really depends on your personal situation (work and family commitments and flexibility). For example, It would not be a big deal for me to get stuck for a bit in a destination as I could easily work remotely - however, my wife could not as her job does not allow much remote work at present. That is different than what I interpreted as the original question on responsibility - I took that to mean ability to travel without spreading the virus and possibly making the pandemic situation worse.

This depends where you are stuck at; in the Maldives they put you in an island next into a construction site and you are stuck with barely working Internet and 2 channel tv in a tiny room. Good luck working remotely. One of the realities of todays travelling is that you have way more complex worst cases you need to plan ahead.
Thread is 1 year old, trying to cling on to the original context does not make sense, 1 year ago I was not even vaccinated, today I am triple vaccinated and so are most of the people I know. A year ago, nearly all countries enforced PCR test prior boarding a plane. Vaccination changed this. Now when I board a plane, I am nearly certain that a number of people will have covid, either due negligence or because they are fully symptom-free. Overall, with vaccines, responsibility shifted to the individuals. Today when we talk about traveling responsibly, it is rather, how as an individual can protect my self from getting sick before reaching their destination and back.

 

[Dan]

We are discussing worse case scenario too. In most cases, if you are following Covid protocol whenever possible, statistically you’ll be fine. For example, my trip experiences during this pandemic period. I have been on overseas dive traveling for about 12 times since the pandemic to date, going to Cocos, Socorro (2x), Belize, Maldives (2x), Malpelo, Isla Guadalupe, Bahamas, Palau (2x), and now in Thailand, getting negative Covid-19 swab tests about 20 times (PCR & Antigen).

Each trips the Covid tests are becoming more frequent. I was tested 4 times for going diving in Palau. Thailand is the same. I had to pass 2 negative PCR tests to be in Phuket (1st one was taken within 72 hour before departure and 2nd one was on arrival in Phuket). To day is my 2nd day in Phuket. So I still have to worry about 2 more tests for the rest of the trip. The 3rd one would be on the 5th day after arrival in Phuket. The 4th one would be 1 day before my flying home to Houston.

 

[scubaozy]

We are discussing worse case scenario too. In most cases, if you are following Covid protocol whenever possible, statistically you’ll be fine. For example, my trip experiences during this pandemic period. I have been on overseas dive traveling for about 12 times since the pandemic to date, going to Cocos, Socorro, Belize, Maldives, Malpelo, Isla Guadalupe, Bahamas, Palau, and now in Thailand, getting negative Covid-19 swab tests about 20 times (PCR & Antigen).

Each trips the Covid tests are becoming more frequent. I was tested 4 times for going diving in Palau. Thailand is the same. I had to pass 2 negative PCR tests to be in Phuket (1st one was taken within 72 hour before departure and 2nd one was on arrival in Phuket). To day is my 2nd day in Phuket. So I still have to worry about 2 more tests for the rest of the trip. The 3rd one would be on the 5th day after arrival in Phuket. The 4th one would be 1 day before my flying home to Houston.

I know people catching covid in Socorro. I also have direct experience 3 people testing positive at home right after Maldives LoB. My sister just returned from Galapagos and 2 people in their group got covid on this trip right after coming home. My personal statistics are much more gloomy looking than yours.