TRIP Cancellation / Interruption Protection
This protection is not intended as a substitute for comprehensive travel and health insurance.
Rasmussen Travels Co. (“RT”) understands that sometimes the best-laid plans go wrong. That is why, in certain circumstances, we will return some of your money to you if you cancel or interrupt your trip. We will do this not because we must, but purely as a courtesy for your benefit, and for the benefit of your traveling partner(s) or family member(s). For these purposes, we consider your traveling partner to be someone who shares the same accommodations with you. A family member is your spouse, a step-child, or your blood relative in the first degree.
Physical Conditions: To qualify for Trip Cancellation/Interruption Protection, all trip members are required to sign and return a Release and Waiver Agreement prior to the beginning of a trip. If you have any pre-existing physical, mental, or emotional disability or physical condition that may require attention or treatment, you must tell us prior to the beginning of a trip by entering this information into your online tour account. Omitting important information will render your Trip Cancellation/Interruption Protection invalid, and could result in expulsion from a trip at your own expense.
Your Trip Deposit: Once your deposit refund date has passed your deposit will not be refunded under any circumstance. However, we may refund to you a portion of your tour payment if you cancel your reservation for a qualifying unforeseen medical or family emergency, as outlined below, before the trip begins. If you cancel your reservation before the first day of the trip for a qualifying reason, the maximum possible refund is your trip price, less the per person deposit. On the day the trip begins, or any day thereafter, if you do not return to your trip after withdrawing for a qualifying, unforeseen medical or family emergency (outlined below), RT will refund to you $75 per person for each missed day. If you withdraw from the trip for a non-qualifying reason, there will be no refund possible.
Qualifying Medical or Family Emergencies/Events (“Qualifying Event”): RT will refund a portion of your trip payment only upon the following qualifying unforeseen medical or family emergency events. An event is “unforeseen” if it first occurs less than 40 days prior to your tour’s start date, or while on tour.
- You, your travel partner or a family member dies or suffers an unforeseeable and disabling injury or illness requiring hospitalization or urgent medical care prior to joining or while on tour.
- You, your travel partner or family member suffers a certifiable personal disaster (such as your home floods or burns down, or you are a victim of a serious crime) necessitating a change in travel plans.
- You or your spouse are called into active military service or have leave revoked.
- You, your travel partner, or your spouse suffered an unforeseen loss of employment.
Non-Qualifying Emergencies/Events:
RT will not refund your tour payments in any amount under these circumstances:
- Carrier-related delays, including those caused by bad weather, labor disputes, civil unrest or mechanical problems.
- Personal problems or difficulties that are not medically disabling.
- Business problems or emergencies.
- Governmental obligations or requirements related to subpoenas, summons, jury duty or lawsuits, war, terrorism or the Immigration and Naturalization Service.
- Inability to obtain a passport or visa or other travel-related document.
- Self-inflicted injury or harm.
- Problems related to alcohol or substance abuse.
- Personal injuries caused by high-risk personal activities such as, but not limited to, skydiving, racing or bungee cord jumping.
- Incomplete Release and Waiver.
- Other non-qualifying reason.
Refund Requests: If you need to cancel your trip reservation you must notify RT immediately. If you request a refund of your trip payment because of an unforeseen illness or injury, we require you to provide us with a letter from your attending physician, on the physician’s letterhead, verifying the specific reason given for advice against traveling. This letter must be faxed (309-823-9016), or mailed (501 N Main St, Suite 10, Bloomington, IL 61701. Any information provided by your physician will be maintained in the utmost privacy. If you request a refund of tour payments because you have been a victim of a crime, flood, fire or accident, you must provide us with a copy of a pertinent police, fire department or investigative report.
If you should need to cancel your trip reservation due to the unforeseen loss of your job, we will refund your trip payment (minus the non-refundable deposit) if you notify us at least 30 days before your trip’s departure date. We will require a letter signed by your employer specifying the date of termination, on the company’s letterhead (including contact information). This must be provided to RT prior to your trip start date. A refund check will be sent to you upon verification of the information.
Once the refund check has been cashed by you and the funds have cleared our account, any information requested by us to refund you will be promptly destroyed.
A Final Word: This documents RT’s plan for providing partial refunds of tour payments in certain events. However, our willingness to make these limited refunds is no substitute for comprehensive travel and health insurance to cover possible additional costs (airline tickets, loss of luggage, trip delay, medical evacuation, etc.). Although travel is usually fun and safe, travel, by its nature, always involves some risks that you or RT will not anticipate. You may consider purchasing optional comprehensive travel and health insurance for your trip. We also sell additional travel insurance, underwritten by Berkshire Hathaway for your convenience.