Home
ShowsBefore You GoBulletin BoardContactAboutSearch
Show and Features |
Culture Watch | Question of the Week | Letters of the Week |
Traveler's Aid | Library | Host's View
 

Travelers' Aid


Y2K Insurance
October 30, 1999

Real Audio Listen with RealAudio          help Need audio help?

You are not going to believe this. A few weeks ago a Hong Kong woman paid a group of con men $15,000 for pills to cure the millennium bug. She apparently thought it was a physical ailment. This is just an other example showing that in the past year we've all become a bunch of Chicken Littles, wringing our hands, wondering if the sky's going to fall come the Year 2000. We've been hearing about it almost nonstop. There's a chance computers may go haywire when their processors read the year 2000 as the year 1900, resulting in a global meltdown. Because of all this news coverage, calls from concerned travelers have been steadily trickling into the Savvy offices wondering if it's a good time to be jotting about the globe. Don in Corvallis, Oregon is one of those Y2K callers. He and his wife plan to be in Italy for the New Year. He says he's not worried about any problems, but his wife has a list of potential disasters.

Maybe Don's wife might feel better about the trip if she took out some Y2K insurance. Bob Chambers is vice president of sales and marketing for CSA Travel Protection, the only company offering such insurance. He told me what the policy will cover if Y2K causes you some problems.

So, let's say by January 1 you've already arrived at your millennial destination -- a resort or hotel you picked out to ring in the New Year. You might want to know if your hotel on Barbados is Y2K compliant. To find out what you should expect at a hotel or resort I called Denise McConaghy, the Y2K project manager for the 34 Fairmont Hotels and Resorts around the world. I asked her if the company has found any potential Y2K problems with the hotels.

Fortunately, other hotel chains are prepared in much the same way for the new millennium. But just in case, you may want to give your destination a call and ask them a few savvy Y2K questions.




Savvy Resources for Y2K Travel:

  • The U.S. State Department has a list of Y2K travel briefings at travel.state.gov/y2kca.html

  • You can find out more about CSA Travel Insurance by going to their web site at www.cgu-insurance.net

  • More info is available on a new British Web service, operated by the British Foreign Office. It's at www.fco.gov.uk

  • CNET has a wealth of information on Y2K. You can get to their page by typing www.y2k.com


 

{ Travelers' Aid Index }

American Public Media
American Public Media Home | Search | How to Listen
©2004 American Public Media |
Terms of Use | Privacy Policy