Terrorism fears may be keeping many from travelling this holiday season – but insurers can reassure their clients by sharing these simple tips
The Christmas season means travelling, and that means more requests for insurance – but recent terrorist attacks have many choosing to remain in Canada to allay the fears of family at home.
But insurers can offer reassurance to clients, and maybe change a few minds about travelling abroad.
“If there is anything positive to come out of the terrorist attacks on Paris, it is the clear indication that you and millions of your peers will not be intimidated and forced into chucking your travel plans aside,” says Milan Korcok of Ingle International. “Travel is what many of you live for, so go ahead with your plans — but add a layer of protection.”
While acknowledging that the terrorist attacks in Paris, France are not the last of the tragedies to make headlines, there are ways to be better prepared.
“One of the first lessons to be learned out of Paris is that when a city, country, or entire region is thrown into panic, the impact and anxiety is felt not only by the traveller but also by the traveller’s family and loved ones at home,” says Korcok. “You can avert much of that anxiety by maintaining clear and close links with your home base.”
Korcok suggests two simple steps advisors can share with clients to help them stay in touch with family back in Canada.
The first step is to register your trip with the Canadian Government’s Registration of Canadian’s Abroad service at http://travel.gc.ca/travelling/registration.
“It’s easy to do and provides a failsafe backup for you and your loved ones should you lose contact with each other” says Korcok. “The process only takes a few minutes, and it’s free.”
Clients will have to provide emergency contact names and numbers at home as well as details about their travel itinerary, including dates, locations, hotels, travel contacts, and travel companions.
“If your client feels this is an intrusion into their privacy,” says Korcok, “just wait until they are locked down in a city under siege and see what it is they value most at that time.”
The second step is to keep a record of all of travel documentation—flight numbers, destination details and arrival times, transit locations, hotels, passport number and photo—and to record and copy the country and city codes of the destinations and transit points and make them immediately accessible to those at home.
“And designate one responsible person to be the coordinator of the documents and any contacts should you run into problems,” says Korcok. “Remember also that if the itinerary changes in any way, your home base coordinator will not know about it right away; so stay connected. With all of the electronic gadgetry with which you’ll likely be travelling, there’s no excuse not to.”
But insurers can offer reassurance to clients, and maybe change a few minds about travelling abroad.
“If there is anything positive to come out of the terrorist attacks on Paris, it is the clear indication that you and millions of your peers will not be intimidated and forced into chucking your travel plans aside,” says Milan Korcok of Ingle International. “Travel is what many of you live for, so go ahead with your plans — but add a layer of protection.”
While acknowledging that the terrorist attacks in Paris, France are not the last of the tragedies to make headlines, there are ways to be better prepared.
“One of the first lessons to be learned out of Paris is that when a city, country, or entire region is thrown into panic, the impact and anxiety is felt not only by the traveller but also by the traveller’s family and loved ones at home,” says Korcok. “You can avert much of that anxiety by maintaining clear and close links with your home base.”
Korcok suggests two simple steps advisors can share with clients to help them stay in touch with family back in Canada.
The first step is to register your trip with the Canadian Government’s Registration of Canadian’s Abroad service at http://travel.gc.ca/travelling/registration.
“It’s easy to do and provides a failsafe backup for you and your loved ones should you lose contact with each other” says Korcok. “The process only takes a few minutes, and it’s free.”
Clients will have to provide emergency contact names and numbers at home as well as details about their travel itinerary, including dates, locations, hotels, travel contacts, and travel companions.
“If your client feels this is an intrusion into their privacy,” says Korcok, “just wait until they are locked down in a city under siege and see what it is they value most at that time.”
The second step is to keep a record of all of travel documentation—flight numbers, destination details and arrival times, transit locations, hotels, passport number and photo—and to record and copy the country and city codes of the destinations and transit points and make them immediately accessible to those at home.
“And designate one responsible person to be the coordinator of the documents and any contacts should you run into problems,” says Korcok. “Remember also that if the itinerary changes in any way, your home base coordinator will not know about it right away; so stay connected. With all of the electronic gadgetry with which you’ll likely be travelling, there’s no excuse not to.”
