Insurance for travel calls to mind trip cancellation or accident insurance. There are other risk factors in travel which should be considered, particularly for international travel. The best way to contemplate travel risk is to differentiate liability, which is the risk of liability or similar suits from third parties, from first party loss such as damage or loss to valuable property.
Worldwide coverage for liability is important. In broad terms an Umbrella Liability policy provides additional liability coverage after the exhaustion of primary liability limits in homeowners, automobile, and other personal insurance policies. Policy numbers and limits available through primary personal policies are specifically scheduled in Umbrella Liability policies. Policy forms are contracts, and the coverage territory is specifically defined in the contract. Insuring carriers with coverage forms designed for the mass market offer coverage throughout the US, its territories and possessions and Canada, while insuring carriers with coverage forms designed for private client generally specify worldwide coverage territories. This distinction is especially important for people who travel out of the country as they will be afforded liability coverage while they are traveling away from the US, for example and driving any vehicle furnished to them, including rental vehicles and vehicles owned by friends and family. Separate from the Umbrella Liability policy requirements, but noteworthy for worldwide travelers is that some countries require that a primary auto policy written by a company domiciled in that country be in place to drive a vehicle in that country.
Social Media is being used as evidence in personal injury cases. The private client Umbrella Liability form provides coverage for personal injury liability claims (including libel and slander) and property damage liability claims regardless of where the incident occurs.
The worldwide risk associated with personal risk associated cyber hacking may be covered by supplemental policies. The Internet of Things and online banking has facilitated long-term travel. In addition to reducing risk through best practices advised such as dual – factor authentication, frequent hard drive back ups, use of qualified cloud providers, secure shopping and other suggestions, insurance for identity theft and ransomware claims is available.
In-transit risk exists for valuable items. Most private client homeowners’ policies provide 10% of the stated personal property or contents limit for coverage on belongings that are traveling with the insured. Separately, if there is a valuable articles policy in place such as the AIG personal articles and private collections policies, coverage for scheduled items regardless of location, including in-transit items, is provided for scheduled items. Special features may include “Work in Progress” coverage for couture and shoes while being created up to $100,000 per occurrence per location. Wine inventories are protected for each item included on the policy, regardless of location, including in-transit items.
Check the covered territory for watercraft exposure. Yacht and Watercraft coverage can be written to provide pre-defined or worldwide navigation based on specific cruising plans. Additional coverage features and higher limits may be available.
As with all insurance policies, the above comments do not include countries with which the US has established travel and commerce limitations. Please refer to actual policy conditions and terms.
