Travel Guard’s Travel Insurance Protection against Terrorist Acts

September 14, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Travel insurance protections for acts of terrorism have evolved over the last decade and many travel insurance companies now include coverage for terrorist acts in their travel insurance plans.

Travel Guard offers a number of travel insurance plans with cancellation and interruption coverage for terrorist incidents:

With these plans, trip cancellation and trip interruption benefits are available if a terrorist incident occurs in a city that is listed on the insured’s itinerary within 30 days of their intended arrival.

As with any insurance product, it’s important to understand the definitions. Travel Guard defines a terrorist incident as:

“an act of violence, that is deemed terrorism by the United States Government other than civil disorder or riot (that is not an act of war, declared or undeclared) that results in Loss of life or  major damage to property, by any person acting on behalf of or in connection with any organization which is generally recognized as having the intent to overthrow or influence the control of any government.”

What this coverage means

This coverage means that you can cancel your trip if a terrorist incident occurs within 30 days of your expected arrival in a city that’s listed on your travel itinerary. Let’s say you’re headed to the London 2012 Olympics and you want to have this coverage – if a terrorist incident occurs within 30 days of your arrival, you can cancel your trip and be reimbursed for all your covered trip expenses.

How does a city get listed on your itinerary? When you fill out the form to get a quote and purchase your trip insurance, the destination city, state and/or province must be listed in that form.

What this coverage does not include

This coverage does not mean you can cancel your trip and receive reimbursement simply because you are concerned about the current media reports and worry there may be a terrorist incident. A terrorist incident actually has to occur for this coverage to be in effect.

Further, you can’t cancel your trip and receive reimbursement for a terrorist act that occurs in a nearby country.

Consider ‘Cancel for any reason’ coverage

If you want more trip cancellation and interruption protection for situations where you are concerned about the potential for terrorist actions, then you’ll need to purchase the cancel for any reason upgrade. This coverage will let you cancel your trip and receive at least a portion of your trip costs back in the event you decide to cancel your trip for your own reasons.

 

This is only a brief description of the coverage(s) available.

The Policy will contain reductions, limitations, exclusions and termination provisions. Insurance is underwritten by National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh, Pa., a Pennsylvania insurance company, with its principal place of business at 175 Water Street, New York, NY 10038. It is currently authorized to transact business in all states and the District of Columbia. NAIC No. 19445. Coverage may not be available in all states.

How do you KNOW you have the right amount of travel insurance?

September 14, 2011 By Leave a Comment

How much travel insurance is enough?We hear this all the time: “How do I know I have enough, but not too much, travel insurance?” and we all know:

  • Hurricanes, tornadoes, snowstorms and floods happen.
  • Planes are delayed and cruise departures get missed – it happens all the time.
  • Kids get sick and travel plans have to be scrapped.
  • Emergencies happen back home and you have to be there.
  • Work conflicts arise and you have to abandon your trip.

Look, we’re just like other travelers – we want to be protected, but we don’t want to have a lot of expensive coverage lying around that we never need or use. It’s a waste of money we could be spending on vacation fun after all!

So to answer this question, we did a lot of research and put together the information you need to determine whether you have enough coverage or not. It’s called 4 Steps to 100% confidence in your travel insurance plan, and while that’s a brave-sounding title, we think the content is up to the standard.

This content lays out the four steps you can follow to be sure that you 1. understand your plan and 2. have enough coverage to get home safely.

We all want to be safe and enjoy our trips, but a single injury or illness can wipe out your financial reserves – even if you’re traveling inside your home country! Take a look at the 4 Steps to 100% confidence in your travel insurance plan and let us know what you think.

 

Don’t let your guard down … hurricane season isn’t over yet!

August 18, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Hurricane Adrian 2011U.S. citizens who are considering traveling during hurricane and typhoon season are encouraged by the U.S. Department of State to consider potential dangers and just plain inconveniences associated with hurricanes. Even inland areas far from a coastline can experience residual winds, tornadoes, and floods as a result of tropical storms.

See a recent message to U.S. Citizens from Jim Petit, the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Overseas Citizens Services:

 

You can also check out the Department of State’s approved Traveler’s Checklist for hurricane season travel, which recommends steps such as researching the region you are visiting, packing an emergency supply kit, and protecting vital documents by keeping them in waterproof packaging or containers. Great idea!

If you’re traveling this hurricane season, which is from June 1st to November 30th for the Atlantic and Caribbean each year, check out our Hurricane Resource Center for travel tips, tools, maps, and more.

Is there travel insurance for the recent London riots?

August 16, 2011 By Leave a Comment

London riots 2011In most cases, civil riots such as those currently occurring in London are specifically excluded from travel insurance plan coverage. See our What Travel Insurance Does Not Coverpage for details.In some plans, travel delay coverage will kick in if you are delayed while en route or on your way home due to civil riots. As an example, the Complete plan by M.H. Ross includes this language under covered reasons for travel delay benefits:

“quarantine, hijacking, Strike, natural disaster, terrorism or riot;”

That means this plan would provide travel delay benefits if your travel was delayed the minimum number of hours due to the London riots.

If you are injured during your trip, your medical expense coverage will, in most cases, provide coverage for your medical care up to the plan limits and after any applicable deductibles. Of course, deliberately putting yourself in harm’s way means your travel insurance protection will not be in effect. You must take all reasonable and necessary steps to keep yourself out of danger.

If you decide to cancel your trip due to concerns about the riots, it’s important – as always – to review your travel insurance plan’s description of coverage to see if you have coverage to cancel for that reason. In most plans, you must have purchased ‘cancel for any reason’ coverage in order to cancel for these reasons. Contact the travel assistance services number listed on your travel insurance plan if you are unsure.

Snag a last-minute travel deal? Travel Guard has a great plan for that

August 9, 2011 By Leave a Comment

travelguard-pack-n-goYou’ve been working all summer and watching the travel notices every week – hoping for a last-chance summer vacation. Finally, the deal that works for you comes through and you snap it up. A perfect late-summer getaway.

Yes, you are packing to leave immediately, but even last-minute travelers need the essential protections provided by a travel insurance plan and you can have them too! Here are some of the coverages you may find useful:

If you think travel insurance plans are only for those vacations planned months in advance, you’re wrong. Travel Guard has a plan that’s perfect for these spontaneous trips – the Pack ‘N Go plan. It includes all the essentials necessary to keep you safe, and none of the stuff you don’t need – like trip cancellation coverage, because you’re getting on the plane in less than 30 hours!

A few details about this plan:

  • Pack ‘N Go can be purchased anytime before you depart.
  • The list of covered reasons provide adequate coverage for that impromptu getaway.
  • Missed connection and travel delay time frames are short and will help you get to your destination.
  • Plenty of evacuation coverage (just in case) and a good amount of medical coverage too.

With Travel Guard’s unique travel assistance services, you’ll also have emergency travel help if you need it. Read the full Pack ‘N Go plan details here.

This is only a brief description of the coverage(s) available.

The Policy will contain reductions, limitations, exclusions and termination provisions. Insurance is underwritten by National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh, Pa., a Pennsylvania insurance company, with its principal place of business at 175 Water Street, New York, NY 10038. It is currently authorized to transact business in all states and the District of Columbia. NAIC No. 19445. Coverage may not be available in all states.