Another European Airline Goes Bust: 7,000 Stranded

Many of our ISL clients are traveling over the next couple months. Please remember you have trip cancellation/delay benefits with your policy.

Hungary’s Malev Airlines ceased operations early this morning, becoming the second European airline to fold in the past week. Spanish carrier Spanair ceased operations last Friday, stranding about 22,000 passengers.

Read the full story at USA Today

As always, if you have questions about what your insurance plan covers or are interested in purchasing this type of coverage, please call to speak with an Insurance Services of America Client Advisor: (800) 647-4589 or (480) 821-9052

Featured Country: Brazil

Brazil will host the football World Cup in 2014 and the Olympics in 2016. The country has launched many large-scale infrastructure projects for these events that offer lucrative business opportunities for foreign companies. Take a look at the US Commercial Service’s special web pages that list opportunities related to these events.

According to the FITA, The Brazilian Ministry of Commerce recently announced that the country had a trade surplus of around 30 billion USD in 2011, an increase of 47.8% over 2010. Exports of goods increased by 26.8% to USD 256 billion, while imports rose 25.7% to USD 226 billion. It is the largest trade surplus since 2007.

In 2011 Brazil became the sixth global economy in terms of GDP, ranking ahead of countries like the United Kingdom, Italy, Canada and Spain. The country has particularly benefited in recent years from strong global demand for soybeans and iron ore, which are among its leading exports. In addition, the Brazilian government has implemented tax incentives to promote exports.

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How They Celebrate Christmas in Chile

An expat living in Santiago, Chile wrote a very interesting post over Expat Exchange. Chile is south of the equator so Christmas is right in the middle of summer and end of the school year. Traditional US festivities, baking cookies and decorations are not the norm. The focus of Christmas in Chile is mostly religious. As the Expat Exchange post explains:

The main attraction in the home is the creche or “pesebre” with the baby Jesus missing from the manger until midnight Christmas Eve. Families will have holiday meals. Frozen turkey is beginning to become popular, but given it’s summer many choose cold plates of meat, or asados/barbeques. The holiday drink is cola de mono, made with aguardiente, sugar, milk, coffee and spiced with cloves, cinnamon and orange zest. As midnight arrives the families may attend midnight mass. When they return the baby Jesus is placed in his spot and the presents are ripped opened.

Bathing suits are more popular than scarves, gloves and coats and water skiing is more popular than snow skiing as families head to the beach to try and cool off.

Read more about Christmas in Chile at ExpatExchange.com.

Have a Merry Christmas!

5 Tips for Protecting Your Family While Living Abroad

One of the single most important issues for all families across the world is protecting them against the challenging surprises of life. This can become a particular concern for expats, as each country is different.

There is a wide range of policies on the market that should suit everyone; the tricky bit is picking which ones are suitable! Christopher Wicks director of Bridgewater Financial Services says:

“It is imperative that an assessment is carried out by either an international bank, or an independent specialist protection adviser to avoid over- or underinsuring.”

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Learning the Hard Way—Insurance Works

Holland is a place that holds significant meaning for me. It’s where I fulfilled my dream of higher education, where I discovered the beauty of a new culture and, interestingly enough, where I realized the value of medical insurance.

As a poor college student living abroad—I left Vietnam when I was 19—Holland opened my eyes to new experiences and a totally new way of life. Gardens overflowing with tulips, the countryside dotted with windmills, people riding their bicycles everywhere—I couldn’t help but be captivated by this new landscape even while I was hard at work studying for my business degree.

To help pay for my tuition, I took a part-time job and rode my bike from Read More »