Virgin Money removes Covid vaccination exclusion from travel policy

Virgin Money has removed a clause from its travel insurance policy that meant unvaccinated travellers who caught Covid on holiday and ended up in hospital would not have their overseas medical expenses covered. The change followed questions from Which?, which put scenarios to a panel of volunteers reading policies from Virgin Money, Tesco Insurance and M&S Bank, and published its findings on 15 July 2025.

Which? said the clause could have had expensive consequences for an unvaccinated person hospitalised with Covid in a country such as the US. It reported that Virgin Money confirmed the change after being contacted.

"When we flagged this, it said it was removing this clause from its policy."

Which?, 15 July 2025¹

The research asked volunteers whether each policy would pay out across nine scenarios. Which? said Virgin Money's policy covered three of the nine initially, rising to four once the Covid clause was removed. It said Tesco Insurance covered six of nine and M&S seven of nine¹.

Scenario	Tesco	M&S	Virgin Money
Aunt seriously ill before departure	Yes	Yes	No
Unvaccinated and hospitalised with Covid	Yes	Yes	No initially, later changed
Fall after three pints	No	"Maybe, we try to be reasonable"	Yes
iPad stolen from bag on bus	Yes	Yes	Yes
£250 cash stolen from Airbnb	Yes	No	No
Forest fire forces hotel and early flight	No	Yes	No
Missed connection after delayed flight	Yes	Yes	No
Undiagnosed leg condition treated abroad	No	Yes	No

Source: Which?, 15 July 2025¹

Which? also reported that volunteers found the documents fairly understandable but often answered incorrectly: 55% of questions right for M&S, 57% for Virgin Money and 69% for Tesco. It said helpline staff were sometimes confused too, with Tesco staff wrong once and unable to answer three scenarios, M&S saying "don't know" twice, and Virgin Money's team wrongly saying a delay caused by an aunt's illness would be covered¹.

All three insurers told Which? they would consider its feedback when reviewing their travel policies, and Virgin Money said it would work with its underwriter on possible improvements¹.

Why it matters for households

The change affects Virgin Money travel policyholders, and anyone buying or renewing cover, from the point the clause was removed. Covid hospital bills abroad can be large, and the exclusion previously applied specifically to people who had skipped a vaccination offered by the NHS. The wider findings concern what policies actually pay out for: cash stolen from an Airbnb, a missed connection after a delayed flight, or treatment for a condition that had not been diagnosed before departure. Which? found that the wording of exclusions, rather than the price of cover, determined the answers, and that its volunteers frequently misread what was included. How travel insurance works in these areas varies by insurer, and the Foreign Office travel advice attached to a destination can also affect cover.

What happens next

Virgin Money said it would work with its underwriter to see whether further improvements could be made, and all three insurers said they would consider the feedback in policy reviews¹. No date has been reported for any further changes.

Sources1 cited