NEW YORK -- In the immediate wake of President Bush's ultimatum to
Saddam Hussein last week, travel insurance companies weren't
flooded with claims from customers canceling trips due to war
jitters -- after all, insurance firms generally don't cover for
war-related events, the vendors said.
However, the phones were plenty busy with customers asking "what
if" questions about how their insurance might or might not apply in
various circumstances, according to two top vendors of the
product.
A Travel Guard spokesman said the insurer has been talking to
callers about the differences between war and terrorism. War, he
said, whether declared or not, is defined as aggression between two
sovereign states, and that is a consensus across the industry, not
just Travel Guard's take.
Beth Godlin, senior vice president for travel industry sales and
marketing at Access America, said her firm's call volume was up
about 30%. A sizeable number of calls, she said, have been for
refunds of the insurance premiums paid out to protect trips that
the suppliers themselves had canceled (Access America makes the
refunds).
Godlin also reported questions about war and terrorism, with
callers asking what "war" means and wanting to know if terrorism
could be covered during wartime. The answer: "Yes, if it fits our
definition of terrorism."
Both firms reported that travel insurance sales have remained
strong even as war loomed. As the Travel Guard spokesman said,
there are other issues that insurance can cover, such as illness,
plus some events that could be triggered by war, like supplier
bankruptcy and terrorism.
During these trying times, Godlin said, it is important that
agents keep up with and keep clients informed of suppliers' current
-- and often shifting -- cancellation policies.
Godlin also said it is more important than ever that clients
understand what their insurance does and does not cover. She said
Access America, which has a 10-day, money-back guarantee on
premiums, would rather not make the sale if the customer
misunderstands the terms of his policy.
Nevertheless, there will be those who won't read their policies
and who "think their insurance covers all possible scenarios," the
Travel Guard spokesman said.
Although neither vendor mentioned it, there also are those who
will cancel due to war worries but obtain doctors' letters to claim
an illness.
In other words, there will be a little fraud, too.