How to prepare for the worst case scenario while travelling abroad

There have been some very large scale and well publicised natural disasters and terrorist attacks around the world in recent years. Many people will be feeling concerned about what might happen to them if they were caught up in a similar disaster whilst travelling abroad. This article explains how you can prepare for the worst case scenario and explains how we could help you if you were caught up in such an event.

Acts of God and Force Majeure

An act of God is ‘an event arising out of natural causes with no human intervention which could not have been prevented by reasonable care or foresight’. These are generally natural events such as a flood but are so out of the ordinary that no one could reasonably expect them. Of course, the tragic events in Burma are a classic example.

Acts of God could include:

Unusual weather factors – tsunami, tropical storms, floods or even droughts
Unusual geological phenomenon - volcanoes, earthquakes, tidal waves etc.
Unusual hazards - meteor damage, plagues of insects etc.

A force majeure is ‘any extraordinary event or circumstance beyond the control of the parties, such as war, strike, riot, crime or an act of nature (e.g., flooding, earthquake, volcano)’. Many people will find it frustrating, but mechanical failure of an aeroplane, boat or other mechanical thing is often a force majeure as well.

What this means, is that if you suffer an injury, your property becomes damaged or your holiday is ruined by an act of God or a force majeure, it can be difficult to recover compensation, even from your insurer.

Often it depends on the particular circumstances. Obviously, flood damage in a desert area might be a rare occurrence, however floods in a river plain are more common and a defendant may be expected to take reasonable steps to alleviate the damage a flood might cause and to pre-warn people about the risks involved.

There is a duty on suppliers of holiday services to pre-warn you about such an event if they have prior knowledge about it and to provide you with care and assistance before, during and after such an event.

In a case recently handled by the specialist Travel and Tourism Department at Colemans-ctts LLP, the claimant had been caught up in Hurricane Ivan. In this case, the defendant holiday company had failed to inform the claimant that it was possible that the area where they were travelling to might be affected by the hurricane. During and in the immediate aftermath of the hurricane itself the defendants failed to provide the claimant with adequate care. Finally, when the claimant was relocated to another nearby island which was less affected, the alternative accommodation was not up to the standard of the original booking.

Despite the defendant initially arguing that this was a situation beyond their control and constituted an act of God, we were able to use our extensive experience and knowledge of travel law to secure over £7,500 in damages for the claimant, and the defendant was ordered to pay all the legal costs.

Helpful Advice

In order to ensure maximum protection for you and you family, there are 3 simple steps which you should undertake before travelling abroad:

1. Research the area you are travelling to

This may seem like something you can take for granted as being included in your holiday brochure, but unless you undertake that extra little bit of research you are unlikely to find out about the potential hazards you could face in a certain holiday location. The best and easiest way to research an area is to log on to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website at www.fco.gov.uk. Here you can look at a description of each country, whether it is a safe location and whether there might be any naturally occurring phenomena which you should consider, such as a hurricane season. This is contained in the “Know Before You Go” section.

2. Register with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO)

By logging on to https://www.locate.fco.gov.uk/locateportal/ and registering your details on the LOCATE scheme, the  FCO will be able to tell the British embassy nearest to where you are travelling that you will be in the area and the dates. That way, should something happen which may affect your holiday, such as a natural disaster or terrorist attack; the local embassy will be able to contact you and offer you the appropriate level of advice and assistance. This will also help to keep in touch with relatives back home who may be worried about you and can contact the embassy for information.

3. Make sure you have an effective travel insurance policy in place.

By doing the research on the place you are travelling to, you will be able to find out whether there are some special insurance requirements you need for your journey. All insurance policies have certain exclusions and most will exclude acts of God or force majeure, but you can take out insurance which covers specific risks such as storm damage. You should check with individual insurers about this. When taking out your insurance you must try and make an assessment and reach an agreement with your insurer over what is reasonable to expect and what is unforeseen.

Your insurance policy should always contain;

• medical and health cover for an injury or sudden illness abroad
• 24 hour emergency service and assistance 
• Cover for repatriation back to the UK, in case you have to be flown back accompanied my medically qualified people or in an air ambulance or need to cut your trip short for any other reason
• Legal expenses insurance, to help pay the legal costs of recovering your losses, claiming damages or arranging for other professional assistance you might require.
  

Conclusion

If you are unlucky enough to be caught up in a situation where you suffer an injury or other loss while travelling abroad, Colemans-ctts LLP can offer you immediate advice and assistance and it is never too early to make contact with us.

The sooner we are able to start looking into your problem, the sooner we can use our extensive expertise and years of experience in Travel law to guide and assist you through what could be one of the most difficult and traumatic events in your life.