on insurance ❖
john martinen
Volcanic Ash and Trip Cancellation Insurance THE EUROPEAN AIRSPACE was empty of commercial flights. Countless travelers stranded in airports from London to Rome spent days waiting for airlines to resume operations. Tens of thousands of North Americans saw their transatlantic flights cancelled, and their dreams of a European vacation shattered. The airlines lost $200 million per day during the shutdown. Unfortunately for thousands of travelers without trip cancellation insurance, a staggering amount of personal funds was lost.
for Covered Reasons is included in most travel insurance plans automatically and requires no additional premium. CANCEL FOR ANY REASON The company that provides Leisure Group Travel readers with Our Travel Protector was the first company to offer Cancel for Any Reason. It works like this: If you decide to cancel your trip at least two days before departure, the insurance reimburses you for 75% of your non-refundable trip costs. You
Tens of thousands of North Americans saw their dreams of a European vacation shattered. If an erupting volcano teaches us anything about planning ahead, it’s the necessity of trip cancellation insurance. There are two types, and they complement each other:
are never asked why you cancelled your trip because the reason for canceling is not important. Cancel for Any Reason is optional coverage that requires additional premium.
CANCELLATION FOR COVERED REASONS This is the traditional benefit package in travel insurance that reimburses the traveler if he or she cancels the trip for reasons that are covered by the insurance. Covered Reasons typically include a medical condition that forces the traveler to cancel the trip. Or it could be the death or health problem of a traveling companion or close relative. Many other reasons for canceling a trip are also covered. In the case of the volcano event, the airline shutdown was a classic example of a Covered Reason. Cancellation
“SHOULD I GO?” QUESTIONS Consider this situation: You have a group that will be flying from the United States to Paris and everyone bought travel insurance. The volcano may disrupt European air travel again, but no one knows when. Your travelers begin to get nervous; they ask you whether they should cancel or still take the trip. If they purchased travel insurance, but not Cancel for Any Reason, the insurance will cover them only if their flight is cancelled and the airline is grounded, typically for 12 hours or more. But if travelers cancel their trips
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and the flights still take place, the insurance will not cover their cancellations, and they will lose all of their trip investments. If they bought the optional Cancel for Any Reason benefit, your travelers can get a 75% cash refund if they don’t go on the trip, so long as they notify you of their decision to cancel at least two days before the scheduled departure. The reason is not important - they might just be afraid of getting stranded in Europe. Your travelers have peace of mind knowing that 75% of their trip investment is protected no matter what happens with the volcano. When you get “what should I do” questions about travel insurance, it’s best to have your travelers call the insurance company to get the answers from the source. You don’t want to try to interpret the coverage yourself - that puts you in a risky position if you make a mistake. It is vitally important that the traveler’s decision to travel or to cancel is based on an accurate interpretation of the policy. To learn more about Our Travel Protector and travel insurance in general, visit www.OurTravelProtector.com, where you’ll find some very interesting articles and an excellent insurance plan you should consider using for your travelers. John Martinen graduated from Michigan State University and New York University Law School. After traveling as chief purser on Grace Line cruise ships in the Caribbean and South America, he developed the first cruises in the Galapagos Islands. He served as president of Globus & Cosmos, Vista Travel Ventures and Trafalgar Tours, before joining Safe Passage International as a principal in 2003.
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