Yahoo Finance Insurers refusing to cover medical bills for unvaccinated holidaymakers
More than a fifth of travel insurance policies exclude unvaccinated travellers from claiming back costs with outdated and badly worded contracts making it unclear whether or not children are protected.
Consumer ratings agency Defaqto has warned that 22pc of travel policies, including those from providers such as Virgin Money and Sainsbury's Bank, excluded travellers who had not had two jabs. This would prevent those who had to cancel a trip because they caught covid, or who were faced medical bills after catching the virus abroad, from claiming compensation.
Poorly worded policies had also created confusion on whether insurers would reimburse families travelling with unvaccinated children, given those five and over can receive jabs via the NHS. Defaqto warned this could lead to claims being unfairly rejected.
Only 16,000 children aged between five and 11 in England have had two vaccines, according to the Department of Health and Social Care, despite five million being eligible. Some 1.7 million 12-to-17-year-olds have been double jabbed but this is only 39pc of those it was offered to. Overall, 84pc of the country has had two vaccines, the data showed.
Anna-Marie Duthie of the firm said: "Given any child five years or over can have a vaccine, it remains unclear how this will impact travel insurance. Some providers who have these restrictions in place need to provide more transparency around the required extent of vaccination and how it impacts all insured travellers."
Virgin Money said its cover excluded any unvaccinated child over the age of five. A spokesman added: "The current advice on the NHS website states children ages five and above are being invited to be vaccinated. As this is a continuously changing landscape we are continuing to monitor this situation."
Some 3pc of policies have such outdated wording that they exclude Covid cover for the over-40s, as this was the only age group able to access vaccinations at the time. One in 20 policies have similar exclusions for the over-50s.
"Gap year" policies, designed to cover younger people travelling to multiple destinations, have even more exclusions. One in three such policies exclude cover for unvaccinated travellers.
Ms Duthie added: "If there is a medical reason for not getting vaccinated, then it is best to discuss this with your insurer before travel, especially if this is due to a pre-existing condition as these should always be declared.
"If you have not been vaccinated and are planning to travel, it is vital to check exactly what you are covered for before you set off."
Sainsbury's Bank was approached for comment.
