Denny Lytle has flown a lot of kilometers for his job and with his family, but he never thought about travel insurance -- until after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
"With all the uncertainty ... if something happens, that's a major investment for me and my family," said Lytle, who decided to insure his family's upcoming vacation to Walt Disney World in case something cancels their flight.
Insurance companies say Lytle isn't alone.
Before the attacks, only about 8 percent to 10 percent of travelers purchased insurance, said Dan McGinnity, spokesman for Travel Guard International of Stevens Point, Wisconsin, the country's largest travel insurer. Now, he estimates 33 percent to 50 percent are buying insurance.
Generally, travel insurance covers canceled or delayed trips, lost or stolen luggage, medical care and emergency medical evacuations. It can also include flight accident insurance -- life insurance in case of a crash. It typically costs 5 percent to 7 percent of a trip's total cost.
Lytle paid about dlrs 200 to safeguard his family's US$4,000 Disney World trip.
"I just want to make sure I was covered," said Lytle, an industrial product manager from South Park. ``Honestly, I've never even thought of this stuff before. It's different to travel now.''
Travel Guard's sales since the terrorist attacks are up only slightly over the same period last year. But McGinnity said any increase is significant because fewer people are traveling.
Joe Clauson, spokesman for insurance company Mutual of Omaha, said the rise in insurance business comes as no surprise. "Generally, you'd see an increase in travel insurance purchases after a flight disaster or catastrophe," he said, adding that sales tend to drop after a couple of months.
American Express, which offers insurance to travelers who use their credit card to buy tickets, has also noticed an increase in calls about what coverage is available, company spokeswoman Desiree Fish said.
Claudia Fullerton, chief marketing officer for CSA Travel Protection of San Diego, California, said phone inquiries about insurance have increased 500 percent since Sept. 11.
She and McGinnity both estimated their companies will pay millions in delay and cancellation claims for their customers because of the attacks and the subsequent disruption of air travel.
"It'll be the costliest single occurrence since we've been in business," said McGinnity. Travel Guard was established in 1982.
Travel Guard and CSA haven't raised premiums on their services since the attacks, Fullerton and McGinnity said. But Travel Guard has made another change, altering its terrorism policies to include domestic incidents as well as those that take place overseas, McGinnity said.
"People are very risk-conscious since the attacks," said Carolyn Gorman, vice president of the Insurance Information Institute's Washington office.
ECONOMIC RESILIENCE: Only 11.4 percent of Taiwan’s overseas investments last year were in China, and businesses are dispersing their investments elsewhere, Lai said China’s ambition to annex Taiwan is based on a desire to change the rules-based international order, rather than a desire for territorial gains, President William Lai (賴清德) said in an interview. During an appearance on the talk show The View With Catherine Chang, aired last night, Lai said China aimed to achieve hegemony, and that peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait was an issue of worldwide concern. During the interview, Lai also discussed his “four-pillar plan” for peace and prosperity, which he first outlined in an article published by the Wall Street Journal on July 4 last year. That
‘REGRETTABLE’: TPP lawmaker Vivian Huang said that ‘we will continue to support Chairman Ko and defend his innocence’ as he was transferred to a detention facility The Taipei District Court yesterday ruled that Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) be detained and held incommunicado over alleged corruption dating to his time as mayor of Taipei. The ruling reversed a decision by the court on Monday morning that Ko be released without bail. After prosecutors on Wednesday appealed the Monday decision, the High Court said that Ko had potentially been “actively involved” in the alleged corruption and ordered the district court to hold a second detention hearing. Ko did not speak to reporters upon his arrival at the district court at about 9:10am yesterday to attend a procedural
Thirty Taiwanese firms, led by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and ASE Technology Holding Co (日月光投控), yesterday launched a silicon photonics industry alliance, aiming to accelerate the medium’s development and address the energy efficiency of artificial intelligence (AI) devices like data centers. As the world is ushering in a new AI era with tremendous demand for computing power and algorithms, energy consumption is emerging as a critical issue, TSMC vice president of integrated interconnect and packaging business C.K. Hsu (徐國晉) told a media briefing in Taipei. To solve this issue, it is essential to introduce silicon photonics and copackaged optics (CPO)
The High Court yesterday overturned a Taipei District Court decision to release Taiwan People’s Party Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) and sent the case back to the lower court. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office on Saturday questioned Ko amid a probe into alleged corruption involving the Core Pacific City development project during his time as Taipei mayor. Core Pacific City, also known as Living Mall (京華城購物中心), was a shopping mall in Taipei’s Songshan District (松山) that has since been demolished. On Monday, the Taipei District Court granted a second motion by Ko’s attorney to release him without bail, a decision the prosecutors’ office appealed
RSS