Japanese cover examined
Although the earth has, by and large, stopped shaking, and the tsunami waters have receded, the chaos and destruction caused by the linked natural disasters will take a long time for Japan to recover from, and many travellers are asking: is it safe to travel to Japan yet? The short answer is: it depends … on your government and on your travel insurance policy small print. At the time of writing, in Australia, the government was still advising against all travel to Tokyo and its surrounding areas, which is the authority’s highest level of warning. As such, travel insurers in the country will not cover policyholders for such travel. For other areas of Japan, the government is advising a ‘high degree of caution’, which makes the situation more complicated. Instructions from the government are to follow news reports closely and stay up-to-date with the situation if it changes; but travellers were told to obtain written advice from their insurer to state that the company will definitely still offer cover despite the warning. Advice to travellers from Victoria’s Consumer Action Law Centre stated that affected travellers should try to make a claim, and not to take as gospel advice from call centre employees who may have given the consumer the impression that there was no coverage available for nuclear-related claims. Nicola Rich, the Centre’s policy and campaigns manager, said: “Just because there’s been some nuclear issues, it doesn’t mean you’re making a claim related to a nuclear reaction, so you can’t immediately say the insurer will try to rely on the exclusion. But I’m not necessarily ruling it out either.” She added: “I’ve seen plenty of instances of travel insurance companies initially trying to rule people out from making a claim or trying to say it’s excluded or limited in some way, and then once people appeal it, it is not necessarily the case.” Qantas, Australia’s national airline, has said it will waive its fee for passengers who wish to change their flight plans to Japan, as long as they booked them before the 11 March disaster, as well as allowing customers to change their flight plans if they would prefer to avoid Japan as a stop-over on longer trips. Japan’s tourism business is significant, and should travellers stop going there altogether, it could be more harmful for the country’s economy. Despite the governments’ caution, a statement from the World Health Organization, International Maritime Organisation, International Atomic Energy Agency and International Civil Aviation Organisation read: “International flights can continue normally into and out of Japan’s major airports, excluding those damaged by the tsunami. Screening for radiation of international passengers from Japan is not considered necessary at this time.” It added: “Travellers should avoid travel to the areas most affected by the earthquake and tsunami because of disruptions to essential services, such as transport and electric power, and the ongoing disaster relief activities.” Online travel magazine Terminal U asked several major UK travel insurers what their stance was on coverage for tourists heading to Japan. At the time of writing, a spokesperson from Royal Bank of Scotland, which provides cover under the Churchill, Direct Line and Natwest brands, said: “Given the scale of the events in Japan, we understand customers may wish to cancel their travel plans. We will, therefore, consider these claims on an ex-gratia basis, where a customer has not been able to obtain a refund from their airline/tour operator/travel agent.” Aviva’s spokesperson said: “Our policy will cover customers who have an urgent need to continue with their travel plans. However, we do have a general exclusion relating to claims directly or indirectly caused by nuclear exposure so at the moment this could be invoked if a customer travels to the evacuation zone around Fukishima.” Travellers were advised to contact their airline, tour operator or travel agent to rearrange dates for their holiday or an alternative destination. AXA said that only its customers who had chosen to upgrade their standard travel insurance policy with the company’s Independent Traveller or Travel Disruption options would be covered for irrecoverable, unused accommodation and travel costs, as well as other pre-paid charges. M&S Insurance, which is underwritten by AXA, said that only customers who had bought the company’s Premier annual multi-trip insurance, which automatically includes independent traveller cover, would be covered under the cancellation policy for irrecoverable or unused accommodation, travel costs and other pre-paid charges. The Post Office, meanwhile, said: “Post Office Travel Insurance will cover associated costs up to the limit specified in the policy, which are not recoverable elsewhere. These include pre-paid transport to the airport, airport accommodation and cattery or kennel fees. This cover applies under the Delay and Abandonment section of the policy. There is no cover for associated holiday costs under this section for [our] Explorer policies.” In the US, insurers are grappling with the same difficulties, with many saying that unless travellers had already added a ‘cancel for any reason’ rider onto their policy, they wouldn’t be reimbursed for their intended trip to Japan should they cancel due to concerns over radiation. However, if a tourist’s hotel was in an area that had been evacuated due to radiation worries, then a traveller may be able to claim for the costs already expended on the accommodation. Carol Mueller, spokeswoman for Travel Guard North America, said: “I am not aware of any travel insurance plan that includes the potential for radiation or nuclear meltdown, as some have put it, as a covered reason for cancellation.” However, CSA Travel Protection lists nuclear radiation as a general exclusion in some of its policies, according to marketing manager Kathy Townend; although she added: “We’re talking to our underwriter to see what kind of decision would be made in the event of such a claim in Japan.” Furthermore, one company, MH Ross Travel Insurance Services Inc., said it might cover radiation-related claims as they are currently being treated as a by-product of the disasters. Sheri Machat, senior vice president of sales and marketing, said: “If a hotel is shut down in Japan because of radiation, we would consider it under ‘destination being rendered uninhabitable by fire, flood, burglary, or other natural disaster within 10 days of departure’.” Daniel Durazo, spokesman for Mondial-owned Access America, commented that as most policies exclude radiation from coverage, ‘it’s hard to get a handle on what the situation is’. “We’ll adjudicate those [claims] one on one. If your destination has become uninhabitable, it might be covered.” In the wake of the devastating earthquake and tsunami, travel insurance comparison site in the US InsureMyTrip, together with travel medical provider HCC Medical Insurance Services, LLC, have launched a special initiative providing medical and evacuation coverage at reduced rates for US travellers who headed to Japan to aid in relief efforts. Jim Grace, president and chief executive of InsureMyTrip, said: “Our hearts go out to all those affected by these horrific events. And to the best of our abilities, we are doing everything we can to help.” Part of the help is the exclusive partnership to provide a 20-per-cent discount on HCC’s Atlas International Plan for all travellers going to Japan either to help in relief efforts, or family reasons. Grace added: “By working together with HCCMIS, we are able to provide critical coverage most affordably, and protect those travelling to Japan to assist in relief efforts or to locate loved ones.” Assistance companies around the world have also been busy locating and removing their policyholders from areas considered to be dangerous. In one notable mission, UK-based emergency assistance and claims management group CEGA repatriated 94 members of the BBC’s Philharmonic Orchestra from Japan after their tour was halted in the wake of the earthquake and tsunami. Paola Regini-Barnes, who managed the repatriation mission, said: “With unprecedented pressure on flights out of Japan, the evacuation had to be staggered, but within three days of being notified and working closely with the BBC Philharmonic’s team in Manchester, we had all 94 players and staff, plus their instruments, safely on their way home.” Another international mission saw Swiss air rescue organisation Rega fly a rescue worker home to Switzerland. Bruno Maurer, a volunteer Swiss Disaster Dog Association member, was helping search and rescue efforts in Hachinohe City, Japan with his dog. He supported search and recovery efforts for 10 days before he was medically evacuated due to an emergency surgery that was performed at the Hachinohe Medical Centre after he developed pain, fever and swelling and underwent major abdominal surgery. Once stable, he was taken to Misawa Airbase, a US Air Force installation, and flown to Switzerland by Rega. The Rega crew consisted of a doctor, a nurse and four pilots. If your company handled an air ambulance or assistance mission from Japan, please do get in touch, as your case study could appear in ITIJ’s forthcoming Assistance & Repatriations Review.
Although the earth has, by and large, stopped shaking, and the tsunami waters have receded, the chaos and destruction caused by the linked natural disasters will take a long time for Japan to recover from, and many travellers are asking: is it safe to travel to Japan yet? The short answer is: it depends … on your government and on your travel insurance policy small print.
At the time of writing, in Australia, the government was still advising against all travel to Tokyo and its surrounding areas, which is the authority’s highest level of warning. As such, travel insurers in the country will not cover policyholders for such travel. For other areas of Japan, the government is advising a ‘high degree of caution’, which makes the situation more complicated. Instructions from the government are to follow news reports closely and stay up-to-date with the situation if it changes; but travellers were told to obtain written advice from their insurer to state that the company will definitely still offer cover despite the warning. Advice to travellers from Victoria’s Consumer Action Law Centre stated that affected travellers should try to make a claim, and not to take as gospel advice from call centre employees who may have given the consumer the impression that there was no coverage available for nuclear-related claims. Nicola Rich, the Centre’s policy and campaigns manager, said: “Just because there’s been some nuclear issues, it doesn’t mean you’re making a claim related to a nuclear reaction, so you can’t immediately say the insurer will try to rely on the exclusion. But I’m not necessarily ruling it out either.” She added: “I’ve seen plenty of instances of travel insurance companies initially trying to rule people out from making a claim or trying to say it’s excluded or limited in some way, and then once people appeal it, it is not necessarily the case.”
Qantas, Australia’s national airline, has said it will waive its fee for passengers who wish to change their flight plans to Japan, as long as they booked them before the 11 March disaster, as well as allowing customers to change their flight plans if they would prefer to avoid Japan as a stop-over on longer trips.
Japan’s tourism business is significant, and should travellers stop going there altogether, it could be more harmful for the country’s economy. Despite the governments’ caution, a statement from the World Health Organization, International Maritime Organisation, International Atomic Energy Agency and International Civil Aviation Organisation read: “International flights can continue normally into and out of Japan’s major airports, excluding those damaged by the tsunami. Screening for radiation of international passengers from Japan is not considered necessary at this time.” It added: “Travellers should avoid travel to the areas most affected by the earthquake and tsunami because of disruptions to essential services, such as transport and electric power, and the ongoing disaster relief activities.”
Online travel magazine Terminal U asked several major UK travel insurers what their stance was on coverage for tourists heading to Japan. At the time of writing, a spokesperson from Royal Bank of Scotland, which provides cover under the Churchill, Direct Line and Natwest brands, said: “Given the scale of the events in Japan, we understand customers may wish to cancel their travel plans. We will, therefore, consider these claims on an ex-gratia basis, where a customer has not been able to obtain a refund from their airline/tour operator/travel agent.”
Aviva’s spokesperson said: “Our policy will cover customers who have an urgent need to continue with their travel plans. However, we do have a general exclusion relating to claims directly or indirectly caused by nuclear exposure so at the moment this could be invoked if a customer travels to the evacuation zone around Fukishima.” Travellers were advised to contact their airline, tour operator or travel agent to rearrange dates for their holiday or an alternative destination.
AXA said that only its customers who had chosen to upgrade their standard travel insurance policy with the company’s Independent Traveller or Travel Disruption options would be covered for irrecoverable, unused accommodation and travel costs, as well as other pre-paid charges.
M&S Insurance, which is underwritten by AXA, said that only customers who had bought the company’s Premier annual multi-trip insurance, which automatically includes independent traveller cover, would be covered under the cancellation policy for irrecoverable or unused accommodation, travel costs and other pre-paid charges.
The Post Office, meanwhile, said: “Post Office Travel Insurance will cover associated costs up to the limit specified in the policy, which are not recoverable elsewhere. These include pre-paid transport to the airport, airport accommodation and cattery or kennel fees. This cover applies under the Delay and Abandonment section of the policy. There is no cover for associated holiday costs under this section for [our] Explorer policies.”
In the US, insurers are grappling with the same difficulties, with many saying that unless travellers had already added a ‘cancel for any reason’ rider onto their policy, they wouldn’t be reimbursed for their intended trip to Japan should they cancel due to concerns over radiation. However, if a tourist’s hotel was in an area that had been evacuated due to radiation worries, then a traveller may be able to claim for the costs already expended on the accommodation. Carol Mueller, spokeswoman for Travel Guard North America, said: “I am not aware of any travel insurance plan that includes the potential for radiation or nuclear meltdown, as some have put it, as a covered reason for cancellation.”
However, CSA Travel Protection lists nuclear radiation as a general exclusion in some of its policies, according to marketing manager Kathy Townend; although she added: “We’re talking to our underwriter to see what kind of decision would be made in the event of such a claim in Japan.” Furthermore, one company, MH Ross Travel Insurance Services Inc., said it might cover radiation-related claims as they are currently being treated as a by-product of the disasters. Sheri Machat, senior vice president of sales and marketing, said: “If a hotel is shut down in Japan because of radiation, we would consider it under ‘destination being rendered uninhabitable by fire, flood, burglary, or other natural disaster within 10 days of departure’.”
Daniel Durazo, spokesman for Mondial-owned Access America, commented that as most policies exclude radiation from coverage, ‘it’s hard to get a handle on what the situation is’. “We’ll adjudicate those [claims] one on one. If your destination has become uninhabitable, it might be covered.”
In the wake of the devastating earthquake and tsunami, travel insurance comparison site in the US InsureMyTrip, together with travel medical provider HCC Medical Insurance Services, LLC, have launched a special initiative providing medical and evacuation coverage at reduced rates for US travellers who headed to Japan to aid in relief efforts. Jim Grace, president and chief executive of InsureMyTrip, said: “Our hearts go out to all those affected by these horrific events. And to the best of our abilities, we are doing everything we can to help.” Part of the help is the exclusive partnership to provide a 20-per-cent discount on HCC’s Atlas International Plan for all travellers going to Japan either to help in relief efforts, or family reasons. Grace added: “By working together with HCCMIS, we are able to provide critical coverage most affordably, and protect those travelling to Japan to assist in relief efforts or to locate loved ones.”
Assistance companies around the world have also been busy locating and removing their policyholders from areas considered to be dangerous. In one notable mission, UK-based emergency assistance and claims management group CEGA repatriated 94 members of the BBC’s Philharmonic Orchestra from Japan after their tour was halted in the wake of the earthquake and tsunami. Paola Regini-Barnes, who managed the repatriation mission, said: “With unprecedented pressure on flights out of Japan, the evacuation had to be staggered, but within three days of being notified and working closely with the BBC Philharmonic’s team in Manchester, we had all 94 players and staff, plus their instruments, safely on their way home.”
Another international mission saw Swiss air rescue organisation Rega fly a rescue worker home to Switzerland. Bruno Maurer, a volunteer Swiss Disaster Dog Association member, was helping search and rescue efforts in Hachinohe City, Japan with his dog. He supported search and recovery efforts for 10 days before he was medically evacuated due to an emergency surgery that was performed at the Hachinohe Medical Centre after he developed pain, fever and swelling and underwent major abdominal surgery. Once stable, he was taken to Misawa Airbase, a US Air Force installation, and flown to Switzerland by Rega. The Rega crew consisted of a doctor, a nurse and four pilots.
If your company handled an air ambulance or assistance mission from Japan, please do get in touch, as your case study could appear in ITIJ’s forthcoming Assistance & Repatriations Review.