With the Zika outbreak still looming in affected areas around the world, travel cancellation insurance numbers are expected to increase in the months to come.
Since the epidemic began in 2015, the Zika virus has affected parts of South America, North America, and the Caribbean, as well as portions of the western Pacific and Africa. Due to the virus, travel to the affected countries has been restricted, prompting many travelers to cancel their vacations for fear of contracting the virus.
Although the Zika virus causes symptoms similar to dengue and a milder form of chikungunya in adults, its effects are far more severe in pregnant women—or their offspring, in particular. Infants of infected mothers could suffer from microcephaly and other severe brain anomalies.
Zika’s effects on infants were enough to convince the CDC to issue a travel warning last Jan. 15 advising expecting mothers to postpone travel to affected countries.
While the virus appears to be limited to a select few countries, and two potential vaccines for Zika are under development, travelers should still take precautions before flying to other countries—there is no telling when another country finds itself with an epidemic on its hands. Travel cancellation insurance will be useful for when a trip has to be canceled upon learning that the destination has a possible Zika outbreak.
In an interview with
Travel Weekly, travel agent Tara McCoy of Two Sisters Travel revealed that about 75% of her clients purchase insurance. She also shared that 50% to 75% of those customers choose cancel-for-any-reason policies. The reason for this is that cancel-for-any-reason policies are the only types of insurance products that allow travelers to cancel a trip, citing Zika as a reason.
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