IN THE light of a sharp increase in Influenza A (H1N1) cases globally and in Singapore, I had decided to cancel my family's trip to the United States and Canada this month.
My family had planned the trip a few months ago and we were very disappointed that the outbreak of H1N1 flu had derailed our travel plans. However, we followed the advice in the travel advisory issued by the Ministry of Health (MOH) to avoid non-essential travel to the affected areas, which include Canada, Mexico and the US, since I would be travelling with my children, aged nine and 10. I would like to applaud Singapore Airlines for allowing us to cancel our trip from Singapore to New York without penalty.
I had also booked domestic flights from New York to Toronto via Delta and American Airlines, but they refused to let me cancel the bookings with refund on the grounds that the tickets were non-refundable and that they do not classify New York and Canada as affected areas.
Given this, I called MSIG Insurance, as my family is insured under its travel plan, to enquire whether I could file a claim for non-recoverable expenses as a result of trip cancellation based on MOH's travel advisory. To my surprise, I was told by MSIG Insurance that our medical expenses would be covered if we were infected by the H1N1 virus, but expenses arising from trip cancellation due to the H1N1 flu are not covered.
I bought travel insurance for peace of mind, but I felt unprotected in this case. Airlines, travel agencies and insurance companies should play a more active role in supporting MOH's travel advisory by accommodating the needs of passengers or customers who have decided not to travel to affected areas.
For the benefit of other travelers, I would like to ask the General Insurance Association of Singapore for its advice and assistance in forwarding this message to its members.
I hope that insurers can exercise empathy and provide their consumers with better and wider coverage when dealing with unexpected outbreaks of viruses like Sars and H1N1.
