by Brian Major
Last updated: 6:22 PM ET, Mon October 26, 2020
Beginning next month Jamaica will offer "Jamaica Cares," an "end-to-end" travel insurance plan providing visitors with emergency medical and crisis response services via a "public-private partnership" with emergency services firm Global Rescue, said Edmund Bartlett, Jamaica's tourism minister.
All non-Jamaican passport holders will be required to purchase the insurance, which Bartlett said will cost $40 per person. Policies will cover services including "case management, transport logistics, field rescue, evacuation and repatriation for medical emergencies including COVID-19, along with crises including natural disasters," said officials at a Monday Zoom briefing on the program.
Plans include international health coverage up to $100,000 for visitors traveling to and from Jamaica and on-island health coverage up to $50,000. The program combines Global Rescue's emergency services with domestic and international travel medical insurance, said Jamaica officials.
The compulsory fee will be included as part of the country's online Travel Authorization application, approval of which will enroll travelers in the program. The program's major components include an "all hazards" component covering field rescue, emergency transport and oversight services from personnel at Global Rescue and other partners.
Global Rescue has partnered with Jamaican hospitals for local treatment and will provide medical evacuation for travelers who require a higher level of care, said Dan Richards, the company's CEO.
Richards said the "all hazards" component provides evacuation, logistics and response for travelers in need of medical support following "systemic" crises including natural disasters and terrorism.
The plan's COVID-19 specific services include rapid testing and triage for symptomatic travelers, treatment, associated care and access to Global Care personnel in Jamaica, Richards said.
"Travelers want to know they are better prepared in the event of a medical emergency or a natural disaster," said Dr. Taleb Rifai, co-chair of the Global Tourism Resilience Crisis Management Centre, which is administering the program. "Agents and operators will see the Jamaica Cares program as the gold standard to restore traveler confidence and rebuild bookings."
"COVID-19 has changed the world and the travel industry," said Bartlett. "The International Monetary Fund late last week said the impact of COVID-19 on the Caribbean has been massive particularly for tourism-dependent countries."
At the same time, today's leisure travelers, whom Bartlett labeled "Generation C," require "much more in terms of security and safety in a destination," he said. "Assurance is becoming a critical precondition of travel today."
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