Eighteen months ago, the eruptions of the Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull volcano caused chaos in global air traffic and caused damage to many travellers. Recently there has been suggested that in the near future Katla - the biggest and most dangerous volcano in Iceland - could become more active, as in the historical context eruption of this volcano followed eruptions of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano.
So far, the Latvian insurance company travel insurance policies did not provide the insurer's liability for damages caused by natural disasters. Now, upon purchase of a travel insurance policy of JSIC “Seesam Latvia”, it will be able to protect yourself from losses that could be caused by natural cataclysms.
"The experience of the last year, when after the eruptions of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano we were approached by a lot of customers, who had suffered losses due to long-term cancellations of flights, urged us to improve the choice of our travel insurance products,” tells Ms Rudīte Jakovicka, Travel and Accident Insurance Product Manager of JSIC “Seesam Latvija”.
“At that time, the formal indemnity conditions did not provide for payments to those customers, because the contract terms provided for compensation only in the case of a short-time flight cancellation or delay, but the eruption of the volcano had paralyzed the air traffic for a very long time. Also, according to Latvian laws and regulations, we were entitled to refuse payment of indemnity, because they were typical "Force Majeure" circumstances stipulated by the law "On insurance contract" and insurance policy conditions. However, in spite of these formalities and acting in accordance with the standards of good practice of "Seesam Latvia", we paid several thousand lats to our customers in compensation for their losses that were incurred in connection with their return home,” explains Ms R. Jakovicka.
From now on, when purchasing a travel insurance policy from “Seesam Latvia”, you can insure yourself also against such risks as floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, volcanic eruptions and tsunami. If, for example, due to such natural disasters a flight is delayed or cancelled, or you miss the connecting means of transport, in the result of which you'll have to buy another ticket or incur additional expenses for hotel, “Seesam Latvia” shall compensate the loss. Losses shall be compensated also in the case, if in the result of a natural disaster your documents are destroyed (lost), your luggage is damaged or the insured person has got injuries and needs repatriation.
When purchasing "Seesam Latvia" travel insurance "Platinum Program" policy, the customer himself/herself selects one of the natural cataclysm risks (flood, earthquake, hurricane, volcanic eruption or tsunami) which will be included in the policy cover, without increasing the policy price.
The statistical data collected by “Seesam Latvia” on the travel insurance "Platinum Program" claims reported show that most frequently – in 50% of the cases – the losses are associated with the luggage; for example the luggage comes too late, has been damaged or lost. The second most common type of loss – in about 30% of the cases - is associated with a flight delay or cancellation of travel. Most frequently, losses have been registered in flights to the U.S., Argentina, Bulgaria, South Africa, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Russia, China, Great Britain and Morocco. "Seesam Latvia" "Platinum Insurance" travel policies are most often purchased by people aged 28 to 47 years.
About JSIC “Seesam Latvia”
Joint Stock Insurance Company “Seesam Latvia” provides insurance services since 1993.
From June 20, 2011 the sole shareholder of the JSIC “Seesam Latvia” is the JSC “Seesam Insurance” – a 100% subsidiary of the non-life insurance company “Pohjola Insurance Company Ltd.”, which is a member of “OP-Pohjola”, the largest and most well-known financial group in Finland.
The OP-Pohjola Group companies in Finland and the Baltic Countries employ more than 12 500 employees in total. The total assets of the Group exceed 80 billion Euros.
„Pohjola Insurance Company Ltd.” was founded in 1895. It is the oldest non-life insurance company in Finland and its market share is 27 % of the insurance market of this country.
The international rating agency Standard & Poor`s has assigned the safety rating A+ to „Pohjola Non Life Insurance Company” that is one of the highest ratings among the Scandinavian insurance companies.
Additional information:
Mr. Armands Šterns
Tel. 67 06 10 29
E-mail: armands.sterns(a)seesam.lv