I was bored the other day so I thought I would visit the sites of some of our newer competitors and was amazed at some of the misinformation that they published with the intent to bolster the claim of being a travel insurance expert.  Let me correct them:

• James G. Batterson did create the first travel insurance company in the USA on April 1, 1864 for the purpose of insuring travelers for accidents, hence the name The Travelers Insurance Company.   The Travelers is and always has been an insurance company not an insurance agency.  Being an insurance company is a far cry from being an insurance agency.  The former is the company that guarantees the benefits and with whom you have a legal contract for insurance and the later is usually an independent sales representative of the former.

• travel insurance was not a product “of the upper class and upper middle class”.  Travel by railroad made travel available to the masses and travel insurance was mostly favored by travelers of modest means.

• the first policies did not insure for “theft and other unexpected circumstances”.  The first travel insurance policies insured travelers for their death if caused by an accident while traveling.  Several years later loss of income cause by a disabling accident was added (for men only).  It wasn’t until the twentieth century that coverage was added for the theft of personal property.

It’s unfortunate that recently minted “experts” can’t even get the basics right.  It makes me wonder what will happen with more complex travel insurance issues.

Today is our annual thanks to James G Batterson for founding the first travel insurance company in the United States – The Travelers Insurance Company of Hartford, CT on April 1st, 1864.   This writer had the honor of sharing history with Mr. Batterson because during my time as an employee of The Travelers I had the good fortune to become the 8th executive in their history to lead their travel insurance division.

Thank you Mr. Batterson!

Most travelers have a check list of things to-do before going on a trip; pick up cleaning, board the pet, and putting a hold on your daily newspaper.  However, your if you live in Southern California the last item might have increased your risk.  Recently police officials in Southern California made several arrests in a burglary ring that targeted subscribers to the LA Times that had placed their home delivery on hold while going on vacation.  It appears that the vacation hold list was stolen by an outside machine service person while servicing machines in the LA Times distribution center who than passed the information on to several accomplices who then had their pick of homes to rob.

The above event is out of the ordinary however, there are certain things that a traveler can do to minimize their risks to their home and property while traveling.  Having an alarm and motion detector lights installed can help but here are some more tips:

• Make arrangements with a trusted friend, neighbor, or relative to pickup mail and newspapers on a daily basis.
• Notify your local police that you’ll be gone.  Some police departments will occasionally check to see if everything is ok.  Make sure they are aware of any friend, neighbor, or relative that you’ve asked to help.
• Put some lights in your home on timers that go on and off during expected periods.  Also place a radio on a timer and have it tuned to a talk radio show with the volume at a normal level.
• Outward appearances are important too.  If it is winter than make plans for snow while you’re gone or if it is in the summer time than have plans for your lawn  to be mowed.
• If you have weekly rubbish removal than arrange to have your bins placed on curbside while you’re gone.

Remember the fewer people that know that your going away the better.  It’s always best to have you home looked occupied.  Use common sense and you’ll have an enjoyable trip.

We’re asked that question almost everyday and the answer I always provide is “yes, but it depends on what you are most concerned about and your own tolerance for financial risk”.

One of the most popular types of travel insurance is trip cancellation coverage – coverage that is designed to reimburse a traveler in the event they have to cancel their trip due to one of the covered reasons listed in the policy.  This coverage is only sold as part of a package of travel insurance and is not available by itself.  It also is probably the most expensive components found in a travel insurance package.

Travel (including trip or cruise) insurance is just like any other insurance product – it replaces a small know loss, the premium, for the guarantee that you will be reimbursed for an unforeseen, insurable loss which is usually much larger, the benefit.  Most consumer advocates recommend only insuring those potential losses which might be financially painful or impossible to endure.  So for the $200 airline ticket toFloridayou probably would want to save your money however, the once in a lifetime cruise for $15,000 you might want to buy insurance.

In addition two of the highest areas of potential loss must be considered; medical expenses and emergency medical evacuation expense.  Many health insurance plans reduce or eliminate coverage outside your coverage area and Medicare doesn’t provide coverage outside the USA except in extremely limited circumstances.  Travel insurance can help augment or supplant your own coverage.  That’s especially true for emergency medical evacuation coverage where a worse case scenario for a private air evacuation from Europe to the east coast of theUSAcould easily exceed $100,000.  Add to this the fact that emergency medical evacuation coverage is usually only found in travel insurance policies.

So the best advice we can give is for the traveler to evaluate their financial risks first and then talk with a travel insurance expert to determine whether or not insurance is advisable and which plan is the best fit for their trip.

Hurricane Sandy is current reminder of the value of travel insurance.  Thousands of flights were cancelled or delayed and hundreds of thousand of travelers were directly affected either with cancelled trips or with unforeseen additional living expenses due to delayed trips.

How does travel insurance help?  There are 3 main coverages that benefit travelers:

1. trip cancellation – coverage if the trip has to be cancelled due to a covered reason.  Most plans include “weather conditions which cause complete cessation of service” as a covered reason.  Depending on the plan they may require the cessation of service to exceed a certain threshold, usually 24 consecutive hours however, some plans don’t have a minimum.
2. trip interruption – coverage that begins when the traveler has left on their trip and it provides benefits for unused, non-refundable travel arrangements and return transportation expenses if  the trip has to be interrupted or curtailed due to a covered reason.  Most travel insurance plans use the same covered reasons for trip interruption as they do for trip cancellation which usually includes “weather conditions which cause complete cessation of service” as a covered reason.
3. trip delay – intended to reimburse a traveler for additional living expenses that are incurred as a result of a delay caused by a covered reason, such as weather which causes the traveler’s common carrier to be delayed for a minimum number of hours.

The amounts and conditions of coverage vary by plan and company.  It’s best to compare plans before buying and to consult with a travel insurance professional.