InsureMyTrip Blog

Image credit: Patriotmissile at the English Language Wikipedia, used under Creative Commons Attribution

As tensions escalate between North Korea and the rest of the world — most notably, its neighbor, peaceable South Korea — many travelers and American citizens abroad are beginning to wonder whether or not they’re really safe from the potential threat posed by Pyongyang.  As of today, the US State Department issued a statement which assures Americans that they are in no immediate danger, and that despite North Korea’s threats of “thermonuclear war” to be visited upon the South, no one needs to leave South Korea for safety reasons at this time.  Of course, that doesn’t fully allay the concerns of those who are already in South Korea, or who may be scheduled to travel there within the near future.

We’ve received many phone calls and inquiries about the position travel insurance holds on situations of delicate global security such as this one.  In short, the current situation can be broken down into two component parts: What’s happening today, and what may happen in the near future, if North Korea is to be believed.

As of today:
While the prospect of being an American in South Korea may be an uneasy one, according to the opinion of the State Department, there is no real imminent concern.  At this writing, the State Department has not issued either a travel alert or a travel warning regarding South Korea.  It’s worth pointing out, in any case, that the coverage offered by travel insurance policies even if there had been an alert or warning from the government would be somewhat limited and specific.

If you’re already there, while you should certainly exercise due caution, making the decision to curtail your trip and come home would be entirely up to you — and entirely on your dime.  If you’re planning to go there in the near future, your best bet is a travel insurance policy that offers Cancel for Any Reason (CFAR) coverage; with CFAR, you can make whatever decision is most comfortable for you regarding whether or not to fulfill your travel plans, as long as you meet the criteria for purchase eligibility as well as stay within the required window of time for cancelling your trip.

In the future:

Certainly, we wouldn’t want to speculate on what may happen, but many cautious travelers are already wondering how the situation might continue to unfold.  In the event that the State Department does, in fact, issue a travel warning, only a thorough reading of the terms of your specific travel insurance policy can answer any question about whether or not you’d be covered for cancelling your planned trip.  In most cases, travel insurance specifies that the warning would have to have been issued as the direct result of a terrorist attack on an itinerary city — a stipulation under which a threat by North Korea towards South Korea would not apply.

It’s also important to make note of the fact that if North Korean aggression escalates, and the worst — an outbreak of war between the neighboring countries — were to happen, war is typically a fully excluded reason for cancellation under the terms of most travel insurance policies.  While that’s bad luck for the traveler, again, CFAR coverage could possibly offer you the opportunity to cancel your trip regardless.

We should also note that there is some coverage available that may help if you’re already in South Korea at a time when war or particularly worrisome political violence has broken out.  Some travel insurance providers offer Non-Medical Evacuation coverage.  In plain terms, this type of coverage offers emergency evacuation to travelers who are facing immediate risk of harm due to circumstances such as civil, military or political unrest; natural disaster; or your declaration as a Persona non Grata by local authorities.  The coverage and stipulations vary by policy and provider, but in general, if the risk becomes great enough that either the host country itself or the U.S. State Department declares that American citizens ought to cease traveling in that region, the Non-Medical Evacuation Rider can be employed to assist you in getting to a safer location.

At this point in time, there is no reason to believe that any of the scenarios we’ve speculated upon are going to happen; we certainly hope fervently that all tensions subside quickly, and that South Korea remains a hospitable place for all travelers.  However, it’s important to be prepared for all eventualities. We offer everyone our best wishes for continued safety and security, and urge you to contact us with any questions or concerns you may have about the impact of this developing political situation on your travel plans.

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.

As people book cruise travel, often they’re confronted with a series of options to “add on” products and services to their bookings.  Airfare deal sites, hotel sites, and cruise lines themselves may offer travelers the chance to quickly purchase a travel insurance policy along with their bookings — usually, this involves not much more effort than checking a box to accept the insurance and paying the additional fee, which is generally quite low.  It seems like a quick and easy way to purchase your insurance, without the hassle of doing research on various policies or having to shop around for coverage.

Of course, as with most things in life, if it seems too easy, it probably is.  Buying travel insurance isn’t meant to be a frustrating, convoluted process; but it IS supposed to be a process that involves a little bit of thought and self-evaluation.  No one insurance policy is guaranteed to offer the perfect amount of coverage, the right mix of benefits, and the best value for every single passenger on a cruise ship — but that’s what the “add-on” insurance is supposed to do.  You’re supposed to believe, when you check that box, that the cruise line or other supplier offering the insurance has somehow evaluated your needs and is going to give you the right kind of travel insurance coverage for your trip.  In reality, you’re going to get exactly the same policy every other person who checks that box is going to get — and it may not be right for you at all.

When travel suppliers offer insurance policies as an “add-on,” they usually have one standard type of insurance that is offered to everyone, regardless of specific individual needs.  These policies are generally crafted to offer a minimum baseline of coverage at a very low price, which makes them seem appealing to the average traveler who just wants to get his booking completed.  They also tend to favor the cruise line or travel supplier by not offering any coverage against financial default, and sometimes having a more narrowly defined set of criteria as to what constitutes a legitimate claim.

“Add-on” policies offered by travel suppliers are also nearly certain to be devoid of some of the more desirable, time-sensitive benefits many travelers look for in an insurance policy; things like Cancel for Any Reason coverage or Pre-Existing Conditions Waivers are rarely going to be included in the “one-size-fits-all” approach to travel insurance.  To get those specialized benefits, you would likely have to buy ANOTHER travel insurance policy on top of the standard-issue cruise line policy — one which would certainly offer all the benefits the cruise line is giving you, along with many other potential coverage options that could be very valuable to you.  Of course, the only way you’d be able to figure out which types of coverage you might want or need would be to look at all of the choices available — and checking the box doesn’t give you any choices.  Only by going to a third-party insurance provider, preferably an unbiased comparison company offering plans from a wide range of providers (like, ahem, maybe InsureMyTrip?), can you see what’s really available to you.

Might the cruise line’s insurance policy be just fine for some travelers?  It might.  Is there any way to know for sure whether or not you’re one of those travelers?  Only if you do your homework.  The bottom line is, you need to compare the options that are available out there and know what you want and need before you make any insurance purchase.  If you need help, our Customer Care Center is open 365 days a year to offer guidance and answer questions.  They’ll even help evaluate a travel insurance policy you purchased from someone else, to see if it’s the best fit for you.