Camps, like all businesses, have struggled this past year to provide services to their clientele. Parents have hesitated to make travel plans or commit to enrolling their children in camp, in part due to the potential financial loss of their deposit, if not their entire tuition. Travel insurance is a means to transfer some of that risk and helps protect you from certain financial losses that you may incur. There are many types of travel insurance products available online. Some products provide coverage upon the occurrence of specific events, while others are much broader and may include coverage for cancellation or interruption for any reason. The cost of coverage is typically determined by age of the traveler, duration of stay, and amount of the nonrefundable costs related to the trip.
What is Cancel for Any Reason and Interrupt for Any Reason (CFAR/IFAR)?
CFAR/IFAR are trip protection benefits that you can opt into when purchasing a travel protection plan for the standard trip cancellation and interruption coverages in most travel insurance policies. Historically, most travel insurance policies are designed to protect you against unexpected events like sickness, injury, etc., while CFAR/IFAR allows you to cancel or interrupt your trip for any reason, including the threat or fear of COVID-19.
Why should campers and their families consider purchasing CFAR/IFAR?
As campers and families begin registering for camps in 2021, they may want to consider insuring their nonrefundable camp costs such as tuition, program fees, lodging, and transportation by visiting this link designed for camper’s travel and tuition protection.
Gallagher has arranged for a travel protection plan that can include Cancel for Any Reason and Interrupt for Any Reason (CFAR/IFAR) coverages.This program, written through Travel Insured International, a United States Fire Insurance Company, also known as Crum & Forster, (“A” Rated by A.M. Best) provides campers and their families with financial peace of mind given the future unknowns and developments of the COVID-19 pandemic in addition to many other reasons that may cause one to miss their camp experience.
CFAR/IFAR provides financial reimbursement of up to 75 percent reimbursement of the nonrefundable camp costs due to a cancellation or interruption for any reason. There are also Trip Cancellation and Trip Interruption benefits included in the policy with a specific list of covered triggers that provide a higher reimbursement, up to 100 percent reimbursement for Trip Cancellation and up to 150 percent reimbursement for Trip Interruption. If the reason for cancelling or interrupting a camp is any reason other than the listed 32 “covered reasons” for cancellation and 29 “covered reasons” for interruption, that’s when it becomes Cancel for Any Reason & Interrupt for Any Reason (CFAR/IFAR) and campers are eligible for up to 75 percent reimbursement of their nonrefundable camp costs. Some examples of Trip Cancellation, Trip Interruption, and CFAR/IFAR include:
- Camp cancellations and interruptions made by a governmental authority due to the threat or fear of COVID-19.
- Individual campers or families canceling or interrupting their camp trip due to threat or fear of COVID-19.
- Individual campers or families canceling or interrupting their camp trip due to a positive COVID-19 test resulting in a mandatory quarantine.
- A camper contracting COVID-19 or any other unrelated illness including mental health disorders.
- A camper being injured before camp begins or during camp.
- Someone in the camper’s immediate family becoming sick, injured, or passing away resulting in the camper needing to cancel or interrupt his/her camp.
During the checkout process, make sure you make the appropriate selections to add CFAR/IFAR benefits. These benefits are time-sensitive; campers and families must insure 100 percent of their nonrefundable camp costs within 21 days of the date their initial camp deposit is received to be eligible for the CFAR/IFAR benefits. Additional terms apply.
Should you have any questions about the insurance, please contact customer service by calling 1-855-752-8303 and referencing the Gallagher agency code: 53810. You can also click the Email, Live Chat, or Help Center link for assistance and reference the agency code for Gallagher: 53810. Again, the link to enroll your campers in travel protection insurance and for full disclaimers is http://www.travelinsured.com/agency?agency=53810&p=ACAcamps
Have a safe, happy, and healthy summer, and do not forget to protect your nonrefundable camp costs by enrolling in CFAR/IFAR!
Authored by Arthur J. Gallagher Risk Management Services, Inc., AH-1344.
500 Victory Road, Quincy, MA 02171
Global@gallagherstudent.com
617-769-6444
Periodically, the American Camp Association (ACA) makes timely and relevant information about products and services available to its members so they can make informed decisions for their camps. However, the ACA does not endorse products, services, or companies.
