Travel insurers have made coverage updates after the federal government lowered its risk assessment for the Middle East.

Canberra last week dropped its “do not travel” warning for Bahrain, Israel, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates in response to the US-Iran ceasefire.

It now has a “reconsider your need to travel” notice on the countries, except for some areas in Israel.

“The lowering of … travel advice … means Australians travelling to or transiting through those countries will now have access to travel insurance cover,” an Insurance Council of Australia spokesperson told insuranceNEWS.com.au.

“However, Australians should be aware that [the government’s] travel advisory level is not the only factor that determines what is and isn’t covered. Acts of war and armed conflict are standard exclusions across travel insurance policies, regardless of the advisory level.”

Redion, previously known as Europ Assistance, says Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE have been removed from its restricted selling list.

“Depending on the policy terms and conditions, customers may now also be eligible to purchase travel insurance for these destinations,” Australia and New Zealand CEO Justin Sebire said.

“And for customers transiting through one of these destination for less than 72 hours, there is no need to list it on the policy for coverage to apply.”

Allianz Partners executive head of travel Damien Arthur says cover will be available for UAE and Qatar.

“It is encouraging to see the government reassessing the risk level in the Middle East and providing updates to travellers,” he said.

“However, anyone travelling should still follow the advice and reconsider their need to travel in these countries. Allianz Partners encourages customers to review the product disclosure statement to understand their coverage.”

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