By USDR.
After a series of terrorist attacks in Paris on Friday, France has declared a state of emergency and closed its borders. Travelers with plans to visit Paris may be covered by their travel insurance to cancel their upcoming trip. Squaremouth, a leading travel insurance website, answers the four top questions asked by travelers.
Can I buy a policy now to cover my trip to Paris?
It is now too late to buy a travel insurance policy with terrorism coverage for this event. Any travelers purchasing travel insurance on or after November 13 would not be covered to cancel their trip under the terrorism benefit.
Do the Paris attacks meet the travel insurance definition of terrorism?
Terrorism is a covered reason to cancel a trip under many travel insurance policies. The event must meet the policy’s definition of terrorism, which, for many policies, is that the event must be deemed terrorism by the U.S. government.
“The Paris attacks have been named an act of terrorism by the State Department, so insured travelers could be covered by travel insurance policies with this definition,” said Squaremouth CEO Chris Harvey. “However, their trip dates and itinerary may need to meet other requirements to be eligible for coverage.”
Will my travel insurance cover me to cancel my trip to Paris?
Travelers with approaching trips to Paris may be covered by their travel insurance to cancel, but those with travel plans in the next few months, or even to other regions of France, may not be. Travel insurance policies may include other criteria that must be met for a traveler to be covered under the terrorism benefit to cancel their trip.
Many policies require the traveler’s departure date to be within a specified time period of the attacks, often 7-30 days. Under some travel insurance policies, the terrorist attack must have occurred in a city, or within 50-100 miles of a city, on their itinerary. Travelers would need to be able to show hotel, transport or tour bookings in or near Paris.
What if I am too scared to travel?
Those who have not yet purchased travel insurance coverage, or who do not meet the other criteria to be eligible for terrorism coverage, would need to purchase the Cancel For Any Reason upgrade to be able to cancel their travel plans out of fear of terrorism.
Cancel For Any Reason is only available as an upgrade within 14-30 days of their initial deposit date, requires the traveler insure their entire trip cost, will only reimburse up to 75% of the traveler’s trip costs, and requires the traveler cancel their trip at least 48 hours before their departure date.
To keep travelers up-to-date with travel insurance coverage related to the Paris terrorist attacks, Squaremouth launched the Paris Terrorist Attacks and Travel Insurance Information Center. This online resource is updated with official provider position statements, answers to frequently asked questions, and current government travel alerts and notices related to the terrorist attacks in Paris.
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