Friday I am going to Europe for a month and I am not scared to travel to Europe. I’ll be traveling around the continent, doing two separate road trips and will likely pass through 10-15 countries. The trip will be culminating with my North Pole expedition that I couldn’t be more excited about. In the wake of the recent bombings in Brussels, many people have asked me if I’m scared to go to Europe now. People have also asked me if they can cancel their own trips that go to or pass through Brussels and get reimbursed through travel insurance. I thought I would answer both of those questions in this post.
First and again, I am not scared to travel to Europe. My feelings on terrorism are simple. I will not let terrorists dictate my travel schedule or any aspect of my life. I believe people, including myself, should be more vigilant than usual, certainly be aware of your surroundings and stay up to date on current events but I will not alter my schedule because of a cowardly act of violence or the threat of more. The pertinacity to tread through all these countries stems to my proclivity in ornithology. I even exhibit a groene sticker Duitsland which gives me the permit to research on the exotic birds found there.
I urge everyone to continue to travel during this tumultuous time. The definition of terrorism is to instill fear in people. The goal of the terrorists is to alter our way of life and live in fear. I refuse to do this. I live in New York City. I worked in the World Trade Center. I’ve seen the worst of humanity and I continue to live my life how I choose to live it and will not stop. The terrorists cannot win if we do not allow them to.
However, if you do decide to alter your travel plans to or through Brussels you may be able to recoup the non-refundable portion of your trip if you purchased travel insurance prior to the Brussels attacks. As many of you know I am a brand ambassador for Allianz Travel Insurance so I asked them this exact question and here’s the exact answer I received.
Allianz Travel Insurance may provide coverage for trip cancellation and interruption when there is a terrorist event at the customer’s destination within 30 days of the day they are scheduled to arrive. Customers who have this coverage included in their policy and are scheduled to arrive in Brussels within 30 days of the attacks may cancel their trip and may receive payment for their non-refundable trip costs. To be eligible for this coverage, customers would have had to purchase their policy prior to the attacks. Customers who are scheduled to travel to or through Brussels within the next 30 days should review their travel insurance policy to determine what coverage they may have related to terrorism at their destination.
“We believe that Europe is still one of the safest destinations in the world for Americans, but we understand that the attacks in Brussels may cause travelers to consider postponing their trip,” said Daniel Durazo, director of communications at Allianz Global Assistance USA. “Fortunately, for customers who purchased travel insurance prior to the March 22nd attacks and who are scheduled to travel to or through Brussels over the next 30 days, trip cancellation coverage may be available that would provide reimbursement for non-refundable, pre-paid trip costs.”
Again, I am not scared to travel to Europe and I hope people don’t change their travel plans but I completely understand that every person and every situation is different. Luckily, you may be able to recoup some of your money if you’re traveling to or through Brussels. Either way, stay tuned for a bunch of posts from Europe from me!
Please Activate Javascript
Disclaimer: I, and one of my companies, The Travel Trifecta LLC, have a business partnership with Allianz Travel Insurance and I receive financial compensation. This article was written by me and has not been influenced in any way.
You say you’re not scared to travel to Europe for a month. Yeah, sure. So why should you and everybody else be “more vigilant than usual”? Have a good trip!
Common sense maybe…
So true
I would not feel comfortable going to Europe or the Middle East right now. I don’t know how you do it Lee.
I just put it out of my mind and focus on the good!
I feel the same as you Lee. I will not alter my life because of cowards that want us to live in fear. I\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\’m heading to Morocco soon & am surprised as people\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\’s reactions. I\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\’m always aware of my surroundings while traveling & being a news junky, I know what\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\’s happening around the world. I can\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\’t wait to go!
awesome!!!
It always amazes me that people fear going to some place like Paris or Brussels or Kolkata right after an attack. One an attack has occurred at one of these places they’re probably safer than usual. Partly because terrorists don’t often strike the same place twice and because security is, undoubtedly, beefed up facing an attack. All this, yet folks have no qualms about getting in a car, visiting Kansas during tornado season, or even moving furniture, all of which carry a greater risk of fatality than terrorism.
Can’t really argue that!
That was exactly what I was thinking, Mark. I have never heard of an attack on the same place twice. It is sad that we have to discuss these issues, but I guess that is the world we live in right now! Questions though, on a more practical level re Europe right now but I guess anyplace where an attack or similar has occurred…what about tougher security making it more of a pain in the airports or any other concerns about slower traffic, etc because of more police? My parents will be first time Europe travelers and they are going this summer … Also, is it true that airline tickets to places that have experienced attacks or natural disasters are cheaper in the months afterwards? I personally don’t like the thought of taking advantage of other people’s loss in any way, but I was just at a travel expo where someone on stage was talking about this…. any thoughts would be great! Thanks!
Perhaps a little perspective is in order? Comparing the current danger levels in Europe to those of the Middle East is nonsense. There have been 3 major terrorist incidents in Western Europe in the past year, total fatalities c. 200. For those of you Americans who don’t do geography, Europe is a big place, with c. 500 million people. Life goes on here pretty normally, though with of course far, far less chance of casual slaying by gunfire than in the US. No need to fearlessly proclaim your defiance of terrorism; the chances of meeting it are negligible.
very true