Press Releases

Travel Insurance was a Good Defense for Travel Disasters of 2010

by John Stone | May 04, 2010
Travelers are examining their needs for travel insurance and a good travel agent for their next trip after a four-month string of disasters normally reserved for Hollywood films.

East Hartford, CT, May 5, 2010 – The year 2010 is four months old and has seen nine major disasters affecting the world of travel. As a result, travelers are getting serious in considering the advantages of a professional travel agent to help in a travel emergency, and a travel insurance plan that provides both financial and emergency assistance when an unforeseen natural disaster disrupts the trip.

Travel Insured International (www.travelinsured.com) reminds travelers it is crucial for them in obtaining travel insurance to cover a future disaster to buy an insurance plan before a disaster event occurs, and preferably when making their initial trip deposit. This ensures that the plan was purchased before a disaster event was identified or known, thereby qualifying it for coverage. Additionally, buying a Travel Insured plan gives travelers access to Worldwide Emergency Travel Assistance services, available 24/7 wherever they are traveling under their plan and need help to re-route their itinerary or find emergency accommodations, especially when their own travel agent or online booking site is unavailable.

At least nine major natural disasters have affected travel thus far in 2010:

  • The month of May has already seen major floods in Nashville, TN, forcing the famed Opryland Hotel’s evacuation and flooding a large downtown area.
  • April brought the devastating volcanic ash from the Iceland eruption closing Europe airspace, covered as an unforeseen weather event for Travel Insured plans purchased prior to April 15. The same event has continued with some ongoing effects into May.
  • Other April events included an earthquake in northwest China, deadly floods in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and a second earthquake in Calixco and Tijuana, Mexico.
  • March brought the “nor’easter” storm to the eastern U.S. with record floods and falling trees rendering many homes uninhabitable in New Jersey and Rhode Island.
  • February saw an earthquake centered in Concepcion, and affecting Santiago, Chile.
  • January started the year with floods and mudslides closing roads and forcing evacuations from Machu Picchu, Peru, following the massive earthquake that devastated Port au Prince, Haiti.

Trip Cancellation

Travel Insured’s comprehensive Worldwide Trip Protector Gold and Worldwide Trip Protector plans can provide Trip Cancellation coverage when a covered Trip Delay causes the insured to lose 50% or more of his or her trip, or when authorities order a mandatory evacuation of the destination with less than 50% of the trip remaining when the evacuation ends. The same plans, as well as Worldwide Trip Protector Lite or Lite Expanded, can cover when a natural disaster renders the destination accommodations uninhabitable. All plans can cover when weather causes complete cessation of the services of the insured’s common carrier for at least 24 consecutive hours.

Trip Delay

Travel Insured’s Worldwide Trip Protector plans will cover for Trip Delay when the insured is delayed a minimum or either 6 or 12 hours, depending upon the selected plan, due to a common carrier delay, including for bad weather. Trip Delay can reimburse unused land or sea accommodations, added expenses for meals and accommodations, reasonable transportation expenses and, in most plans, an economy airfare to catch up to the trip or reach the return destination.

This website contains highlights of the plans developed by Travel Insured International, which include travel insurance coverages underwritten by United States Fire Insurance Company, Principal Office located in Morristown, New Jersey, under form series T7000 et al, T210 et al and TP-401 et al, and non-insurance Travel Assistance Services provided by C&F Services and for WTP Cruise only, AwayCare and Blue Ribbon Bags. The terms of insurance coverages in the plans may vary by jurisdiction and not all insurance coverages are available in all jurisdictions. Insurance coverages in these plans are subject to terms, limitations and exclusions including an exclusion for pre-existing medical conditions. In most states, your travel retailer is not a licensed insurance producer/agent, and is not qualified or authorized to answer technical questions about the terms, benefits, exclusions and conditions of the insurance offered or to evaluate the adequacy of your existing insurance coverage. Your travel retailer may be compensated for the purchase of a plan and may provide general information about the plans offered, including a description of the coverage and price. The purchase of travel insurance is not required in order to purchase any other product or service from your travel retailer. CA DOI toll free number is 800-927-4357. The cost of your plan is for the entire plan, which consists of both insurance and non-insurance components. Individuals looking to obtain additional information regarding the features and pricing of each travel plan component, please contact Travel Insured International. P.O. Box 6503, Glastonbury, CT 06033; 855-752-8303; [email protected]; California license #0I13223. While Travel Insured International markets the travel insurance in these plans on behalf of USF, non-insurance components of the plans were added to the plans by Travel Insured and Travel Insured does not receive compensation from USF for providing the non-insurance components of the plans.