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Trip Insurance should be an integral part of any serious traveler’s budget. While it may seem like an unnecessary expense, when you need it, nothing else will do!
May 7, 2022 Landslide on Lowell Point Road
Guests who heeded our warning not to visit without purchasing Trip or Travel Insurance were mightily rewarded in May of 2022. On Saturday, May 7, the road leading from Seward to Lowell Point became blocked by a landslide. This meant that our checked-in guests who were in town with their rental cars were stuck in town. Similarly, guests who were at our property when the slide occurred, were now stuck on Lowell Point. Little did we know at the time that road would remain closed for three weeks!
In the past events such as this have been resolved within a few days. Typically only a few guests have been impacted. On this particular Saturday, it was instantly apparent that this slide was going to take more than a few days. As with all-natural disasters, it can be difficult to assess the long-term effects. When the clearing of the debris began, the mountain was continuing to shed, interfering with time estimates and projections for the project’s completion. In the end, the road reopened on May 27th.
Being lodging proprietors in “The Last Frontier,” we have recommended Trip Insurance to our customers from our opening day! Alaska is mostly a wild place. Not only are we surrounded by bears and moose, but Mother Nature can also provide us with some wild behavior Additionally, many of the things our guests choose as activities are incredibly adventurous. (Paddling amongst icebergs, landing in a helicopter on a glacier, ziplining, etc.)
Alaskans are used to our adventuresome living and Thomas Miller of Miller’s Landing (just down Beach Drive from our property) sprung into action on Saturday the 7th. He had one of their Water Taxis deployed within an hour to begin moving stranded people between Lowell Point and Seward. Our guests who were stuck in town were given free parking for their cars and were able to sleep in their rooms that night. As it turned out, we did have one couple that had to abandon their rental car the next day. They paid $400 to take a taxi to Anchorage. With Trip Insurance this was a covered expense as were any water taxi trips they had to pay for.
Something to bear in mind when considering the purchase of a travel insurance policy is the duration that an unexpected problem might last. Most people have the ability to cover a day or two of problems. If the problem is something more long-term the expenses to accommodate the disturbance can become prohibitive and even if there ends up being some government assistance available, that can take weeks to work out. In the meantime, our guests were asked by the water taxi venue to pay over $40 one way per person. We had a family of three determine it would have cost them over $1200 in water taxi fees to stay with us and do the activities they had planned in town. Another couple was going to have to pay $1680. Luckily they had a policy in place that would cover them.
Given what the media is reporting with canceled flights and pilot strikes, a good policy will protect you against the fallout from these events as well.
Hear another travel story!
This podcast by TouchStay, the vendor that provides our digital guestbook software, is a great listen! Here is the true-life tale of two international travelers in the Amazon (another wild place) and what happened when one of them slipped on a stair.
We know how expensive and disruptive a slight misstep or bad weather can be when you are on vacation. We hope our guests take us up on our recommendation!
Travel Guard is the premier travel insurance provider. You can shop plans here.
We believe their Cancel For Any Reason offering is worth the money you’ll pay for coverage. You can read all about it here.
This post was originally published with the title Every Traveler Should Listen To This Podcast! on Aug 31, 2021.