H1N1 may spark demand for travel cancellation insurance

The demand for trip cancellation coverage seems likely to increase as the threat of H1N1 flu continues to plague travellers.
The Travel Health Insurance Association (THIA) is urging Canadians who are planning international trips to protect their health and travel investment by getting trip cancellation and interruption insurance.
Travellers must be made aware of the benefits and exclusions, THIA notes in a release.
“All policies have some limitations and exclusions, so it is more necessary than ever for travellers to understand where they stand should their trip to a given destination be suddenly cancelled, or should their destination resort close down, or should their government issue an advisory warning them not to travel to a certain country or parts of it,” Martha Turnbull, president of THIA, said in the release.
As an example, if a traveller purchases trip cancellation/interruption insurance after a warning is issued for travel to a particular location, they might not be covered for emergency health benefits while on their trip until the Canadian government rescinds the warning, the association notes.