Maldives introduces special Covid-19 travel insurance for tourists

Tourists arriving in Maldives after the borders opened after being closed amid the Covid-19 pandemic | Photo: Mihaaru

Male’, Maldives – Allied Insurance Company, in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism of Maldives, has introduced special Covid-19 travel insurance packages for tourists.

The insurance packages were introduced during a virtual ceremony held on Thursday by the Maldives’ Tourism Minister, Abdulla Mausoom and Managing Director of Allied Insurance, Mohamed Shafaz.

The insurance packages introduced as an attempt to restart the tourism industry of Maldives will be covering any Covid-19 related expenses that the tourist needs. The tourist is required to purchase the Insurance Package before arriving to Maldives.

Therefore, a total of four insurance plan options are available for the tourists who will be visiting the country. They are:

  • Allied Inboud (for less than 07 days) – $25.
  • Allied Inbound (for more than 07 days)  – $35.
  • Allied Inbound Plus (for less than 07 days) – $35.
  • Allied Inbound Plus (for more than 07 days) – $45.

All of the four Insurance plans include of insurance for four different things. The amount for each insurance differs with the Insurance plan selected. They are:

  • Insurance for isolation facility (per day) – varying from $75 to $150.
  • Insurance for emergency medical transportation by sea to the nearest medical facility in Maldives – varying from $2,000 to $3,000.
  • Insurance for emergency medical expenses to treat the illness – varying from $75,000 to $100,000.
  • Interment – $20,000.

However, the Health Protection Agency (HPA) states that the costs for conducting diagnostic tests and facilitating isolation -in case the tourist tests positive for the virus- must be covered by either the tourist or by the establishment the tourist made booking in.

According to Tourism Minister Mausoom, the Insurance Packages will increase the confidence of the tourists who are staying in Maldives. He expects at least 100,000 tourist arrivals for the rest of the year but so far only 22,007 tourists arrived until October 5 of the year after the borders reopened.

As the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has forced several countries to close their boarders to contain the virus, it has left Maldives in a vulnerable state as the country’s economy mainly depends on the tourism industry. However, after the reopening of international boarders in July, the Maldives has since then continued to work hard on restarting the tourism industry. In an attempt to do so, the country had also introduced the world’s first loyalty program for tourists.