Not an insured event
Every traveller has the right to withdraw from their trip, but tour operators and other service providers such as hotels and airlines are generally entitled to charge the cancellation fees agreed at the time the contract was concluded.
Trip interruption insurance protects you if you have to interrupt your trip due to an unexpected and serious illness, and this also applies if you are ill with COVID-19. However, fear of becoming ill or a high risk of infection do not constitute an insured event under travel interruption cover.
Insured event
In addition to unexpected and serious illness, the cancellation insurance also covers illness with COVID-19.
Not an insured event
The Federal Council has issued a strong recommendation that all non-urgent travel to other countries be avoided, as there is a worldwide risk of infection with COVID-19. As the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a pandemic on 11.03.2020, no insurance cover is provided for this. However, travel insurance still protects you in case of events that are not due to the pandemic and that are included in the insurance cover.
Please contact the respective service provider or tour operator to discuss additional options.
Depends on the travel insurance
The premium for cancellation insurance is not reimbursed if the tour is cancelled by the operator or if the tour does not take place due to a ban on entering the country of your destination. The protection provided by the cancellation insurance takes effect starting at the point in time at which the insurance was booked, so this benefit has already been provided.
With the single-trip insurance packages Travel and Travel Premium, the benefits that apply from the start of the trip (medical expenses insurance, trip interruption insurance, etc.) are reimbursed on a pro rata basis.
Not an insured event
You are entitled to a reimbursement of payments already made to the tour operator, the hotel or the landlord of the holiday home. With cancellation insurance, cover is excluded due to the pandemic situation.
No assumption of costs is possible
Since the World Health Organization (WHO) has classified the current COVID-19 situation as a pandemic, the additional costs generally cannot be covered by the trip interruption insurance. If you are on a package holiday, please contact your tour operator, and if you booked the individual components of your holiday separately, please contact your service providers (hotel, airline, etc.).
Protection in the event of insured events that cannot be traced back to a pandemic
Travel insurance protects you if you have to cancel your trip due to an unexpected and serious illness. This also applies if you fall ill with COVID-19 during your trip.
Generally insured
If you have taken out medical expenses insurance with HanseMerkur, you are comprehensively protected while you are abroad. If you are infected with COVID-19 during your trip abroad, you are generally insured against expenses for medically necessary treatment.
Comply with the safety advice
It is crucial that you wash your hands thoroughly several times a day. You should not cough or sneeze into your hand but instead into your elbow or a tissue. Immediately dispose of such tissues in a closed bin and air out the space you are in for 5 to 10 minutes three times a day if possible. In addition, you should stay at home if you have a fever or cough.
Additional information is available in the HanseMerkur Health Portal
Important websites
Current information on COVID-19 can be found on the website of the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH)
Questions about the pandemic on the World Health Organization (WHO) site
Information on travel restrictions
Conclusion period
Insurance for foreign guests can be taken out up to 5 days after entry into Switzerland. Corona travel insurance must be taken out no later than 3 working days after booking or up to 30 days before departure. All other travel insurance can be booked at any time before the start of the trip (with or after booking the trip).
Information on the time of booking
As a general rule, travel insurance can only be taken out before a trip starts (exceptions may apply for some travel insurance policies).
Cover extended in the event of irregularities
If your trip lasts longer than originally planned through no fault of your own, HanseMerkur International will extend your insurance cover until the end of your trip.
The annual travel insurance (Travel 365) is automatically renewed for another year unless it is terminated in a timely manner (one month before the renewal takes effect).
Protection for a single trip, or protection for an unlimited number of trips in a given year
Single-trip travel insurance (Travel/Travel Premium) offers cover for exactly one trip If you plan to travel several times a year, the annual travel insurance (Travel 365/Travel 365 Premium) is a good option.
Definition of a family
A family is considered to be two adults and any accompanying children up to the age of 21, irrespective of the family relationship, but not more than a total of seven persons. At least two persons must be insured per family insurance product.
All costs associated with your trip
Please add all of the costs associated with your trip up, for example the cost of your hotel, flight and rental car.
Depends on the type of travel insurance
In cases involving cancellation insurance, the insurance cover starts when the insurance is taken out (provided the insured person has received the policy). For all other types of insurance, the insurance starts at the earliest when the individual embarks on the trip (for health insurance for travel abroad, this is when the border with a foreign country is crossed).
Inception of cover upon commencement of the trip
For cancellation insurance, your insurance cover starts when you take the insurance policy out. For all other types of insurance, it starts upon commencement of the trip. The trip is considered to be commenced once you enter the booked and insured means of transportation, or enter the booked and insured property.
Agreed expiry days
There are no termination periods for single-trip travel insurance. The insurance ends when the trip ends.
Annual contracts tacitly renew for successive terms of one year each, unless the contract is terminated by the policyholder with one month’s notice prior to their expiry.
You can find the termination periods in the General Conditions of Insurance
Regulations governing excess
In general, our insurance policies do not feature any excess in the event of a claim.
They trigger the insured event
Persons at risk are people other than the insured person who can also trigger an insured event. The term “persons at risk” only includes the insured person himself or herself, the insured person’s relatives and the insured person’s carers, as well as individuals who booked and insured the trip together with the insured person.
The illness has to be “unexpected” and “serious”.
We want our insurance to be easy for you to understand. As a result, we explain what is meant by an “unexpected serious illness” and provide you with examples. Please note that the list of examples is not exhaustive. Cover is provided for an unexpected serious illness. The illness has to be “unexpected” and “serious”. We will start by defining the criterion “unexpected” and will then provide examples of “serious” illnesses.
Scenario 1: Any illness that occurs for the first time after you take out the insurance and book the trip is considered to be unexpected.
Scenario 2: The insurance also covers a recurring illness if you have not undergone treatment for this illness in the last two weeks before taking out the insurance.
Scenario 3: If you have not undergone treatment for a pre-existing illness in the last six months before taking out the insurance, an unexpected deterioration in this illness is also insured.
Regular medical check-ups to determine your state of health do not count as treatment. The check-ups are not carried out for any specific reason and do not serve to treat the illness.
Examples of serious illnesses (not exhaustive):
Examples of an “unexpected serious illness” for the purposes of travel cancellation insurance (not exhaustive):
Examples of an “unexpected serious illness” for the purposes of trip interruption and emergency insurance (not exhaustive):
Cover is not provided for all conceivable scenarios. Examples of scenarios that are not classed as an “unexpected serious illness” (not exhaustive):
Emergency hotline service
Our Swiss emergency call centre is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to support you in the event of an emergency during your trip. The experts provide you with advice on aspects such as choosing doctors or hospitals, or can organise repatriation. If an emergency happens during your trip, call: +41 43 550 21 21
Information on the reimbursement of benefits
In the event of a claim, we need the following documents and information as a general rule:
Depending on the type of insurance, special documents – you can find further information in the notice of claim section. When making a claim, please only submit graphics and photos that are easy to read by e-mail and send them exclusively as e-mail attachments.
Please send the full documents to:
HanseMerkur International AG
Postfach
9475 Sevelen
Switzerland
E-mail: claims@hansemerkur.ch
Important information
If you are involved in an accident during your trip, proceed as follows:
You may receive a reimbursement without having to justify your decision if you rebook in good time
If a trip is rebooked, HanseMerkur International will reimburse the rebooking costs incurred up to the amount that would have been incurred if the trip had been cancelled.
If the trip is rebooked without an insured event up to 42 days before the start of the trip, HanseMerkur International will reimburse the costs of the rebooking up to a maximum of CHF 30 per person or object.
Submit statement of benefits issued by HIA
You should start by submitting your invoices for medical treatment abroad to your compulsory health insurance (HIA). Next, send the statement of benefits issued by your HIA, including the supporting documents, to HanseMerkur International.
Contact the service centre
To make a legal expenses travel claim, start by calling our service centre on: +41 43 550 21 25. We will then forward you to our partner Orion Rechtsschutz-Versicherung AG.
Contact the personal assistance and emergency call centre
Contact our Swiss emergency call centre on +41 43 550 21 21. The experts will work with you to clarify the situation and organise the necessary assistance.
Encrypted transmission
When you take out HanseMerkur travel insurance in the booking section of our website, we guarantee the very highest level of security when handling your data.
Encryption protocol for data transmission
Secure Socket Layer (SSL) is a generally recognised encryption protocol for data transmission on the Internet. SSL ensures that your data is sent over the Internet in encrypted form and that it is protected from unauthorised access and manipulation.
PCI security for your credit card
HanseMerkur International adheres to the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI), a neutral global standard for credit card payments. Compliance with the PCI standards means that your credit card payment is even better protected and helps to combat fraud.
These binding security standards ensure that HanseMerkur International does not come into contact with or process your credit card details at any time.
Choose between purchase on account and payment by credit card
Pay by credit card (Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Diners Club International). The amounts will be collected as soon as you book the insurance for policies involving a single payment. In cases involving annual insurance policies, the first premium is collected immediately and any renewal premiums are collected on the next due date, which depends on the contract inception date.
You can also opt to purchase the insurance on account. We will then send you an invoice by e-mail once you have completed your booking. The invoice amount falls due for payment immediately.