Here is up-to-date information from travel underwriters concerning the ash cloud that has disrupted air travel in Europe:

Access America

As of Thursday, April 15, 2010, the volcanic eruption in Iceland is considered a known event.

Access America customers who purchased their travel insurance policy prior to April 15, 2010, may receive trip cancellation, trip interruption or travel delay benefits if their travel plans have been affected by this event. Please review your insurance certificate/policy to see your specific terms and conditions of the insuring agreement and remember to contact your travel provider prior to canceling your travel arrangements.

Please review your Letter of Confirmation and Certificate of Insurance/Policy to find out more details about the coverage that you’ve purchased. For your convenience, you will find some information below about Travel Delay and Trip Cancellation/Interruption benefits which are commonly utilized in events like this one.

Travel Delay
If your Access America Letter of Confirmation lists Travel Delay as a benefit, you may be eligible to receive reimbursement for additional out of pocket meal or lodging expenses incurred as a result of a travel delay of six or more consecutive hours (please note: this benefit has a per person, per day maximum as well as a policy maximum). Some policies also provide coverage for pre-paid, non-refundable expenses lost due to the Travel Delay.

Trip Cancellation/Interruption
Customers may qualify for Trip Cancellation/Interruption benefits if their travel supplier has experienced a complete cessation of services for at least 12 or 24 consecutive hours (depending on the product) due to the natural disaster. For a list of documentation that should be provided with your Trip Cancellation/Interruption claim please click here.

CSA Travel Protection

Latest news – 5/1/2010

This is an update regarding the flight disruptions due to the volcanic activity. We now consider the volcanic event which happened on April 14, 2010 to have ended on April 22, 2010, when Eurocontrol announced that air traffic had returned to normal levels. We are pleased to confirm that any future volcanic events occurring after April 22, 2010 will be considered new events.

Volcanic Ash from Iceland has grounded thousands of flights throughout Europe, and has stranded tens of thousands of passengers. This may be the first time in history that an ash cloud has affected some of the most congested airspace in the world. Scientists speculate that the ejection of ash from the volcano could continue for days or even weeks. CSA Travel Protection considers this event to be adverse or inclement weather. Certain CSA Travel Protection plans offer benefits for some effects of adverse weather. Customers are strongly encouraged to read their Certificate of Insurance or Insurance Policy for details regarding their available coverage. For plans that do offer coverage for adverse weather, please note that there is no coverage for this specific event under any plans purchased on or after April 15, 2010.

HTH Worldwide

Volcanic Ash from Iceland has grounded thousands of flights throughout Europe, and has stranded tens of thousands of passengers. This may be the first time in history that an ash cloud has affected some of the most congested airspace in the world. Scientists speculate that the ejection of ash from the volcano could continue for days or even weeks. HTH considers this event to be adverse or inclement weather. Certain HTH Travel Protection plans offer benefits for some effects of adverse weather. Customers are strongly encouraged to read their Certificate of Insurance or Insurance Policy for details regarding their available coverage.

For plans that do offer coverage for adverse weather, please note that there is no coverage for this specific event under any plans purchased on or after April 15, 2010.

MH Ross

WHAT DO YOU DO if your Clients are stranded and can’t get home or they can’t even start their trip due to the Volcanic Ash causing flight cancellations? If they purchased their insurance April 14, 2010 or prior, the coverage under the terms of the policy will fall under Inclement Weather.

The volcanic eruption in Iceland has grounded over 60,000 flights since April 15, 2010 throughout Europe, stranding hundreds of thousands of travelers worldwide and impacting many thousands more scheduled to begin travel during this time.

Never before has a natural disaster of this scale caused such disruption in Europe. The large volume of calls that we have received has impacted and increased our telephone hold times. We thank you for your patience and understanding as we try to process inquiries and requests in a timely manner.

For Flights That Are Cancelled, Interrupted or Delayed

Basic & Enhanced policies (Old Republic) –

Trip Cancellation or Trip Interruption – The Common Carrier (airline) must delay your departure at least 24 hours due to inclement weather and/or the arrival at the destination is delayed and causes the Insured to lose 50% or more of their trip. Benefits include coverage for unused non-refundable prepaid expenses for Travel Arrangements; any published penalties incurred as a result of a cancellation; one-way Economy Transportation to return to the Point of Origin or to continue on the covered trip.
Trip Delay – If the Trip is delayed 6 hours or more due to delay or cancellation of the common carrier. Benefits include additional transportation to continue on the covered trip, or to return to the point of origin, plus travel accommodations, meals, and unused, non-refundable prepaid expenses.

Advantage Asset, Bridge, Complete & Group policies (US Fire Insurance) –
Trip Cancellation or Trip Interruption – The Common Carrier (airline) must cease operations for at least 12 consecutive hours due to inclement weather; or your trip destination is made uninhabitable due to a natural disaster. Benefits for Trip Cancellation may include reimbursement of non-refundable trip costs insured under the policy. Trip Interruption may include reimbursement of the unused portion of the land or water arrangements plus additional transportation expenses incurred to join, catch up to, or return from the trip.
Missed Connection provides a benefit in the event your arrival on your trip is delayed 3 hours or more due to a delay of the common carrier or due to a natural disaster. Benefits may include reimbursement of the unused portion of the land or water arrangements and additional transportation to join the trip.
Travel Delay -The plan provides reimbursement for reasonable accommodations, meal, and local transportation if the trip is delayed for 12 hours or more due to a delay of the common carrier or due to a natural disaster.

When your clients call in a panic as they ask what they should do – here are some helpful hints they should follow:

If on the trip – make sure they keep receipts for food, accommodations and transportation to make it easier to file a claim when they get home.
If they have been notified that the outbound flight is cancelled, make sure to keep a copy of the written notification/email for documentation or print the flight status off the airlines website.

Who to Contact – Emergency Assistance available 24/7

Travel Insured International, Inc.

As of Thursday April 15, 2010 this volcanic eruption is no longer unforeseen. For policies purchased on or after April 15, 2010 there is no coverage.

Travel Insured considers this event to be adverse or inclement weather. Certain Travel Insured plans offer benefits for some effects of adverse weather. Customers are strongly encouraged to read their Certificate of Insurance or Insurance Policy for details regarding their available coverage.

Travel Guard

Frequently Asked Questions

The below questions and answers apply to policies purchased through Travel Guard Group, Inc. USA (Travel Guard).

Question One: “I am scheduled for future travel and purchased my insurance policy prior to this volcanic event. If this volcano subsides and then erupts again, causing my future travel plans to be disrupted, will this be considered unforeseen and could coverage apply?”

Answer: Under most of our US products, you would be covered based on your purchase date being prior to April 14, 2010, subject to policy terms and conditions. We encourage you to contact our 24/7 Service Center or your Travel Guard sales representatives with additional questions as coverage and benefits vary by product.

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Question Two: “I am scheduled to travel this summer and have not yet purchased a policy. If I purchase a policy today and a future eruption of the Iceland volcano occurs would I be covered?”

Answer: If the current Iceland Volcano situation subsides and commercial airlines resume normal schedules prior to your trip, any new eruption would be considered a new event under our US policies. Coverage would be administered according to the product purchased (based on limits and exclusions). We encourage you to contact our 24/7 Service Center or your Travel Guard sales representatives with additional questions as coverage and benefits vary by product.

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Question Three: “I have insurance and am scheduled to fly out later this week. What should I do if my flight is cancelled?”

Answer:The first call you should make is to your air carrier as all airlines have made rebooking passengers impacted by this event a priority. That said, please contact Travel Guard for additional assistance, both for flight rebooking and to initiate a claim if applicable.

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Question Four: “What is the coverage cut-off date for the current Iceland volcano event?”

Answer: Eligible US plans would need to have been purchased before April 14, 2010.

National Air Traffic Services (NATS) says volcanic ash emitting from the volcano under the Eyjafjallajokull glacier in Iceland has caused a significant number of flight cancellations and travel delays across Europe. More than one-quarter of all air space in the area is closed. Travel Guard North America has travel insurance plans that provide coverage through this unforeseen event, if the plan was purchased before Tuesday, April 13, 2010.

Travel Guard North America’s core plans (Platinum, Gold, Silver, My Travel Guard, Basic and other select plans) include coverage for trip cancellation, interruption and delay in the event of a natural disaster or inclement weather. All coverages are subject to policy terms, conditions and limitations.

Just in from Travel Guard(4/22/2010):

Question One: “I am scheduled for future travel and purchased my insurance policy prior to this volcanic event. If this volcano subsides and then erupts again, causing my future travel plans to be disrupted, will this be considered unforeseen and could coverage apply?”

Answer: Under most of our US products, you would be covered based on your purchase date being prior to April 14, 2010, subject to policy terms and conditions. We encourage you to contact our 24/7 Service Center or your Travel Guard sales representatives with additional questions as coverage and benefits vary by product.

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Question Two: “I am scheduled to travel this summer and have not yet purchased a policy. If I purchase a policy today and a future eruption of the Iceland volcano occurs would I be covered?”

Answer: If the current Iceland Volcano situation subsides and commercial airlines resume normal schedules prior to your trip, any new eruption would be considered a new event under our US policies. Coverage would be administered according to the product purchased (based on limits and exclusions). We encourage you to contact our 24/7 Service Center or your Travel Guard sales representatives with additional questions as coverage and benefits vary by product.

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Question Three: “I have insurance and am scheduled to fly out later this week. What should I do if my flight is cancelled?”

Answer:The first call you should make is to your air carrier as all airlines have made rebooking passengers impacted by this event a priority. That said, please contact Travel Guard for additional assistance, both for flight rebooking and to initiate a claim if applicable.

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Question Four: “What is the coverage cut-off date for the current Iceland volcano event?”

Answer: Eligible US plans would need to have been purchased before April 14, 2010.

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Travelex Insurance Services

Travelex insurance policies consider this a covered reason due to weather. Coverage applies in the following areas for Travel Basic, Travel Select, Travel Max, TraveLite and Travel Plus.

Trip Cancellation & Trip Interruption Coverage

Complete cessation of services of the common carrier for at least 24 consecutive hours due to the covered reason.
Delayed arrival due to the covered reason causes 50% or more of the covered trip to be missed (does not apply to Travel Basic).

Trip Delay Coverage

Delay while enroute to or from final destination for at least 5 hours or more due to the covered reason.

Extended Coverage

Common carrier delay causes covered trip to be prolonged beyond the scheduled return date. Conditions may apply specific to the policy purchased.

TravelSafe

If your policy was purchased April 13, 2010 or prior and your travel is affected by the volcanic eruption in Iceland, the following provides a brief summary of the coverage provided by your policy. All benefits are subject to the maximum limits listed in the schedule of coverages. Please refer to the certificate of coverage for full details regarding the policy’s benefits, limitations, and exclusions.

Trip Cancellation/Trip Interruption – The policy provides a benefit in the event a trip is canceled or you must interrupt your trip because your common carrier ceases operations for at least 12 consecutive hours due to inclement weather; your trip destination becomes uninhabitable due to a natural disaster; or your arrival on your trip is delayed and causes you to lose 50% or more of your scheduled trip duration due to a delay of a common carrier or natural disaster.

Benefits for Trip Cancellation may include reimbursement of the non-refundable trip costs insured under the policy. Trip Interruption benefits may include reimbursement of the unused portion of the land or water arrangements plus additional transportation expenses incurred either to join, catch up to, or return from the trip.

Missed Connection – The policy provides a benefit in the event your arrival on your trip is delayed 3 hours or more due to a delay of your common carrier or due to a natural disaster.

Benefits may include reimbursement of the unused portion of your land or water arrangements and additional transportation costs to join your trip.

Travel Delay – The policy provides reimbursement for reasonable accommodations, meal, and local transportation if during your trip your travel is delayed for 8 hours or more due to a delay of your common carrier or due to natural disaster.

Medical and Medical Evacuation – If you are traveling in Iceland and have been injured, please contact the assistance company, One Call, for assistance by calling collect to 1-603-894-4710. The policy provides reimbursement on an excess basis for medical expenses incurred due to injury. It also provides evacuation to the nearest adequate medical facility for treatment and medically appropriate transportation home. For travelers in Iceland with an effective date on or after April 14, 2010, medical and medical evacuation benefits may still be available if your sickness or injury occurred after the date your coverage became effective.

Non-Medical Emergency Evacuation – The policy provides reimbursement for reasonable transportation to the nearest place of safety or to your home in the event of a natural disaster. The evacuation must occur within 10 days of the event and the arrangements must be made by One Call. Please call 1-603-894-4710 collect for assistance.