BHA UPDATE: INSURANCE MANDATE

The results of the survey that we circulated on Monday January 17th indicated that 82% of you wanted BHA to go back to the government with questions and serious concerns about the upcoming insurance mandate for foreign visitors to Belize.

We requested a meeting with the BTB and on Thursday January 20th met with the Tourism Minister Hon. Anthony Mahler, the Director of Tourism Mr. Evan Tillett, and the CEO of Tourism Mrs Nicole Solano. We discussed the issues that were prominent among the comments we received from the properties we represent.

A primary concern was the ability to allow the visitors to acquire the insurance of their choice or use their existing insurance providing that it covered Belize's requirements which include, trip cancellation, medical emergencies during their Belize vacation and quarantine accommodations coverage. The trio explained that unlike the destinations that can show large projected volumes of tourist visitors, our numbers don't give us the same bargaining power with the larger international insurance companies. The consideration for visitors to use their existing insurance would have decreased the projected volumes that allowed the government to negotiate a rate of US$18. We also learned that they are in conversation with another foreign provider and one additional local provider which may come onstream as additional options if they can offer the same coverage at US$18 or less.

The second point involved the very valid concerns of yet another documentation verification requirement that will add to the bottleneck situation at the PGIA. The CEO explained that the immigration point which does the checks will be responsible for validating and the red and green line process that is presently utilized to fast track those that have all necessary documents will continue to be utilized so that there will be no interruption at the airport come February 15th 2022.

We asked questions in respect to the life of the mandate and they explained that the implementation of the insurance mandate for foreign visitors falls under the Public Health Regulations; therefore, just as we hope to see certain regulations relaxed when things normalize, we got a commitment from the BTB team that this would also be considered for revision and hopefully become optional eventually.

Many properties understandably had questions about the claim process for the three scenarios that would activate a claim:

- Trip cancellation before guests arrive
- Emergency medical attention during the guest's vacation
- Quarantine / trip extension due to Covid

Trip Cancellation - If for some unforeseen Medical Emergency, injury, or death of the insured, or a close family member, and the policy holder is unable to travel, they will be reimbursed for their hotel expenses up to a maximum of 3,000.00 US. Dollars. The insured will contact a 24hr call center where they will be guided in regards to documents that will need to be provided, for example invoice from the hotel, or a medical form in the case of injury. Once they meet the criteria, the policyholder will be reimbursed and will not need to be concerned about a refund from the hotel property if the cancellation falls outside of the Hotel's cancelation window.

In-Country Medical Emergency - The policyholder will reach out to a local telephone number which is linked to the 24-hour call center. The call center will then reach out to their network of doctors, medical facilities, and ambulance services depending on severity of the illness. They will guide the policyholder through the process, and the Third-Party Administrator (WTA) will settle payments with providers, up to the 50,000 US policy limit.

Covid 19 Quarantine - The policy holder will reach out to a local telephone number which is linked to the 24 hour call center. Basic information will be required, including the hotel in which they are staying. If for some reason the facility is not an approved Covid 19 facility (if mandated to be) they will arrange for the person to be transported to an approved facility. Once there the policy holder will be reimbursed a maximum of 300.00 US per day, up to a maximum of 2,000.00 US.

The link for the purchase of the insurance is still not available but we will ensure to inform and guide our members as soon as BTB makes that link available. As always, we continue to be the voice of our members and commit to responsible and fair mediation between our government leaders in the industry, and you, our members who are the lifeline of this industry that our economy so heavily depends on.

Alina Saldivar
President
Belize Hotel Association