A FUNNY thing happened to me when I was in Canada recently. I caught COVID…again.

This was my second bout of the dreaded virus. The first – ironically – also came on an overseas trip.

I was in Quebec attending RendevousCanada 2023 and let me tell you, it’s not much fun waking up in a hotel room on the other side of the world feeling like death warmed up.

Worse still, it was the day I was due to check out and join a group of complete strangers on a four-day post event famil tour. I struggled through the first day before the dreaded RAT test revealed the truth.

Fortunately, the group I was travelling with were very understanding and after a day and a half I was right as rain, which brings me to the point of the story.

It seems that most travellers have come to the conclusion that COVID is just something that we will all have to live with for the foreseeable future.

For example, put 1,500 people from around the world in a conference centre for three days and it’s highly likely someone with the virus will give it to someone else.

“COVID continues to be one of the main reasons our customers claim and it looks like it’s going to affect travellers for some time to come,” commented Jo McCauley, CEO for Southern Cross Travel Insurance, in a recent press release.

“On average we are paying out claims for cancellation and travel disruption due to COVID to the value of $1,500, which is a sizeable cost.

“It’s still very much at large and impacting our customers’ plans.”

The potential threat is only likely to become more widespread with the USA, Japan and China recently opening their borders to non-vaccinated travellers.

According to extensive research and pricing data obtained by Comparetravelinsurance.com.au, travel insurance has increased on average by more than 35 per cent since the pandemic.

This has led some 36 per cent of Australians surveyed by the same online company to say they would opt out of getting a policy because of the rising costs.

Perhaps even more worrying (yet hardly surprising) is that it’s our young folk who are most likely to risk travelling without adequate cover just to save a buck or two.

Older travellers are also being affected. Some are effectively being priced out of the overseas market due to the rising cost of travel insurance.

“Even if the price of a policy has increased post pandemic, the cost of overseas medical bills or trip cancellations can far outweigh the cost of a policy, particularly in today’s travel climate,” advises Natalie Ball, Director of Comparetravelinsurance.com.au

“It is vital that all travellers put their health and safety first.”

Wise words and as we come to terms with travelling in a world where COVID is still a potential threat, it pays to take adequate precautions…literally.