Covid-specific insurance launched for Canary Islands
Hoteliers and apartment owners in the Canary Islands have launched their own travel insurance package in an effort to restore confidence among holidaymakers, writes David Ing
Four associations have teamed up with brokers Sanza Corredores de Seguros and insurance company ARAG to provide a specific product that will provide cover for up to six months, depending on the evolution of the Covid-19 pandemic. In a joint statement, they said that their Turismo Canarias 2020 policy will includemedical and health assistance, telephone and video consulting, and repatriation in cases of illness.
It will also cover areas such as the displacement of a family member or other companion if hospitalisation is needed, andconvalescence periods in the actual hotels for the patient and a companion.
The hoteliers explained that the aim is to offer security to both tourists and the hotels, given that ‘one of the key aspects to be taken into account with the new touristic norms in the process of reopening of hotels is the generation of confidence in the client’.
According to one of the associations, Ashotel, which represents the accommodation sector in Tenerife and the western islands, that confidence ‘comes not only from the implementation of specific hygiene and security protocols in the establishment, but also the fact that they know that both they and their families will be looked after at all times’.
Sanza and ARAG said they had been working alongside the associations for several weeks to design a package that would offer ‘the best product possible at the best price, given the economic uncertainty that the sector is facing’. That is why they have introduced an initial cover period of six months, one that will be open to renewal if necessary, as opposed to an annual policy. This would make allowances for the ‘changing situation generated by the pandemic’, and in the case of a treatment or vaccine appearing on the scene, enable them to discontinue the policy quicker.
This latest initiative follows the Canary Islands signing up in May with the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) to sponsor the launch of what has been heralded as the world’s first ‘safe’ flight in the wake of Covid. Passengers to the islands will be able to use a ‘digital health passport’ on their smartphones that will store their medical records.