Crisis Cover

What Crisis Cover is

Crisis Cover is a geolocation tracking, travel security and evacuation membership, and its FAQ says plainly that it is not insurance: "No, Crisis Cover is not insurance. It is a geolocation tracking, travel security and assistance membership service." A member buys an active response to a crisis, not a payout after a loss. The membership options page puts it this way: "Remember, unlike insurance, there is no claims process after an event or incident. We simply do what we need to do to bring you to safety." The about page says Crisis Cover "is not travel insurance. Instead, it complements it," and the FAQ says Crisis Cover "aims to fill the gaps in travel insurance." The FAQ notes that travel insurance "requires you to suffer a loss before it can respond with its financial compensation," while Crisis Cover is described as "a proactive service."

The about page says "In 2019, a team of accomplished senior travel insurance and emergency assistance executives established Crisis Cover." The service is delivered by a partner. The FAQ says "Crisis Cover is powered by FocusPoint International, which has more than 40 years in security and risk management services," and the about page says the company "partnered with FocusPoint International Inc (FocusPoint) to develop Crisis Cover for leisure travellers." FocusPoint is described as "Headquartered in the United States" and "routinely engaged in 600 plus locations and 120 countries, with access to over 5,000 proprietary and vetted on-the-ground, multi-lingual, specialist crisis response teams." The about page says the 24/7 security and medical assistance runs through FocusPoint response centers "located in Florida, USA and Cape Town, South Africa," and that "FocusPoint is an ISO 9001:2015 certified organisation and a member of the UN Global Compact." The team also works with "an Advisory Committee, which is made up of industry leaders in medical evacuation, military response and travel insurance."

The two memberships

The FAQ names two options: "There are two membership options – Crisis Secure and Crisis Defend. Crisis Defend members have access to medical advisory services." Both memberships cover the security side. The membership options page lists four benefits: immediate help by tapping an alert button "to reach our team 24/7"; optional tracking through "our 24/7 state-of-the-art, global tracking and monitoring technology (MyTrac TM )"; advice and planning support with "real-time alerts and updates as incidents arise"; and, for Crisis Defend only, "Emergency medical transport, monitoring and repatriation." On that last point the page says "If you choose Crisis Defend membership, you also receive access to medical assistance services in an emergency. This may include medical emergency transport or a visit by a loved one if you're hospitalised."

The FAQ describes the Crisis Defend medical side in more detail. The team can help members and families "understand, monitor and coordinate a member's emergency medical care needs," and "can help coordinate medical bill payments, transportation of medical supplies and records, and the filing of travel and health insurance claims." It adds: "We may also decide, at our discretion, to medically repatriate members to their home country at no additional cost to them." Crisis Defend coordinates medical care; it does not pay the hospital bill itself.

What the response covers

The incident list on the FAQ and membership pages reads: "Protests, riots and civil unrest - Natural disasters - Terrorism - Pandemic - Violent crime - Wrongful detention - Kidnap for ransom - Blackmail or extortion - Disappearance or loss of contact." In an emergency the member presses "the alert button in your CAPAdvantage™ app or contact us." If Crisis Cover learns of an incident near a member, "we will contact you to check on your safety and wellbeing," and if there is no reply "We may call, email or SMS you and contact local authorities and hospitals." Where there is "an ongoing threat to your life, we may evacuate you." The team will also "transmit urgent messages to consulates and a member's family and friends," provide interpreters and "referrals to local legal and medical specialists," and help replace a lost passport, travel documents or credit cards. The FAQ says alerts on terrorist incidents and natural disasters are "Typically" issued "before the major news stations."

On money, the FAQ says "Crisis Cover does not provide any indemnity for loss or reimbursement of costs." Instead, "we will pay directly to the service provider the reasonable and customary costs and charges we negotiate with them. There is no need for you to pay upfront or complete a claims process." If the company decides to evacuate a member, "There are no additional fees to pay. This includes in-country assistance, evacuation costs such as flights, boats or ground transport and temporary accommodation." The destination is the company's call: the evacuation "may be to evacuate you to your home country, to the nearest safe country, or for you to remain in another safe place until the incident passes." Several FAQ answers repeat that "The extent or nature of any response, assistance and evacuation services provided is at our sole and absolute discretion."

How joining and support work

Membership is priced by quote. The FAQ says the quote form collects every country on the itinerary so that members "receive the correct country-based alerts for your trip." Every country counts: "If you miss a country this will mean that your travel to that country is not be covered by your Crisis Cover membership." A stop "for less than 24 hours" in transit does not need to be entered. Members reach the team "at any time via phone, email or messaging through your app or online via Member Portal," and on the ground the FAQ says "we use our network of 5,000 vetted in-country emergency response teams." If a member "can't be reached, we will notify the emergency contact nominated by you." The site points to its terms of service and a "Members' Guide" for the full terms.

Who it suits

Crisis Cover fits a leisure traveler who already holds travel insurance and wants a separate, active response to security events such as unrest, terrorism, kidnap or a natural disaster, where the FAQ says "Travel insurance provides little to no cover for security incidents, such as terrorism." Travelers who also want medical coordination and possible repatriation would look at Crisis Defend rather than Crisis Secure. Medical bills sit outside the product, since the company pays no indemnity, and every response is at its discretion.