Your travel insurance cover expedited return travel and cancellation in relation to Coronavirus

Find information about the coverage of your travel insurance in relation to the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak.

The information was updated on August 9 2021.

As of July 5th, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will terminate the travel advice for EEA/Schengen and the United Kingdom. For travel to these countries from and including June 23rd, the insurance provide coverage as normal including illness due to Covid-19. This applies whether you have been vaccinated or not.

Important information regarding future trips

Travel advice for the rest of the world still exists at least until September 1 2021 and we advice you to follow these. However, if you choose to travel to a country or area that is red, your insurance covers as normal – except for claims related to the Covid-19 situation. The claims are not covered in red countries*.

If you travel to a country when the travel advice is revoked, all claims are covered as normal, including those related to the Covid-19 situation.

Please note, however, that the insurance does not cover early return journey, or holiday compensation/replacement trip if your travel is interrupted due to a change in infection situation at the destination. 

*other conditions apply to our private Trip-by-trip travel insurance and on business trips with the Business FLEX insurance.

Cancellation

Cancellation of a planned trip is only covered by Gouda for customers holding a cancellation insurance or a travel insurance including cancellation coverage as noted in their policy

Cancel your trip and file your claim

  1. Contact your airline or travel agency to cancel your trip. 

    – If the trip is cancelled by your airline or travel agency, you are entitled to a refund from them. 
    – If the trip is not cancelled by your airline or travel agency, you will have to cancel it yourself and get the refund you are entitled to from them. 

  2. Make sure to get documentation from the airline or travel agency that shows which expenses that have not been refunded.

  3. File your claim online.

  • We only cover expenses related to cancellation for those of our customers whose insurance policy includes said coverage.  

    Private travels abroad

    The insurance cover cancellation for private leisure travels

    • If your trip was ordered prior to March 14 and

    • the travel advice by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign affairs advise you not to travel to your destination on the date of departure. 

    Please bear in mind that specific rules applies to leisure travels to Denmark. Se below.

    Business travels abroad 

    • To countries outside of the Nordic region the insurance covers cancellation as long as the travel advice by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign affairs advise you not to travel to your destination on the date of departure. As of now the current advice are valid until January 15 2021 

    • To countries wihtin the Nordic region the insurance does not cover business travels from June 1 and onwards.

  • The Norwegian government advice against domestic travels in order to limit the outbreak of the Coronavirus within Norway. Coverage for this is however not included in the insurance. If your domestic flight is cancelled by the airline, you should contact the airline to get a refund.

  • The Norwegian Directorate of Health (Helsedirektoratet) now prohibit all travel abroad for employees working with public health care in Noway. The conditions above concerning cancellation also applies to you.

Expedited return to Norway

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs encourage all Norwegian citizens who are travelling abroad to consider returning home as soon as possible, in safe and calm manner, in consultation with their travel agency or airline.

You must make your own travel arrangements by contacting your travel agency or airline. Unfortunately we cannot arrange this for you. If you are unable to reach your travel agency or flight operator, contact the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs by phone +47 23 95 00 00 or email at UDops@mfa.no Expenses not refunded by your travel agency or flight operator should be filed as a claim on your travel insurance. There will be given no compensation for lost vacation days.

  • Necessary extra expenses related to expedited return travel are covered if

    • you had bought a return ticket to Norway before March 13 and returned to Norway before April 4.

    Extra expenses related to expedited returns are not covered if   

    • you are travelling from Norway after March 14th
    • you have an open return ticket – then you must use this ticket to return to Norway
    • you prior to this have not booked and paid your return tickets. In this case you will have to pay for them yourself
    • you are a temporary resident abroad, as you should follow the instructions provided by the local authorities

File your claim online

We encourage all our customers who wish to file a claim to do so online as soon as the day of your planned departure has passed.  

Please make sure to initially contact your travel agency or airline in order to get a refund. Expenses not covered by those, you may register as an insurance claim afterwards. Remember, that you must document your economic loss.

If you trip is to start on a date later than August 20 we kindly ask you to wait until after this date to contact us or file the claim.

Students abroad

  • Exchange students should follow the Ministry of Foreign Affairs guidelines and rely on the information from their Norwegian school or university and the Norwegian government. As the situation varies from country to country the individual must consider local conditions, their own situation as well as possibilities of returning to Norway. The insurance covers as usual, but pay in mind that the coverage of expedited return will not be offered again later on.
  • Students doing their entire study programme abroad should rely on the information from local authorities. The insurance covers as usual. Please note that the insurance coverage cannot be changed at this point. If you already have an insurance and need to extend its duration because your stay is prolonged we will help you do so.

  • We cover extra expenses for expedited return to Norway for students

    • With the insurance Student Utland whether or not you already had a planned return trip as long as the new return trip happened no later than April 4. Expensed related to returning to your school or university at a later point will not be covered.  

    Extra expenses related to expedited returns are not covered if

    • you are travelling from Norway after March 14th
    • you have an open return ticket – then you must use this ticket to return to Norway

Are you still abroad?

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs encourage all Norwegian citizens who are travelling abroad to consider returning home as soon as possible, in safe and calm manner, in consultation with their travel agency or airline.

  • If you – despite the advice of the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs – dedice to stay abroad you must be aware of a number of things.

    Our possibilities of helping you – should you need our assistance – can be limited if you are already in an area with Coronavirus or planning to travel to one. You may also experience, that the insurance won’t cover expenses or loss related to the Corona pandemic as the risk of the pandemic affecting your travel is now known, and you as stated in the conditions, must take precautions in order to minimise the risk of contamination or loss.  

    In non-Coronavirus related casesthe insurance covers as usual.

  • Yes, we will help you extend the duration of your insurance. However, as the risk of the Coronavirus pandemic affecting your travel is now known, the insurance will not cover future losses or claims related to the COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic.

More information

Please look for more information on the website of the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Contact Gouda

Please contact Gouda customer service and claims department for non-acute inquiries related to your travel insurance 

Opening hours

  • Customer service: Monday - Friday 10:00-14:00
  • Claims: Monday - Friday 10:00-15:00

Both departments can be reached by calling +47 24 14 45 70

Help and information from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Norwegian citizens currently abroad

If you are abroad and in need of help and can’t reach your travel agency or airline, you should contact the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by phone on (+47) 23 95 00 00 or send them an email at UDops@mfa.no.

You’ll find find er information about planned flights on the Ministry’s Facebook page

We encourage all Norwegian citizens travelling abroad to registrer ther whereabouts at reiseregistrering.no and remember to delete your registration once you have returned to Norway.