Skiing bummer: Trip insurance won’t pay for COVID

A travel insurance firm hoping to get a pass on paying for canceled ski trips over the COVID-19 pandemic is getting hit with a class action that argues that “quarantine” in the policy language calls for coverage.

That’s according to a lawsuit filed by a Utah skier and a law firm seeking plaintiffs Tuesday in U.S. District Court for Utah against Red Sky Travel Insurance and Arch Insurance, the Salt Lake Tribune reported.

The plaintiff bought the travel insurance with his Ikon pass, which permits skiing at more than 40 resorts in the Utah mountains, according to the article.

If skiers are unable to use a pass for death, sickness or “quarantine” — policy terms – the insurance would kick in, according to the article. The man attempted to file a claim after Alterra Mountain Co., which operates most resorts covered by the Ikon passes, announced it was closing on March 15 because of the pandemic, the newspaper reported.

The man was denied on the basis that he had not fallen ill, according to the article.

More insurance and risk management news on the coronavirus crisis here.