Several agencies and insurance companies will be offering new insurance packages to both tourists and departing Mauritians. The Covid Medical Coverage packages for travellers will be adapted to the requirements of the Covid-19.
As from 50 euros
Apart from incoming Mauritians and residence permit holders, the reopening of the borders requires incoming and outgoing Mauritian holidaymakers to subscribe to a health insurance that covers medical expenses related to Covid-19. With this requirement comes this Covid Medical Coverage package which could cost between 50 to 150 Euros depending on the case, “Without a Covid-19 medical insurance, the traveller will not be allowed to enter the country. We are currently working with the various actors in the travel sector to propose a formula that could best cover a traveller in all its stages in case of a Covid 19 positivity. The package will cover pharmaceutical expenses, clinic fees, surgery, transport and repatriation“, explains Vasish Ramkhalawon, president of the Mauritius Insurance Association.
Getting better information
The protocol varies from country to country in the management of Covid 19 and the management of a traveller who has tested positive or is ill on its territory, so it is imperative that the traveller informs himself. “Travellers leaving Mauritius must be very careful about the criteria for management in the event of a positive test on a foreign territory,” he said. For the tourist who might come to Mauritius without medical insurance, the insurance companies will offer them this package if they are double vaccinated with AstraZeneca: Covishield and AstraZeneca: Vaxzevria, Covaxin, Johnson & Johnson, Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech Vaccine, Sinopharm, Sinovac-CoronaVac and Sputnik
An ‘All Covid 19 inclusive’ would be too complex
Insurer Vashish Ramkhalawon says the insurance market in Mauritius will adapt and evolve in line with foreign markets. But when asked about a special ‘All Covid 19 inclusive’ package for resident Mauritians, he says: “In essence, insurance is taken for the protection of one’s body or else. But with the Covid 19 which is considered a pandemic, many packages exclude pandemics and perils because the risks are not quantifiable. Insurance is complex, especially in the medical field. If a special Covid package is created, the pre-existing conditions for example will have to be taken into consideration. This is why insurance companies usually allow extensions on existing packages. But everything is changing and insurers will follow the foreign trend in their products and packages,” he concludes. Time will tell…
