The Nov. 17 terrorist attack at Luxor, Egypt, in which 58 foreign tourists were killed, has not halted all trips to Egypt but has had a wide impact on travel.
Although the Muslim fundamentalist group linked to the terrorism issued a statement on Dec. 8 saying it was forswearing attacks on tourists as a means to its political goals, many Americans still do not want to go.
Americans who decided to cancel their trips may or may not be getting refunds, depending on the timing of the trip, which company they booked with and which brand of trip-cancellation insurance they bought. It is hard to imagine another travel situation with so many variables.
Trip insurance is indispensable to protect any money you cannot afford to forfeit, meaning it is essential for big-ticket tours. Shopping for an effective policy is a picky business, because the important coverage for most people is protection in the event of health problems and there are many variations even on this. But protection against default by an operator, or, as in the Egypt situation, to allow cancellation if the locale appears dangerous, may affect a choice among policies if all the other options fill the bill.
Here is a review of the small type on terrorism — what little there is — in five major insurance companies’ offerings. These companies’ policies, usually sold through travel agents, can also be sold directly to individuals.
Refunds for cancellations
Tour operators and cruise companies that cancel tours usually give full refunds. They also normally refund any premiums paid on their house-brand insurance — coverage they sell with their name on the cover — when they cancel because the insurer will no longer have to pay benefits. Bradley Finkle, president of the Trip Mate Insurance Agency of Kansas City, Mo., which provides house-brand travel insurance for many tour and cruise companies, said: “If a situation is really bad, most of the operators make refunds” on tour payments and insurance premiums.
The situation in Egypt is not that clear-cut. Abercrombie & Kent of Oak Brook, which has its own vessels and offices in Egypt, was continuing to operate six itineraries in Egypt in early January. The upper-bracket company also provides shore excursions for others’ cruise vessels, and it was continuing to do so. Christa Brantsch-Harness, spokeswoman for Abercrombie & Kent, said that its own Egypt clients — as opposed to people who have bought a cruise with an A&K land component — were given three choices: They could take a different trip with the company at the scheduled date, or take an Egypt trip at a later date, or get a full refund.
“We have nothing to gain by taking people on a trip where they are going to be uncomfortable,” Brantsch-Harness said.
As for insurance companies, Access America has a cancellation policy providing protection — very restricted — in cases of terrorism. One provision under “trip cancellation” in the company’s flier says it will cover expenses or losses of deposits specified in the policy if a trip is canceled “due to . . . a terrorist incident in a foreign city if you are scheduled to arrive in that city within 10 days following the incident and, for trip interruption, your tour operator (if applicable) is not offering a substitute itinerary.” This means that the traveler would have to have been scheduled to visit Luxor no later than Nov. 27 to receive an Access America refund for canceling after the attack.
This provision goes on to say, however, that losses “resulting due to the issuance of State Department travel advisories, bulletins or alerts, war or acts thereof, civil disorder, riot or unrest, bomb scares or threats of terrorist activity, or terrorist acts aganst any common carrier (e.g. airline or cruise line) are not covered.” This last clause, according to Beth L. Godlin, senior vice president, replaced a clause that paid benefits to travelers who canceled flights after the bombing of the Pan Am plane over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988.
Travelex of Omaha, Neb., another trip-cancellation insurance company, was formerly part of Mutual of Omaha but now bears the name of its new owner, a London currency exchange company. The relevant provision in these policies states that benefits will be paid “if You are prevented from taking a Covered Trip . . . for any of the following reasons that occur after the effective date of the Protection Plan: . . . Terrorism in a country which is part of the Covered Trip which causes the United States Department of State to issue a travel warning that You should not travel within that country for a period of time that would include the Covered Trip. Such a travel warning must be made after the effective date.”
Michael J. Ambrose, vice president of Travelex, said that although the State Department did not issue a warning in this case, his company was making an exception and interpreting its lower-cased phrase “travel warning” as encompassing the department’s post-Luxor Public Announcements. Travelers with reservations made before the attack for trips up to Feb. 22 are getting benefits, he said, adding that the company had so far paid 30 claims in the Egypt situation.
Travel Guard, part of the Noel Group in Stevens Point, Wis., now sells only one policy, its Trip Purchase Protection. The flier says that holders of the policy are protected if they cancel their trip because of “a major terrorist incident which has been reported by the U.S. Department of State in its warnings or by the media . . . in a country on the insured’s itinerary, after the insurance was purchased.”
In the Luxor case, benefits were available.
Travel Pak of Travel Insured International in Hartford has no provision for trip cancellation because of terrorism. John Cook, a spokesman, said that if a policyholder consulted a psychiatrist or other medical doctor because of fear of terrorism, then it would be a medical claim and treated as such.
The Berkely Group on Long Island sells Carefree coverage. According to Christina E. Hopper, senior vice president, the Carefree policies have not covered for terrorism since 1996. “It’s hard to define, and it causes a lot of customer service heartache,” she said.
After the Luxor incident, the State Department quickly issued two Public Announcements, but no Travel Warning, which is issued only in situations where the Government believes it cannot protect its citizens. The State Department’s Consular Information Sheets, Public Announcements and Travel Warnings are available four ways:
By fax. The caller must use a touch-tone phone attached to the fax machine to dial 202-647-3000. The recording will provide instructions, including advice to punch in the first four letters of the country for which information is desired.
By Internet: travel.state.gov.
By touch-tone phone leading to recordings: 202-647-5225.
By computer and modem: 301-946-4400. The log-in is travel (all lower case) and the password is info (also lower case).
