avoid all travel 

This is what a travel advisory warning looks like if you go to the Canadian Federal Government travel advisory website.

Of course we should not be travelling to Syria for our summer vacation – which is really unfortunate, because Syria is said to be a beautiful country with many ancient historical sites that are (or once were) worth seeing.

This post serves as a reminder of the very useful travel tool available at the Canadian Federal Government travel advisory website. In a world which seems increasingly more violent, we must wonder at times whether it is safe to travel. If you were to go to Paris or Istanbul – and your trip was ruined (to put it mildly) by a bomb in a restaurant – would you be covered under your Group plan?

Traveling in High Conflict Areas

Virtually all Group or Individual Travel Insurance plans exclude coverage in war zones. Some are very specific and won’t cover “hostility between nations – whether or not war is declared…”   If you can avoid traveling to areas where conflict is possible, then avoid it. If the trip is unavoidable, especially if it is business-related, your Employer may have, or can get, special coverage for travel to these areas. But be aware… your group plan probably won’t cover you.

Most group or individual plans will cover you for an unforeseen terrorist attack - as long as the country to which you are travelling is listed as safe. For an example of a country to which you can travel, but which has travel warnings, look up Mexico on the travel.gc.ca website. A snip of the advisory on Mexico is shown below:

Mexico advisory snip

 

The general rule-of-thumb used by the Carriers is that “Insurrection” can include random terrorist activity. However, the Canadian Government website is the guide to which our Carriers refer in order to decide whether a country is safe for travel. If the travel advisory is clear before you leave, then you normally you will not be denied medical or assistance coverage if a bomb interrupts your travels. If, on the other hand, there is a strong warning against travel, then you should think carefully before travelling to that part of the world.

Gather all the details you would need should an unexpected emergency occur, especially who to contact and what you can do. 

It is essential that you gain knowledge and information of the country and area to which you are traveling well before your departure. Due to emerging violence or troubles, travel aid could become impossible for a Carrier to provide service. If all communication lines were lost, the Carrier would be hampered in its ability to provide assistance to you, regardless of what the travel insurance policy says. If this is the case, you need to know how to contact your Canadian Embassy.

HINT:  Photograph emergency details with your camera or tablet – or download them to a cloud-based website. Keep your devices password-protected, especially if you have photographed your passport and travel papers.

 

We hope that you never have the misfortune of being affected by a terrorist attack during your travels. This article explains what to do if you have been affected by a terrorist attack. The first few minutes after a terrorist attack can be crucial - please take the time to read it if you will be travelling to any country with advisories.

Our next post will continue the theme of Out-Of-Country travel, and will highlight items that are commonly covered under Group Travel Insurance, and when to contact the insurer.  Stay tuned.