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 courtesy of tvparty.com

At this time of year, it seems everyone’s traveling.  We’re all packing up to head off to Grandma’s house, or on that family ski trip, or getting ready to spend the holiday season someplace warm, tropical, and decidedly un-wintry.  I can’t help but notice that even iconic seasonal characters are all heading off on their own travels.  Frosty?  He’s got a refrigerated boxcar to catch.  Rudolph?  Only in charge of the fastest round-the-world trek ever.  Santa?  Not only Rudolph’s pilot, but traveling with a whole lot of luggage.  Even old Jack Frost is a nomad these days, showing up in the most unexpected places at the least convenient times, and bringing the winter weather along with him.

Fortunately, travel insurance really does have a solution for just about anyone, including our favorite holiday heroes.  Should any of them run into trouble on their travels, having the right insurance policy in hand could do wonders for them.  Dare I say…travel insurance could save the holidays?

If Frosty melts.  Let’s face it — he’s prone to this particular affliction.  If that refrigerated boxcar ended up in, say, Punta Cana instead of the North Pole, our frozen friend could wind up in a lot of trouble.  Medical Evacuation, preferably with the added Hospital of Choice benefit so Frosty could be quickly taken to a more Northern facility familiar with the needs of snowmen, might save Frosty’s life (not to mention his wallet, since evacuation flights are expensive; and as anyone who’s seen the television special knows, he hasn’t got money for a ticket).  Sadly, if it should happen that neither evacuation nor Santa’s December Wind could save our melted friend, we could only hope that he might have purchased an Accidental Death and Dismemberment policy to provide some financial help to Mrs. Frosty and the little snowballs.

If Rudolph’s nose goes out.  Even the brightest of LED lights doesn’t last forever.  While Rudolph might be most famous for having a nose that “blinks like a blinking beacon,” there might come a day when his signature feature is no longer so shiny.  Imagine the consequences of THAT grounded flight!  Fortunately for Santa and any elves who were also scheduled to be riding along as sleigh passengers, the 24-7 assistance providers at their travel insurance company would be able to help them with rebooking and more.  They could even potentially get reimbursement for an eggnog latte at the airport Starbucks, as long as the nose-related delay lasted longer than 5 or 6 hours.  Of course, if the flight were totally cancelled due to Rudolph’s malfunctioning muzzle,  Santa might be wise to check his travel insurance policy to find out whether or not he’s covered for “mechanical failures.”

If Santa’s sack goes missing.  Fortunately, a package policy would provide Santa with coverage for baggage delays in case the elves didn’t quite get things loaded up in time for take-off; if, unthinkably, the sack happened to be irretrievably missing, baggage loss coverage could help the guy in the big red suit replace all those toys.  Of course, gifts for every good child in the world might exceed the total coverage limit on your average travel insurance policy…but that’s another discussion.

If Jack Frost gets out of hand.  We like a guy with enthusiasm for his work, but sometimes, Jack’s a little TOO excitable.  If his antics have you snowbound when you ought to be traveling, or if his signature icy touch damages your cozy winter getaway lodgings to the point that they’re uninhabitable, travel insurance could help.  Trip cancellation coverage may be able to reimburse you for your lost trip if the winter weather causes airports to shut down, or if your home or destination are too badly damaged by storms.

Clearly, travel insurance has a little something to offer to just about everyone this holiday season.  If it hasn’t made it into a place of honor on your to-do list, it might be time to pencil in a phone call to our Customer Care Center in between baking the fruitcake and digging out your most festive theme sweater.  And yes, we’re even open on the holidays — just in case Santa needs to give us a call.

We’re pleased to welcome a guest writer to our blog today.  Eileen Ogintz is a travel writer who runs the wonderful site Takingthekids.com, which is an indispensable resource for families planning to travel with children.

Taking the Kids and Getting Travel Insurance
By Eileen Ogintz

For once I kept my mouth shut. I resisted the temptation to say “I told you so!”

When I heard about the couple’s honeymoon plans — a Caribbean resort during hurricane season – I suggested travel insurance.  I worried about a storm derailing their plans.

But they were too busy with the wedding to consider insurance that they were sure they wouldn’t need. None of us could have anticipated a power outage at Los Angeles International Airport that grounded all flights for several hours on the day they were leaving, causing them to miss their connecting flights and, ultimately, the first two days of their honeymoon. Their bags didn’t arrive until two days after they did.

The travel snafu ultimately forced them to spend several hundred dollars on airport hotels, meals and clothes — money that travel insurance would have refunded. Travel insurance may also have been able to get them rerouted and on their way more quickly.

Too many people think travel insurance is for seniors with serious medical problems. Not anymore. Not with volcanic ash, blizzards, hurricanes, terrorism and old-fashioned family emergencies causing travel plans to implode. These days, I like the idea of having a fairy godmother watching over my shoulder when I travel, even if I have to pay for it (typically 4-8 per cent of the trip.)

Even in the best of times, traveling with kids can be as unpredictable as hurricane season. A broken ankle, appendicitis, even an ear infection can force parents to delay departure. In other cases, families have to return from vacations early because of emergencies at home. Think of travel insurance as a way to protect your investment in your trip.  It can pay for hotels if you are stranded like so many were after last year’s holiday blizzard in the Northeast or out of pocket medical expenses—as it did for me when a scratched cornea sent me to the ER.  On a ski trip, my travel insurance picked up nearly $1,000 in costs that my medical insurance didn’t cover. Had it been necessary, the travel insurer would have arranged for medical evacuation and covered all of the costs if we’d needed to change our flights to return home earlier.

The key: Assess your needs before you sign on the dotted line, and read the fine print. Will your kids be insured free?  Once, we were delayed overnight without our bags when our connecting flight was canceled. I was annoyed to discover that, because our bags were returned to us within 24 hours, our travel insurance didn’t cover the essentials we had to buy.

Still, I think  travel insurance is worth it, especially if you’ve invested a lot of money up front — like for a cruise, for plane tickets to Hawaii, or for a ski condo during a holiday week — or if you’re visiting a country that might not have the best medical care.  It’s worth it for the peace of mind too, just knowing you don’t have to worry if your elderly mom gets sick and you have to return home or if your backpacking college student needs medical care far from home.

Most families opt for a package plan that will cover any costs incurred if they need to cancel or disrupt their trip because of a medical emergency, a hurricane, or a terrorist act. The insurance should cover the cost of changing your flight, as well as the unused portion of your vacation, if an emergency forces you to return early. If you’re traveling solo with a child and become sick or injured, some of these policies will even provide for a chaperone for your child.  But you can buy insurance just for what you need—medical evacuation, for example.

As for the honeymoon couple, their airline ultimately gave them some vouchers to make up for the inconvenience. They had a terrific time — once they got there.

Copyright 2011 Eileen Ogintz

For more on Eileen’s adventures and misadventures, visit www.takingthekids.com Her TakingtheKids  family travel guides are  newly updated and available for the NOOK and Kindle with individual sections starting at 99 cents.