InsureMyTrip Blog

Image credit: Diego Cupolo, used under Creative Commons Attribution

Recent news of a mysterious outbreak of illness in China has certainly not escaped the notice of informed travelers.  The rare strain of avian flu, H7N9, has sickened a handful of people and killed two so far.  While scientists are still studying the disease and say that the likelihood of widespread human-to-human transmission appears to be low, many people are having a hard time banishing memories of other infectious disease outbreaks in recent history – most notably, the 2003 H5N1 bird flu that killed hundreds, the H1N1 “swine flu” epidemic in 2009, and the infamous outbreak of SARS that resulted in nearly 1,000 deaths a decade ago.

Understandably, news of any potential outbreak of disease around the globe can make travelers wary.  Although there is no reason at this point to suspect that the new avian flu strain will become widespread enough to rise to the level of a serious threat, it seems like an opportune time to remind travelers of the position travel insurance is most likely to take on issues such as global epidemics and pandemics.

Simply put, an identified epidemic or pandemic is generally going to be excluded from coverage on most insurance policies.  That means that if you are intending to travel to a part of the world impacted by illness, you probably will not be able to cancel your trip due to fear of a pandemic and receive any coverage for the cancellation.  However, the exception to the rule – as always – can be found in a Cancel For Any Reason policy.

Cancel For Any Reason (CFAR) coverage provides you with the option to cancel your plans for whatever reason you choose, whether it’s listed as “excluded” or not by your insurance provider.  Savvy travelers who are looking at booking trips to Asia at this point in time might be wise to purchase a CFAR policy sooner rather than later; that way, if the situation in China does happen to escalate and becomes a more imminent threat to public health, you would have greater security and flexibility to change your plans under the terms of your travel insurance policy.  Because CFAR is a time-sensitive benefit, to be eligible to purchase the coverage, you need to buy your travel insurance quickly; we generally recommend buying within 10-30 days of your first trip payment in order to be sure that all the possible options are available to you.

Keep in mind that when you purchase a CFAR policy, you may not be required to adhere to “covered reasons” for cancellation, but you do have to remain aware of the terms of your plan.  In general, to file a claim using your CFAR benefit, you have to cancel your trip and notify all travel suppliers 48 hours or more in advance of your scheduled departure.  That means that if you become alarmed by the escalation of a potential flu outbreak in China, and want to back out, you can’t wait until the very last second to make your decision; but you can take some time to see how the situation develops and make an informed choice about whether or not to fulfill your travel plans.

At this point in time, it’s really far too early to tell what, if anything, will happen with the avian flu situation in China; but in the travel insurance world, it’s never too early to prepare yourself for the “what-if” scenario.  To inquire about finding the right travel insurance plan for your upcoming trip, we recommend calling our licensed Customer Care representatives at 800-590-2650.

Image courtesy of http://www.ForestWander.com, used under Creative Commons attribution

This Spring — such as it is — appears to be starting off as one big “whoops” moment.

Groundhog: Whoops.  Expected sunny skies: Whoops.  Warm Spring Break hopes: Whoops.

And then there’s all that pesky cruising news: Whoops.  Whoops.  And Whoops again.

Not to mention, of course, sequester-related shortfalls and furloughs affecting the TSA, FAA, and air travelers at large: Whoops.  We could go on, but you probably get the point by now.  Travel, at least right now (and probably not really ever), is not a simple and predictable experience.

Many people who come to us are asking some version of the question, “Do I really need travel insurance?“  We have lots of answers to that question — most of them involving multiple ways of saying “Probably” — but it seems as if there are moments in time that serve as their own answer.  Travel moments such as this one are examples we can hold up to remind everyone of why this industry exists, and why travel insurance has become increasingly popular as people become more and more aware of the very real meaning of the term “unforeseen event.”

We don’t expect that very many travelers each year are going to fall victim to a splashy, media-worthy travel snafu, or that large numbers of the people who buy their insurance through us will end up needing big-ticket services like emergency medical evacuation.  We don’t think very many of you will get caught up in volcanoes, tsunamis, earthquakes, cruise ship sinkings, terrorist attacks, or any of the other incredibly scary, but also incredibly rare, events that tend to come to mind when we contemplate all the things that could go wrong when we step away from home and the comfort of routine.  But while travel insurance does provide some assistance that might prove useful in those horrific events, that’s not entirely what travel insurance was created for, nor what it does for the majority of travelers each and every day.

This stuff — this “whoops” stuff, this mostly inconvenient, non-disastrous, highly annoying, but not life-threatening stuff — is the real reason we sell travel insurance.  When rodents wrongly predict the weather, and serious snow tangles travel well after the first day of Spring, that’s what travel insurance is for.  When cruises get cancelled and people have to change their plans unexpectedly, that’s what travel insurance is for.  When security slows down and flights get delayed, that’s what travel insurance is for.  This everyday, travel-headache, wish-I-could-fix-it, just-want-to-get-there-already kind of stuff.

Yes, there are important benefits for the scary things like medical evacuation, and comforting benefits for the hard things like working around a pre-existing medical condition.  There are even Accidental Death and Dismemberment benefits to help you care for your loved ones if, by some awful twist of fate, you don’t make it home.  But in travel insurance, as in life, it’s often the little things that make a difference, and this moment in travel is about the little things.

Travel insurance, at this moment in travel, is about getting you there and getting you home.  It’s about helping you to rebook a cancelled flight, getting you reimbursed for non-refundable expenses you paid for a trip that fell apart, and making you more comfortable while you’re waiting at the airport for the next way out.  It’s about making sure that lost or delayed luggage doesn’t ruin that special event you’d packed for, and that a missed connection doesn’t have to mean an entire missed opportunity.  Travel insurance, at times like this one, is really for your comfort and your peace of mind as much as it may be for your safety and security. It’s there to turn the “whoops” moment around and respond with, “That’s okay.”

It may be too late, right now, to buy insurance for the current snowstorm or the latest cruise snafu, but it’s not too late to start thinking about insuring your next trip.  You never know when the “whoops” moments will come, and being prepared is the best way to relieve that worry altogether.

This morning, news broke of a major identity theft crisis affecting many prominent celebrities and politicians.  With the spattering of their social security numbers, credit scores, account information, and other sensitive data across a hacker’s website, the privacy and security of the affected individuals was essentially rendered null and void.

Identity theft is a frightening thing; it’s a crime that crosses barriers and can impact literally anyone, anywhere.  It’s also a crime that can be among the top concerns of some travelers, who worry that when they’re away from home, carrying important identifying documents like passports and visas, a single incident of petty theft could turn into an identity theft nightmare.  Luckily, the travel insurance industry is evolving to keep up with the times.

Travel insurance can’t, obviously, prevent you from becoming a victim of identity theft.  However, there are some plans now on the market that offer a specialized coverage to help mitigate any damage that could be done by identity thieves.  The benefits are unique, because they don’t involve any kind of financial reimbursement like other types of travel insurance.  Instead, identity theft coverage purchased through your travel insurance provider would give you access to expert services to help you monitor and resolve any issues arising from possible identity theft while you’re traveling.

How does it work?

Your travel insurance company, upon being alerted of the possibility that your identity had been stolen, would assist you in registering the incident with all appropriate authorities.  Through a series of detailed questions, they would help determine conclusively, to the best of their ability, whether or not there was in fact any breach of your personal security, and provide you with information about resolving the issue and preventing further damage.

If it’s determined that you have been the victim of identity theft while traveling, your insurance company would then provide you with the appropriate forms for documentation and reporting so you can file records with all the pertinent parties — including the authorities, credit bureaus, and financial institutions.  Depending on the terms of your coverage, they would also assist you in submitting the forms and contacting the appropriate people at each agency, or they would take care of those tasks for you.

Once all the paperwork is taken care of, your insurance company would then help you undertake preventive measures, like enrolling you in a credit monitoring service, freezing or cancelling your credit cards, and issuing new ones.  You may also receive status reports from the travel insurance company for a predetermined length of time, to help keep you informed about the progress of the resolution measures.

Lastly, if your particular case of identity theft involved the loss of any personal documents, like passports or driver’s licenses, your travel insurance provider may help you with the process of replacing those documents.  They may also, depending on the terms of your policy, continue to follow up with creditors and financial institutions for a period of time after the filing of your claim in order to make sure that everything is fully resolved and there’s no further damage done.

As the world evolves, travel evolves; as travel evolves, travel insurance benefits must keep pace.  The development of new products to help travelers maintain as much security and peace of mind as possible is good news for everyone.  If you’re concerned about the possibility of identity theft on your next trip, make sure to ask a licensed travel insurance provider about the types of coverage we’ve discussed, so you can be fully protected against the latest threat to travel safety.