Frequent flyers from the US to Israel will no longer face higher insurance premiums, implies a Life Insurance Fairness for Travelers section of the Terrorism Insurance Revision and Extension Act of 2007, which the US House of Representatives passed yesterday in a 312:110 vote.
The travel fairness provisions included in bill protect travelers from denial of life insurance, simply because they may plan international travel or have traveled internationally in the past. The bill is designed to protect passengers against insurance companies that refuse to sell life insurance policies on the basis of an applicant’s past travel or future plans, or which charge a high and unwarranted premium on passengers with certain flight patterns. This practice particularly affects business travelers from the US to Israel, with the result that US executives of some companies have avoided making business trips to Israel.
Anti-Defamation League national director Abraham Foxman said, “We have seen too many instances of unjustified life insurance denials - or excessive premiums - based on past or future travel to Israel, without any demonstration of increased risk associated with such travel. This unfair policy is wrong, and impacts everyone - from tourists to corporate executives to students studying abroad. Questions about past and future travel often appear on insurance applications, and travelers who list a country on the current State Department advisory list such as Israel have too often found that they are rejected and are unable to obtain life insurance from the carrier of their choice.” The Anti-Defamation League has waged a campaign in favor of legislation against the phenomenon.
The US business community strongly supports the bill.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on September 20, 2007
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