Summer is Peak Season for Lightning Strikes

July 4, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Peak season for lightning strikesWhile hurricanes, tornadoes, and flooding have lately dominated the natural disaster scene, it’s important to remember that summer is peak lightning season. According to the National Weather Service, there were 29 deaths due to lightning strikes in 2010 but an average of 55 people are killed each year by lightning, prompting the slogan:

“When thunder roars, go indoors.”

Lightning is a long-studied and barely understood natural phenomenon. It can travel horizontally many miles away from a thunderstorm and even strike the ground out of a clear blue sky.

People who are struck by lightning suffer a number of injuries from severe burns to violent muscle contractions to difficulty breathing. Many injuries turn into long-term problems such as memory loss, sleep disorders, chronic dizziness and fatigue, and more.

When attending outdoor activities, from the golf course to family reunions, be sure some level of shelter is nearby to duck under (even a hard-topped car will do).  If you’re traveling in an unfamiliar area, check the weather conditions before you head out.

See these NOAA resources for more information about lightning safety:

Here is a complete list of lightning safety resources.

A cautionary tale about credit cards and wallets

May 9, 2011 By Leave a Comment

A cautionary tale of credit cards and walletsThis story recently caught our eye: A Cheap Broad’s Travel Tips: A Cautionary Tale by Barbara Rice. It describes a woman’s struggle getting her credit card accounts secured after being robbed of her wallet on the Eiffel Tower.

Tourists are easy marks for thieves who have lots of practice and know the area. They’re not just scouting for cash either – that’s easy. The market for stolen credit card numbers is big business in the age of the Internet. Stolen credit card numbers are quickly sold to other countries and thousands in purchases can be piled up over the Internet in mere seconds – often before the traveler even knows it’s missing.

The above-mentioned article describes how best to be prepared if and when a thief strikes, and this is valuable travel information. Some of the tips are familiar to most travelers. Specifically:

  • don’t wear expensive jewelry when traveling
  • keep wallets in deep pockets, not in shallow pants pockets
  • even better, keep your wallet in a zippered compartment and keep the zipper zipped
  • when you withdraw money from an ATM, block the view of your transaction with your body or have your traveling companion stand with you to watch for those who may be taking too much interest in what you’re doing

Additionally, travelers should have the 24-hour global assistance numbers of their credit card and bank card accounts. Each major credit card company and bank has a hot-line if you have to call from outside the U.S., and if you also have your account numbers, they can put a lock on those accounts and often re-issue new cards and have them sent to you.

In short, we found the list of tips at the end of this particular article useful. Of course, our recent post on Tips for Safe Summer Travel mentions some of the same tips, but you can never be too careful about your wallet at home or on the road. In addition to being smart and careful while you travel, some travel insurance plans provide identity theft services, which can help when your identity has been stolen, and passport/credit card services for replacement documents and emergency cash.

Emergency Travel Kits are just one Method of Preparedness

April 28, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Emergency travel kitBeyond the need for travel medical coverage, global travelers are starting to recognize emergency travel kits as one method of travel preparedness. Well stocked emergency ‘go’ kits can help travelers out of a bad travel situation by arming them with some tools and objects useful in emergency situations.

Be Prepared with an Emergency Travel Kit

What should go into an emergency travel kit? Experts are recommending the following:

  • A good police whistle for capturing the attention of others when you need it.
  • A roll of adhesive tape when it’s necessary to keep your hotel room from locking behind you.
  • Some local currency (approximately $100-$200 US-worth) in small denominations.
  • A smartphone with a reliable service provider.

In the case of the recent disaster in Japan, for example, a smartphone can help travelers connect with others, get information about the situation, and book flights out of a danger zone.

Travelers should always keep their identification documents (passport, etc.) and medications organized and prepared to be stuffed quickly into bags when necessary as well. You don’t want to be hunting around a hotel room for vital items when every minute counts.

Beyond the Basics

In addition to the basics listed above, some travelers recommend having the following when you travel:

  • Water purifier for ensuring safe, drinkable water when water supplies are compromised.
  • Earplugs for situations when you encounter noise areas and you need to sleep
  • Headlamp for navigating in the dark in a power outage.

The best advice is to think about where you are going and know the risk where you will be traveling. A folding mosquito nets can be helpful in areas where malaria is a risk, but not much use in the cold of Norway for example.

 

Facts You May Not Know about Lost or Stolen Passports

April 26, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Facts about lost or stolen passportsThis post outlines some facts you may or may not know about lost or stolen passports.

If your U.S. passport is lost or stolen, what is your responsibility?

You may not know this, but it’s your responsibility to let the U.S. Consulate know if your passport is missing. Missing passports – much like lost or stolen credit cards – can be in the wrong hands and cause you a great deal of trouble. As soon as you discover your passport is missing, contact the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate for assistance.

If you are scheduled to leave a foreign country and have lost your passport, what are your options?

According to the U.S. Department of State’s website, every effort will be made to assist U.S. citizens meet their departure schedule as they return to the U.S. Having the information available, however, can go a long way toward making this true.

What information do you need to provide the Consulate?

You will be asked to provide the following information to assist in verifying your citizenship:

  1. Personal information – including name, birth date, place of birth, date and place the passport was issued, and the passport number. All of this information is available in your current passport and one of the best ways you can have this information handy is to make a copy of the relevant passport page and keep that with you when you travel. A hard copy is fine, but you can send it to yourself as an e-mail attachment or keep it on your smartphone as well.
  2. Law enforcement report - noting the loss, theft, or misplacement of your passport to local authorities. A police report is not mandatory, but may be required if the consulate believes a fraud has been perpetrated. If a report is not available, you can execute a sworn statement in the presence of a consular officer and describe what happened.
  3. Some proof of identity - you will be asked for some proof of identity – perhaps a driver’s license or some other form of identity to prove you are who you say you are. If all your personal documents were stolen with the passport, your identity can be established in a number of ways, but you’ll have to work directly with the consulate to make this happen.

Will Travel Insurance provide coverage for Home Rentals?

April 19, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Rent a home on your next vacationMany travelers prefer to stay in a home rather than a hotel and it has a number of advantages, including the reduced costs of cooking at home, multiple bedrooms in a single area,  a central place for larger groups to meet, and more. One of the most popular reasons for renting a home rather than a hotel is the ease of ‘living like a local’.

This type of travel comes in a couple of forms:

  • Renting someone’s second or vacation home
  • Home swapping or home exchange

Travel insurance plans provide coverage for the risks associated with destinations, including hotels, inns, and even homes and apartments. The key for the traveler is providing assurance to the travel insurance company that there is a rental agreement. With a hotel reservation, you have a printed document (usually sent to you via e-mail) that proves you made and paid for the reservation. It’s the same with any home or apartment reservation.

Coverage (depending on the travel insurance plan) can include pre-trip cancellation in the event the rented property is destroyed through natural disaster, for example. Coverage may also provided benefits for post-departure trip interruptions in the event you have to evacuate the rented property ahead of a natural disaster or following a natural disaster event.

Tips for safe home or apartment rental

  1. Ensure there is a rental agreement – this is your agreement with the rental agency or property owner, and you should review the terms and conditions carefully so you understand your rights and responsibilities.
  2. Ensure there is a local contact – this is a person who is nearby who can answer questions about maintenance issues, how to operate appliances, and help if you get locked out of the property.
  3. Evaluate past reviews – if the property has been rented before, review the past guest comments for clues about the property and how renters were treated.
  4. Ensure there is a secure reservation system – the property owner should have a way to make standardized, secure reservations over the Internet with a major credit card. You should expect to pay a security deposit, but do not wire money or pay with cash or check.

A number of vacation rental sites, like Vacation Rental By Owner and Home Away, are available to help travelers find suitable homes, flats, and apartments in their desired destination. Most properties are professionally managed and the sites have secure methods to make reservations and payments.

Travel Insurance saved this couple hours of wasted time and $400

April 12, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Travel insurance saved this couple in Punta CanaA recent post on the TripAdvisor Punta Cana forum, ‘Trip Insurance saved us last week!‘, points out where travel insurance can make a big difference.

The short version of their story is that their flight back home from a Punta Cana resort was delayed over 4 hours, causing them to miss their connection even if the flight left at the new departure time. They called their travel agent who worked with the travel insurance assistance services and were quickly re-booked on the same flight the next day. The trip insurance covered travel delays up to $200 per person, per night, nearly covering the entire cost of an extra day basking in paradise.

For the Chicago traveler, the trip insurance was well worth the extra money.

Luckily, this couple had an extra day to spare before they had to return to their lives at home. They later found that their original flight was delayed even further and then the flight was canceled entirely, so all those who went to the airport wasted a day waiting and were still out of luck.

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