COVID-19 dans un autre pays, les assurances ne couvriront pas vos frais hospitaliers","text":"Si vous vous cassez une jambe, il n’y a aucun problème, mais si vous attrapez la COVID-19 dans un autre pays, les assurances ne couvriront pas vos frais hospitaliers"}}" lang="fr">If you break a leg, there is no problem, but if you get COVID-19 in another country, insurance will not cover your hospital costs
, warns André Desmarais, president of the Quebec section of theACTA.
COVID-19 reports to a preexisting risk
and in all insurance agreements, pre-existing risks are never covered by insurance for the medical aspect, he explains in an interview on ICI RDI.
Quebec – like British Columbia and Ontario – has a compensation fund for clients of travel agents. The latter is intended to reimburse customers for amounts paid to an agency for services that were not provided due to the bankruptcy or insolvency of a registered travel agency, a travel organizer or from a final supplier (airline or cruise line).
Insurers refer clients to the compensation fund which wants to refer this to cancellation insurance, so we are caught in the crossfire
, analyzes André Desmarais.
The customers are not happy, it takes a lot of time, we are about to blow up the compensation fund with all the complaints.
Leaving with “knowledge of the clause”
As for the travel credit which would allow a carryover of the sums paid for a canceled trip, it’s a very slippery subject right now in the travel industry, particularly in Quebec
, recognizes Mr. Desmarais.
On March 25, the Canadian Transportation Agency approved the use of vouchers or credits by Canadian air carriers as a suitable solution, provided they do not expire within an unreasonably short time.
If certain provinces allow it, notes Mr. Desmarais, the Office de la protection du consommateur (OPC) has not made a decision that allows travel credits as a reimbursement solution
. In mid-May, Prime Minister François Legault expressed the wish that consumers whose trip was canceled due to the pandemic be simply reimbursed.
Travel credits are far from unanimous since they do not have the same value as a refund, since airlines do not guarantee to obtain a flight at the same price and thus oblige customers book with the same company rather than being able to shop elsewhere.
As travel restrictions ease and summer vacations are planned, the commercial aviation market is preparing to take off. Air Canada and WestJet said Friday that they will end their seat distancing policies on their planes effective July 1.
Variable geometry border restrictions
The Government of Canada, however, continues to advise on its website to avoid non-essential travel outside of Canada due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
He warns of airspace closings and movement restrictions that may occur without notice and may prevent your return to Canada
. He warns Canadian travelers that he does not plan to organize other flights to repatriate them during the COVID-19 pandemic.
If the Canada-US border will remain closed at least until July 21, the reopening of the European borders is still pending. Their control falls within the competence of each European State.
Non-essential travel to the EU has been banned since mid-March. This measure must be gradually lifted from 1isJuly, favoring visitors from countries whose epidemiological situation is similar to that of the EU, (where the pandemic has ebbed), or even better.
However, the Europeans could not agree on a list of countries where the level of COVID-19 contamination would allow them to be considered as sure
, allowing their residents to come to Europe in July, we learned on Saturday from diplomatic sources in Brussels.
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