EF’s industry-leading safety & coverage programs for 2023 tours and beyond
When you decide to travel with EF, we want you to feel secure in that decision. That’s why as the world changes, so do we. Below are a range of policies and programs designed to flex to meet our travelers’ specific needs—no matter where they are in the planning process.
Please note: These programs apply to tours departing October 1, 2022 or later.
We’re covering:
1. Safety First Program
2. Individual Coverage
3. Peace of Mind Program
4. General Liability Coverage
5. Risk-Free Enrollment Period
Provided to all groups
This program was created to provide the safest possible tour experience for our customers.
EF’s unmatched global presence
With 600 schools and offices in 50 countries worldwide, including regional offices dedicated to on-tour support, our global presence is truly unmatched. Our 50,000+ staff and faculty members around the world provide a local presence and are able to react quickly and in person where necessary. Plus, the staff in each office and school are trained to respond to a wide range of emergency situations.
Dedicated Emergency Service and Incident Response Teams
EF’s Emergency Service & Support Team is available 24/7 to resolve any issue, from a missed flight to a lost passport to more serious on-tour incidents. They also facilitate communication between travelers and families in the event of an emergency at home. The Emergency Service & Support Team is made up of highly trained, dedicated EF staff based in our Boston, Denver, and Austin offices who are equipped to solve problems and answer questions that may come up, even outside of regular business hours. This team also maintains direct communication with our Operations Safety & Incident Response Team to jointly solve issues as needed.
Background checks on adult travelers
We conduct background checks on all adults traveling on our student tours. This is meant to help provide a safer tour experience for all travelers, and is a similar process to what many school districts implement for adults who volunteer in schools or chaperone school activities. Background checks take place through a secure process that is meant to specifically identify individuals who could present a risk to student travelers while on tour.
Individual coverage
Cost: $119*
Can be added from the time of enrollment up until 45 days before departure
Cancel for Any Reason**
The Travel Protection plan provides a refund of the Program Price (minus the cost of the plan and other non-refundable fees) if your child needs to cancel from tour due to reasons of serious injury or illness requiring hospitalization, financial hardship due to unexpected job loss, jury duty, you or your traveling companion are in the military and called to emergency duty for a national disaster other than war, or severe damage to home.
Tour interruption coverage
Additional coverage if a traveler needs to return early from tour due to reasons of serious injury or illness requiring hospitalization.
Baggage and property coverage
Coverage for baggage, airline tickets, travel documents and valuable property in cases of theft or delay.
Flight delay coverage
Coverage for expenses due to flight delays (lodging, food, and other reasonable expenses) as well as limited coverage for every full land day missed of your program due to flight delays or cancellations.
Emergency evacuation coverage
Coverage in the unlikely event a traveler should need to return unexpectedly back to his/her departure gateway (airport) due to a natural disaster or unrest.
The Travel Protection plan includes insured components that are underwritten by United States Fire Insurance Company, a cancellation fee waiver benefit provided by EF Explore America, and non-insurance assistance services provided by Falck Global Assistance. You can find further details of the policy, coverage limits, and exclusions here. The Travel Protection plan becomes non-refundable after any of the following occur: when you depart on your tour, when you file a claim, or 10 days after payment.
*$119 is the current cost for tours departing on or after October 1, 2023.
Cost: $309*
Must be added at the time of enrollment
Cancel for Any Reason**
The Travel Protection Plus plan provides a refund of the Program Price (minus the cost of the plan and other non-refundable fees) if your child needs to cancel their tour up to 24 hours prior to departure, for any reason.
Tour interruption coverage
Additional coverage if a traveler needs to return early from tour due to reasons of serious injury or illness requiring hospitalization.
Baggage and property coverage
Coverage for baggage, airline tickets, travel documents and valuable property in cases of theft or delay.
Flight delay coverage
Coverage for expenses due to flight delays (lodging, food and other reasonable expenses) as well as limited coverage for every full land day missed of your program due to flight delays or cancellations.
Emergency evacuation coverage
Both plans include coverage in the unlikely event a traveler should need to return unexpectedly back to his/her departure gateway (airport) due to a natural disaster or unrest.
For additional details regarding the insurance components of this plan, underwritten by United States Fire Insurance Company, including coverage limits and a full list of exclusions, please visit this page. For information on filing a claim, visit the Filing a Claim article.
*$309 is the current price for tours departing on or after October 1, 2024.
Provided to all groups
We understand that plans can change due to unforeseen circumstances. EF provides an exclusive Peace of Mind program to account for such situations. This program is automatically included for all travelers and can be enacted at the group level for any reason, including terrorism, pandemics, or other world events.
Your Group Leader may choose from the following options:
45 days or more prior to departure:
- Work with EF to modify your group’s current tour itinerary and dates, or find a new tour and apply all money paid to the new tour
- Cancel your tour and all travelers will receive a transferable Future Travel Voucher in the amount of all monies paid for the original tour, less the cost of any purchased Travel Protection plan
- Cancel your tour with applicable fees under the Standard Cancellation Policy
44 days or less prior to departure:
- If any location(s) included in the group’s itinerary is newly designated as a Travel Advisory Level 4 by the U.S. Department of State; or a U.S. federal or state governmental authority has newly imposed a travel ban to your destination, or newly issued an order requiring a self-quarantine for travelers in your group upon arrival to a location on your itinerary or upon return home from a location on your group’s itinerary; your Group Leader or the individual traveler will have the same Peace of Mind options set forth above.
Terms & Conditions
Benefits of the Peace of Mind program are only available to the entire group and not to individual travelers unless specifically indicated. Travelers missing any payment deadlines must pay any incurred late fees to qualify for this program.
Revised tours must depart within one year of the original tour. If the revised tour has a higher price than the original tour, travelers will be required to pay the difference as a condition of traveling on the revised tour. If EF cannot accommodate a revised tour request and/or the group decides not to travel on the original tour, then the group may opt for future travel vouchers. If the group does not travel on the original tour, travel on a revised tour, or receive a Future Travel Voucher, standard cancellation fees will apply.
Travelers canceling from a revised tour will be charged a cancellation fee based on the date that the original tour was revised or the date of cancellation from the revised tour, whichever is higher. EF will make every effort to accommodate revised tour requests.
Future Travel Vouchers are valid up to 25 months from the month of the original tour’s scheduled departure. Future Travel Vouchers are transferrable at the face value of the voucher to members of the traveler’s immediate family or school community. The Future Travel Voucher is not a merchandise credit or a gift certificate and may not be redeemed for cash unless specifically noted on the voucher. Travelers who had booked their program by redeeming a previously issued Future Travel Voucher may have different terms and options available to them based on the originally issued voucher terms.
Provided to all Group Leaders and Schools
All Group Leaders, schools, and districts who travel with EF are added as additional insureds under our $50 million General Liability Policy, whether or not the tour is considered a school event. This policy helps safeguard Group Leaders, schools, and districts in case of claims related to covered on-tour incidents such as third party personal injury or property damage and provides a legal defense and covers associated legal fees. Policy terms, conditions, and exclusions apply.
New travelers traveling between October 1, 2023, and Sept 30, 2026, who enroll during the Early Enrollment period can cancel for any reason up to 14 days after enrollment for a full refund of 100% of the money paid to EF. The early enrollment period is defined as the window in which your program is eligible for an enrollment discount. To be eligible, the traveler must enroll on a tour at least 110 days prior to the scheduled departure date. Travelers must pay in full or enroll in our Automatic Payment Plan at the time of program enrollment and must remain either paid in full or enrolled in our Automatic Payment Plan and in good financial standing at the time of cancellation to remain eligible.