Travel insurance covers volcanoes

TORONTO Canadian travellers who are stranded in Europe by the volcanic ash cloud are not necessarily out of pocket if they began their journey with travel insurance, but they need to check their policies. The team answering calls at RBC Insurance is running "full out," a company executive said this week.

"If people have purchased cancellation and interruption insurance in their travel insurance, whether it be in a package or stand-alone basis, they're likely to have some type of benefit related to this particular event, the volcanic ash volcano in Iceland," said Tim Bzowey, vice-president of travel.

Silvana Aceto, speaking for the CAA south-central Ontario office in Thornhill, said her region has been dealing with 58 passengers who are stuck in Europe, and who booked trips through the company.

RBC Insurance has had contact with a "significant number" of people in Europe, but Bzowey couldn't offer an exact count.

It's all hands on deck at the 24-7 insurance office, he said.

"Thankfully we're accustomed to crises in the travel business, whether it's a tour operator failure or an airline failure, SARS, H1N1, 9-11, earthquakes, tsunamis -- these are all events that have happened in the recent past ... but every time one of these comes up, it's a little bit different.

"And I never in my career would have anticipated a volcano in Iceland would be an issue for us."

Any RBC policyholder currently in Europe and unable to get home when they planned will automatically have their coverage extended, he said.

"There's been no additional cost for that."

There is an allowance to cover meals, accommodation, phone calls, taxis and car rental, with the deluxe package allowing for a maximum of $700 to be spent.

Bzowey agreed that the money "absolutely isn't" going to last a traveller long if they need a hotel room for five days.

"This is why these situations aren't easy and we want to get people home as soon as practically possible," he said.

In most cases, the $700 is more than enough when the main goal is to get a client home as quickly and safely as possible, the company said. Bzowey commended the airlines for doing "the best they can in a difficult situation."

"We're encouraging all of our clients to check with their airline, check with their tour operator, make sure that communication is open because the situation is quite dynamic, and what might be the situation today could be very different tomorrow," he said.

The same goes for Canadians stuck on this side of the pond who booked their flights to Europe prior to April 15.

They need to talk to the airline and tour operator about changing their dates if the ash situation improves, Bzowey said, and if that's not possible, then they need to open a claim.