InsureMyTrip Blog

Following the news of the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan today, certainly, our first thoughts have been for the people of Japan and for all those traveling within the country.  As we continue to stay updated on the news coming out of that region, and attempt to reach out to customers who may be affected, we’re also aware of the broader impact of these events on the state of general travel.

As the day progresses, news of delays and cancellations at airports, train stations, and ports of call in several locations has mounted.  Travelers whose plans include departures, arrivals, or connections through affected areas such as Tokyo and Honolulu should double-check their travel insurance coverage to be sure that they fully understand the benefits provided in case of a delay.  In general, travel delay coverage becomes effective after 6 hours and can provide reimbursement for incidentals such as food and lodging; some policies may also help with rebooking fees, though in this instance, many of the major carriers appear to be waiving those fees for passengers whose plans are impacted by the quake and/or tsunami.

In addition to delays and cancellations resulting from these events, travelers who plan to depart for Japan within the next few months may be concerned about damage to hotels and transportation hubs.  If you purchased a travel insurance policy prior to the earthquake, you may be covered for some of those damages.  For example, if your accommodations are still uninhabitable at the time of your scheduled trip, many insurance policies will allow you to cancel your travel plans.

As always, we encourage travelers who have questions about their specific policies to call our Customer Care Center at 800-487-4722.

The entire team at InsureMyTrip is greatly concerned this morning over the news coming out of Japan.  Our thoughts are with the residents of Japan, as well as any travelers who may be there at the moment.  We’re continuing to monitor the situation very closely and will update our customers throughout the day on our blog, Twitter feed, and Facebook page as any important details emerge.

Our Customer Care center is ready to assist anyone who has questions or concerns about coverage for travel to Japan and the surrounding region.  Customers who are currently in Japan should contact the emergency assistance line for their individual insurance providers; if you encounter any difficulty, you may also contact us so that we can assist you in connecting with your provider.  Those who have plans to travel to Japan imminently should make every effort to contact us with questions about their policies.

Again, we will be updating our information as necessary throughout the day; please feel free to connect with us to ask questions or share concerns.  We are here to help.

InsureMyTrip Customer Care Center: 800-487-4722 OR 401-773-9300 (Outside the U.S.)
customercare@insuremytrip.com

Editorial Update: We’ve added a related post about delays and damages resulting from the quake and tsunami.  Those who have more general questions about coverage may find this post helpful.

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. (more…)

Bri, Marketing

Among the emails awaiting some InsureMyTrip staffers this morning was something very common, something that almost could have gone barely noticed in the rhythm of a day’s work.  A little email entitled “# of calls answered.”  It didn’t contain much information, just a number, followed by two words:

Record breaking.

The fact is, IMT’s Customer Care staff fielded a phenomenal number of calls last month, and it was a record.  But it wasn’t the first record-setting month this year. (more…)

John, Customer Care Manager

For about a year now, InsureMyTrip has included a link to a survey on all confirmations that are emailed to our customers following their travel insurance purchase. One of the questions asked on the survey is the following: “When you spoke to a customer care representative, was the representative a) helpful, b) efficient and c) professional?”

(more…)

A customer from Colorado recently took us up on our offer to stop by the office when visiting Warwick, and here’s what she had to say:

I wanted to thank you for giving me a tour of your office while I was visiting Warwick, Rhode Island.  I was amazed!  I pictured a small two man office but instead found a whole building with state of the art features.  The call center room with the wall/movie size computer screen monitoring all the latest infomation throughout the world was incredible.  I didn’t realize I could call in and talk to one of your 20 plus licensed insurance brokers if I had any questions.  Your independent server room with a window was unique.  I hope others will stop by to view your improvements.  I have a whole new appreciation for your business and am online right now to purchase insurance for our group of 12 on our upcoming cruise.  Thanks again! Jackie

Thank you Jackie! It’s always a pleasure to meet a customer.

Chris, Business Development

Interestingly, March 2009 saw InsureMyTrip’s heaviest Customer Care call volume in our 9+ year history. At a time when the economy is struggling as it is, I wonder what this says about travelers.

To be clear, we LOVE talking to customers so keep the calls coming! While we work very hard to make our site quick and easy to use (and soon to be even easier – more on that in the near future), we understand that there are times when you just want to talk to someone. Maybe you’ve never purchased travel insurance before, or perhaps an upcoming trip is different from anything you’ve ever done in the past. Travel insurance is about personal and financial protection – you want to make sure you make the right decision. An experienced InsureMyTrip staffer can certainly help.

(more…)

John, Customer Care Manager

Hello and welcome to the InsureMyTrip.com blog!

Our goal with this blog is to provide our customers with yet another way to learn about travel insurance, and about InsureMyTrip.com.   We will have many contributors to this blog including employees from the Customer Care and Product teams, Technology, Marketing, and certainly our founders will have a lot to say.

We also welcome comments from you as this allows us to evaluate what we are doing well and where we can make improvements.  Without your thoughtful comments and suggestions, it would be most difficult for us to continue to provide the level of service that you all expect to receive from us.  Please know that, although Customer Care cannot solve every dilemma, we will listen to your concerns and do our very best to assist in any way that we can.

On behalf of the Customer Care team and everyone at InsureMyTrip.com, we are sincerely excited to share our thoughts and stories with all of you and look forward to reading your comments.