Inclement weather, natural disasters, volcanic ash clouds, political uprisings—travel disruptions seem to have been on the rise recently, so it’s not surprising that travel insurance and assistance companies are in expansion mode—Medjet Assist, On Call International and Travel Guard have all introduced new products.

Medjet Assist Elite Membership

Along with a new website, in late April Medjet Assist, based in Birmingham, Alabama, unveiled its new Elite Membership travel-assistance option, which provides a series of premium health, travel and concierge services in addition to the medical evacuation protection offered with a regular Medjet membership.

Elite Medjet membership offers three categories of privileges:

Health and Travel: includes discounted rental rates on communication devices; personal travel advisors and research on more than 260 countries; cash advances, up to $50,000, for medical emergencies; specialty hospital transfers; and online medical and health information storage—data is preloaded into phones so members don’t have to worry about roaming charges when accessing the information.

Personal Concierge: personalized assistance for any requests, powered by MyAssist and available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, via phone and email, as well as through a customized mobile phone app available for BlackBerry, iPhone and Droid phones.

Medical Concierge: access to medical benefits offered by Vaccines On The Go at a 50 percent discount. These benefits and services include: in-home or office “house calls” for vaccinations and immunizations, destination-specific recommended vaccinations and immunizations, area-specific embassy and consulate contact information, and pre-travel checklists.

Current Medjet members can upgrade to Elite for an additional $139 per year. For new customers, costs are $175 for a domestic membership, $250 for international. Family and short-term plans are available as well. Visit www.medjetelite.com for more information.

On Call International Expands Coverage for Senior, Emergencies

On Call International, specializing in medical, security and travel assistance, now offers a special coverage category for travelers aged 77 to 85—Mature Membership.

Plans starts at $425 per year, with memberships available on an individual or family basis. The product covers domestic and international locations and is available any time a member travels 50 miles or more away from home.

A variety of medical and travel assistance needs are covered, including the usual services that are part of standard assistance plans along with unlimited emergency medical transportation, medical transportation home after hospitalization and the return of grandchildren. Emergency prescription replacement, worldwide hospital and physician referrals, and other services can be added.

The Salem, New Hampshire–based company also launched Political and Natural Disaster Evacuation coverage. Starting from $85, this new offering provides protection and security during events such as military coups and natural disasters. It’s targeted toward corporations with a global workforce and expatriates and can be added to any of On Call’s other memberships.

To enroll, visit www.OnCallInternational.com/enroll.

Travel Guard Courts the Business Travel Market

Earlier this year, Travel Guard, a leader in leisure travel insurance based in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, began promoting its new business traveler product, which includes emergency security evacuations in addition to Travel Guard’s standard coverage.

“The policy is similar as for the leisure market, except it doesn’t include coverage for trip cancellation, given the nature of business travel, and includes security evacuation,” says Carol Mueller, VP of Travel Guard North America.

The service covers, but is not limited to, travel interruptions, change fees and delay charges, including transfers to alternative airports and hotel stays if flights are grounded or unavailable for same-day travel, as was the case with the European volcanic ash cloud one year ago. It costs $259 annually and is available through corporate travel agents. For more information, visit www.travelguard.com.

Although negative events tend to spur increases in travel insurance sales and claims, here’s one bit of good news: Mueller notes that after enhancing cancellation coverage in 2008 during the recession for work-related reasons—such as for getting laid off or having coworkers let go and vacation approvals pulled—claims tied to those reasons are down.

Logos: courtesy of each company

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