June 1, 2020
Due to travel restrictions, plans are only available with travel dates on or after
Due to travel restrictions, plans are only available with effective start dates on or after
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Ukraine; Belarus; Moldova; North Korea; Russia; Israel
Jamaica
Jamaica;
By Muriel Barrett
Cruise ship outbreaks. Major earthquakes. Stolen passports. Snowbound airports.
Crises like these are all in a day's work for the 22 travel experts who staff the 24-hour travel assistance hotline for Allianz Global Assistance customers. From their office in Richmond, Virginia, they solve problems for travelers all over the globe.
To us, they're an elite team of travel specialists. To our customers, they're heroes. We'll take you behind the scenes to show you how travel assistance works and get their expert travel tips.
Are you an Allianz Global Assistance customer who needs help while traveling? Call collect from anywhere in the world: 1-804-281-5700.
When a call comes into the Allianz Global Assistance hotline, staff never know what they're going to hear. "Every day is different," says Kim G., an Assistance Coordinator Senior. "It just depends on what's going on in the world." She remains calm, explains exactly what she will do, and assures the traveler that she will be in touch. "Depending on where they are, you may be it," she says. "You may be the only lifeline."
"You start to have a feel for what sorts of things to look for in cases that might go sideways," says Assistance Coordinator II Taylor Anne R. She remembers one customer who needed emergency medical transportation in a part of the world where ambulances sometimes take hours to arrive. Using her skills and contacts, Taylor Anne secured transportation in 30 minutes. "It was a good moment," she says.
The assistance coordinators do more than just field calls. Each one is responsible for a certain number of travelers' cases, so they're constantly relaying messages to family members and getting patient updates from hospitals around the globe.
Assistance Coordinator II Valerie Z. remembers one customer who, while visiting family in Europe, suffered a stroke and broke her leg. Valerie helped schedule her surgery and rehabilitation overseas, then arranged for her to travel back to the United States with a nurse. Valerie spoke with the woman's anxious daughter daily, keeping her updated on her mother's condition. It was all covered by the customer's travel insurance policy.
"To me, it was a routine case," Valerie says. "I do the exact same thing for everybody." But the daughter was so grateful that she sent Valerie flowers — a gesture she never forgot. "I feel like I connected with somebody so much," she says.
The travel assistance coordinators have seen almost everything that can possibly go wrong on an overseas trip. Here are their best travel tips to help you stay safe.
Travel insurance from Allianz Global Assistance does cover existing medical conditions, but only if certain conditions are met. Don't leave it to chance: When purchasing travel insurance, call our insurance advisers at 1-866-884-3556 to make sure you're covered.
Richmond-based travel writer Muriel Barrett has a terrible sense of direction, and has spent many happy hours getting lost in Barcelona, Venice and Jerusalem. Her favorite travel memories all involve wildlife: watching sea turtles nest in Costa Rica, kayaking with seals in Vancouver and meeting a pink tarantula in Martinique.
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