Sometimes travel takes an unexpected turn for the worse, even when you’ve taken every precaution. That’s why it’s smart to be prepared with a travel medical insurance policy that offers vital emergency travel benefits as well as access to a team of knowledgeable, multi-lingual crisis consultants for those times when you find yourself in a perilous situation abroad.

In addition to providing coverage for unexpected injury and illness, the Atlas Series of travel medical plans from WorldTrips includes a kidnap and ransom benefit known as Crisis Response.

What Is Crisis Response?

No traveler wants to consider the threat of kidnapping while traveling abroad, but terrorists, drug cartels, and other criminal organizations use kidnapping and extortion to advance their agendas. Foreign travelers and their families can be prime targets—especially in places where security is weak or non-existent.

Some of these incidents are referred to as “express kidnappings.” An express kidnapping is a method of abduction in which kidnappers demand a small, easily-accessible ransom in exchange for a quick release. 

Because of the threat of kidnapping, Atlas Travel insurance plans offer a Crisis Response benefit designed to help families with the financial and emotional burden of such events—and to ensure the victim’s safety above all else.

 

With Crisis Response, you get $10,000 for:

• Ransom
• An experienced, multi-lingual crisis response team
• Personal belongings surrendered in an express kidnapping
• Crisis response expenses and fees
• 24/7 access to the Response Operations Center

 

Who Might Benefit from This Coverage?

Crisis Response coverage can benefit a wide range of travelers—from students to business professionals and nearly everyone in between.

• Students — Study abroad students are often warned of the growing frequency of express kidnappings. In a study abroad situation, a kidnapping may occur when a seemingly trustworthy native temporarily abducts an unsuspecting student and demands an easily-accessible ransom in exchange for release.
• Missionaries — Missionaries often work in dangerous locations where they may be targeted by radicals and political activists.
• Children — Kidnappers sometimes take children who have ventured too far away from their parents, subsequently demanding money for their safe return.
• Business Professionals — Professionals often stand out from their surroundings due to their attire, technology use, and the places they frequent. This may make them vulnerable to crimes such as kidnapping.

 

How Is the Benefit Activated?

A family member, friend, or associate of the kidnapped policyholder contacts local law enforcement as well as Unity Advisory Group/On Call International (via WorldTrips), which partners with WorldTrips to provide dedicated Crisis Response services worldwide.

If you fall victim to kidnapping as you explore your destination, Unity Crisis Group can advise and support your family while working on negotiations and resolution strategies. Its 24/7 Response Operations Center employs a team of analysts with expertise in security, terrorism, international politics, and logistics—all to help smoothly and safely negotiate your release.

 

 

Conditions and Restrictions

The policyholder must comply with all conditions and provisions of their Atlas insurance policy.

 

Before surrendering a ransom, the person authorizing the surrender must notify or make every reasonable attempt to notify:

• The Federal Bureau of Investigation or local law enforcement agencies (as soon as possible, bearing in mind the safety of the person(s) held or threatened), and
• Unity Advisory Group/On Call International via WorldTrips
  
  

The surrender of a ransom must not be:

• Carried by, transported by, or possessed when a kidnapping or express kidnapping first occurs
• At the location where a kidnapping or express kidnapping first occurs, unless it’s brought there for the sole purpose of conveying a previously-communicated ransom demand

Any kidnapping or express kidnapping cannot be the result of fraud or another criminal act committed by the policyholder or their authorized representative (whether acting alone or with others), unless the person authorizing the ransom payment has made every reasonable attempt to determine that the ransom demand or threat was genuine before paying the ransom.

 

Any kidnapping or express kidnapping is excluded if it first occurs in:

• Iraq
• Afghanistan
• Pakistan
• Nigeria
• Venezuela
• Or any country for which we are prohibited from transactions due to sanctions by the United States Department of Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

 

For more information on sanctioned countries, visit the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

 

 

 

Optional Crisis Response Rider with Natural Disaster Evacuation

When you purchase an Atlas Travel policy, you have the option to add a Crisis Response Rider with Natural Disaster Evacuation. This is an additional $90,000 (per certificate period) in Crisis Response coverage, with a $10,000 limit for Natural Disaster Evacuation.

The Natural Disaster Evacuation benefit covers evacuation expenses due to a natural disaster (i.e. wildfire, earthquake, tsunami, etc.) which makes your host country uninhabitable. Up to the maximum limit of $10,000, you are covered for:

• Transportation to the nearest safe location
• One-way economy airfare to return you to your home country following a Natural Disaster Evacuation
• A maximum of 3 days for reasonable lodging accommodations if you are delayed at the safe location and unable to depart to your home country

To be covered under this benefit, you must contact WorldTrips as soon as possible after your host country issues the official disaster declaration. Travel arrangements must be approved in advance and coordinated by WorldTrips. For full details and conditions, see the Description of Coverage for your policy.

 

Final Thoughts

A kidnapping is a traumatic situation that takes an emotional toll, and most travelers aren’t prepared to handle it. That’s why it’s so beneficial to have access to an experienced team that can keep your family informed while managing negotiations and finding a resolution for your safe return.