India Travel Warning
Canada issues India travel caution
Canada is advising that its level of travel warning over India has not changed in the wake of Wednesday's bombings in Mumbai in which at least 21 people were killed, but the department of foreign affairs continues to warn that “there is a continuing threat of terrorist attacks throughout India at all times [and] Canadians in India, particularly those in Mumbai, are advised to be extremely vigilant, follow the advice of local authorities and monitor local media.”
It goes on to say, “Canadians residing or travelling in India are strongly encouraged to maintain a high level of vigilance, remain aware of their surroundings, monitor local news reports, follow the advice of local authorities, avoid crowded places, and take appropriate steps to increase their personal security. If unattended packages are spotted, Canadians should immediately exit the area and report the packages to the authorities.
Canadians should carry adequate identification on them at all times… Canadians in India should exercise caution around religious sites and avoid demonstrations and large gatherings.”
Comments
Many Canadian travelers, including business travelers, rely on travel insurance to protect them against unforeseen circumstances related to terrorism and/or their trip being interrupted or delayed due to political issues in foriegn countries.
But any official travel warning issued by a government could potentially void that travel insurance coverage, hence the reluctance of the Canadian government to change it's offical warning status.
Not all travel insurance is the same however. Not all policies will cover issues surrounding terrorism. One useful site that lets Canadian shoppers and visitors to Canada to price and compare travel insurance policies and their wording is http:www.bestquotetravelinsurance.ca
While other websites often provide only one company's policies online (so doing comparisons becomes a mute point), Bestquote compares prices and wording of all the top Canadian travel insurance providers (accept the banks who limit sales to employees). Bestquote has a unique tool to let all policy wordings (from each company) be compared side by side. As an example, here's one set of 'exclusions' oferred by one of the companies:
Any loss resulting from an act of war or an act of terrorism when, before your effective date, a written formal Travel Warning was issued by Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada, advising Canadians to avoid all or non-essential travel to that country, region or city.
Any medical condition you suffer or contract in a specific country, region or city for which Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada has issued a formal Travel Warning, before your departure date, advising Canadians to avoid all or non-essential travel to that specific country, region or city. In this exclusion “medical condition” is limited to the reason for which the formal Travel Warning was issued and includes complications arising from such medical condition.
Obviously, issuing an official travel warning could have anegative affect on business travel, so the softer, less official warning was deployed instead.
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