Travel Guard International announced Monday that most of its retail travel insurance plans include coverage for terrorism under the plans' trip cancellation and trip interruption benefits for policyholders who have booked trips to cities in Israel or Lebanon directly impacted by the Israeli-Hezbollah conflict. For policyholders who purchased one of the company's retail travel insurance plans prior to July 13, 2006, Travel Guard will reimburse for covered nonrefundable expenses under the terms and conditions of the policy. Most of Travel Guard's retail travel insurance plans pay a benefit to the insured if a trip is cancelled or interrupted by a number of unforeseen circumstances, including a terrorist incident that occurs in a city listed on the insured's itinerary within 30 days of his or her scheduled arrival. Following the rocket attack on the northern Israeli city of Haifa on July 13, which escalated the Israeli-Hezbollah conflict, Travel Guard made the determination that future "terrorist" acts, as defined in its policies, could reasonably no longer be considered as "unforeseen" in Israeli and Lebanese cities. Therefore, trip cancellation coverage under the terrorism provision will not apply for persons traveling to those countries if their policies were purchased after July 13, 2006.
