LV suspends the sale of ALL travel insurance due to coronavirus

The insurer, which has regularly featured in our travel insurance top picks, says it made the decision today after considering "a number of different options". It insists the suspension is temporary, but was unable to say how long it will be for. 

Existing LV travel insurance customers AREN'T affected – if you already have one of its policies there's no change and your cover will continue to be valid. You will also be able to renew your policy if you wish to. 

It comes as other big insurers are also limiting the cover they sell to new customers, and the travel insurance industry as a whole faces enormous pressure as a result of the huge travel disruption caused by the coronavirus outbreak. 

We always say get travel insurance ASAB (As Soon As you Book), and right now it's more important than ever. For our travel insurance top picks that will cover you for coronavirus cancellation, see our Covid-19 Coronavirus Help guide. Also see Cheap Travel Insurance. 

What are other insurers doing?

Although LV is the first major insurer we've seen that has stopped offering travel insurance altogether, other companies have also started limiting the products they are offering in the past week:

• Aviva is no longer offering 'travel disruption' cover or 'airspace closure' cover to new customers. Travel disruption cover usually provides additional protection if your journey is disrupted, for instance if your flight is unexpectedly cancelled. However, in Aviva's case, the key benefit was that it meant you would be covered if  the Foreign and Commonwealth Office advised against travel to your destination after you've bought the policy.

• The AA is no longer quoting for single-trip policies covering Italy, France or Spain. 

What does LV say?

An LV spokesperson said: "In light of the significant impact that coronavirus is having globally, LV has taken the difficult decision to pause the sale of travel insurance to new customers.

"In the last couple of weeks, we've seen the number of policies sold double. Whilst LV is a major motor and home insurer, we are a small travel insurance provider and it's important for the long-term benefit of all our customers that our exposure to this market remains at a sustainable level for the overall business.

"We considered a number of different options, such as excluding cover or significantly increasing prices for new customers but we strongly believe this temporary measure of pausing the sale of new policies and focusing on our existing customers is the right decision.

"There is no change for existing customers who already have a policy with us. They can contact us in the normal way if they need to make a claim, and we are also still offering renewals to our existing customers so they can continue to be insured with us. 

"LV remains committed to the travel insurance market and this is only a temporary move given the exceptional circumstances we find ourselves in. We will continue to monitor the situation closely and review the decision on an ongoing basis."