InsureMyTrip Blog

Unsurprisingly, our Customer Care representatives have been fielding quite a few calls over the past few days about the escalating civil unrest in Egypt.  While we covered the basics of the State Department’s travel warning and some other related topics in yesterday’s post, we felt it was important to cover in more depth a few of the most common questions and concerns our customers are voicing at this time.

I’m planning to travel to Egypt within the next few days, but I didn’t purchase travel insurance.  Can I buy a policy now?

Probably not.  There’s a reasonable likelihood that you’d run into difficulty with your plans due to the ongoing instability there; that makes this sort of akin to trying to get flood insurance for your house when the water is already trickling into the basement.  Situations like this one are among the many reasons we always urge travelers to purchase their insurance when they are making their initial trip arrangements.

I’m supposed to be traveling to Egypt quite soon, and I do have a travel insurance policy.  Why did your Customer Care Center tell me that I can’t get reimbursed for canceling my trip?

Civil and political unrest are not included in the standard coverage under most travel insurance policies.  While there are several policies that do cover expenses incurred if you’re delayed as a result of civil unrest, most do not allow you to cancel your trip because of current instability in the region.  Any exceptions to this rule generally come into play only if there is a terrorist act in your destination city or a city on your itinerary.  However, if you happen to have purchased a Cancel for Any Reason (CFAR) policy, then you should be able to cancel your trip and receive reimbursement.

I’m not actually planning to travel to Egypt, but I’m thinking about booking a trip either to another country in the Middle East or with flights that may connect through Middle Eastern cities.  What kind of travel insurance should I consider?

This is the question we hope all potential travelers are asking themselves right now.  Most of the major news outlets have been reporting for several days now that it appears that political uprisings, such as the one in Egypt, have been planned in many other countries — Syria, Jordan, and Yemen among them.  It would be wise for travelers whose plans may take them to, or through, any part of the Middle East to be proactive in the face of these reports and make sure that they purchase appropriate coverage for any upcoming trips.   We highly recommend calling our Customer Care center at 800-487-4722 to discuss the best coverage options for your specific itinerary as soon as possible.

I heard that it would probably be impossible from now on to get any kind of travel insurance for trips to Egypt.  Is that true?

Happily not!  Travel insurance is intended to provide protection for all different kinds of scenarios; civil unrest is only one small piece of the whole travel insurance puzzle.  In fact, the major take-away lesson from these events is that in general, civil or political unrest is the kind of “wild card” occurrence that most likely wouldn’t be covered anyway, unless you have a Cancel for Any Reason policy.  That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t get travel insurance for a future trip to the pyramids, though — far from it.  The more likely causes of travel woes — illness, injury, delays, and other relatively routine but still unforeseen events — can still befall you in Egypt, or anywhere in the world.  Travel insurance is still available to cover you for those concerns, and will continue to be available, despite the current political situation.  Although it’s hard to think about the more mundane things that can happen when something major grabs the headlines, it’s just as important now as it ever has been to think about the big picture and protect yourself against every eventuality, even the things that seem small when compared to the cataclysmic events of the past few days.

As always, we urge all travelers to carefully review their needs and call us to discuss the best options for insuring any upcoming trips, regardless of where in the world they may be traveling.  While events like the civil unrest in Egypt certainly put travel insurance in the spotlight, our goal today remains unchanged from what it always has been: to provide every possible protection for your trip, so you can continue to explore the world with confidence.

The current situation in Egypt is of great concern to us, as it is to all of our customers and travelers worldwide.  We’re keeping a very close watch over the latest information coming from all channels regarding travel to and from the region.  As of yesterday, the State Department upgraded their recommendations from a Travel Alert to a Travel Warning; the details of that warning, as well as consistently updated information about the ongoing situation in Egypt, can be found here. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s an annual travel industry ritual: Wave Season.  Traditionally, January marks the beginning of this highly-anticipated time, during which bargains on cruises are at their peak.  Travelers looking to get a good deal on their next seafaring vacation are already scouting the different offers at various cruise lines and travel sites. Read the rest of this entry »

Bri, Marketing

Thanks, Mother Nature.  Happy Holidays to you, too.

Pardon us for the moment of sarcasm, but the current insanity that’s happening at Heathrow — at last check, the airport has announced that fully less than 1/3 of its flights (both inbound and outbound) will be operating until after Christmas — is just one more major upheaval in a string of weather-related travel nightmares.  The 2010 Holiday Travel Season is upon us, and since Thanksgiving, the traveling public has been peppered with gloomy announcements of delays and cancellations, all courtesy of what meteorologists the world over are euphemistically calling “events.”  Yes, Mr. Weatherman, it’s pretty eventful out there. Read the rest of this entry »

Bri, Marketing

You may have heard that the TSA has issued a new set of regulations for airlines and passengers, which went into effect on November 1, 2010.  While most of the news coverage about the switch has been focused on what will be happening from now on as you navigate the process of booking your flight and being cleared through security, we’ve noticed that the TSA itself is recommending that passengers who already have flights booked for departure dates after 11/1 take some action to be sure they’re cleared under the new Secure Flight guidelines. Read the rest of this entry »

Bri, Marketing

If you’re reading this, I suspect you, like most of us, have been keeping up with the news surrounding this weekend’s State Department Travel Alert.  For those who haven’t yet heard, here’s a quick recap, from the government’s travel security website:

“The State Department alerts U.S. citizens to the potential for terrorist attacks in Europe.  Current information suggests that al-Qa’ida and affiliated organizations continue to plan terrorist attacks.  European governments have taken action to guard against a terrorist attack and some have spoken publicly about the heightened threat conditions.” Read the rest of this entry »

Bri, Marketing

It’s not uncommon for me to find, as I catch up daily on the blogs and news feeds of many in the travel industry, that there are people out there who have significant questions about travel insurance.  They range in specificity and validity, from the “Isn’t that some newfangled hoax?” variety to the “I’m puzzled, I’m frustrated, and I’m contacting a consumer advocate” category.  As with almost any industry or product imaginable, there are those who swear by travel insurance and those who steer clear.  I usually try to simply gauge the severity of the buzz around any particular message board or comment section and then move on to other things — often, other helpful consumers are already lighting up the same conversational arenas with very good answers or steering the chat in another direction before I can compose a response, and anyway, the best defense is a good offense. Read the rest of this entry »

Bri, Marketing

From my office in the front hallway of the InsureMyTrip building, I most often hear my coworkers before I see them.  Sometimes I hear their voices engaging in animated conversation as they walk past; at other times, I hear doors opening and closing, computer keys clicking, chairs rolling.  Shoes on the tile floor.  It’s getting so I can identify many people by their footsteps alone, and there is one particular set of footsteps — rapid, purposeful, padded by the rubber soles of a ubiquitous pair of sneakers — that I’ve noticed has been making more and more rounds lately.  The steps belong to our I.T. Manager, Dennis, who has recently taken ownership of more than just his energetic journeys around the office hallways. Read the rest of this entry »

Bri, Marketing

I couldn’t help but notice that the NY Times recently ran an article about the frustrations travelers are experiencing lately, as airlines find ways to avoid taking any kind of responsibility for delays and cancellations that severely disrupt people’s plans.  As I read the article, a little voice in my head kept saying, “…but if you have travel insurance, you might be covered….”  But alas, the Times piece doesn’t mention travel insurance at all. Read the rest of this entry »

John, Customer Care Manager

InsureMyTrip recently ran a blog contest, in which employees were encouraged to submit posts for the blog in two different categories.  This post by Customer Care Manager John won in the “Personal Interest” category.  Congratulations, John!

To a lot of people, there is nothing more boring than watching a baseball game; in fact, I know several people who would rather watch the grass grow.  “They’re not athletes,” “they just stand around,” are some of the statements that I have heard over the years.  To people like me though, baseball is more than a game — it’s memories of childhood and innocence. Read the rest of this entry »