EF’s industry-leading safety & coverage programs for 2024 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. Risk-Free Enrollment Period
3. Individual Coverage
4. Peace of Mind Program
5. Liability Coverage
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.
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. 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.
Travelers can choose to enroll in one of the Global Travel Protection plans, both of which are designed specifically with EF travelers in mind. These affordable plans provide pre-departure and on-tour benefits, including medical expense coverage that may apply on tour and tour cancellation for the stated reasons below. Please read on for additional coverage details, as well as deadlines to purchase each Global Travel Protection plan.
Cost: $190*
Can be added from the time of enrollment up until 45 days before departure. To purchase this plan, log in to your EF account here.
This plan includes Trip Cancellation coverage. If a traveler needs to cancel a trip due to reasons specified in the plan, this reimburses non-refundable pre-paid payments.
Illness and accident coverage
Provides benefits related to hospital bills, doctors’ fees, and medical transportation associated with on-tour illnesses or injuries, as well as travel and accommodation expenses for a family member to be with your child while hospitalized in the event of a life-threatening illness.
Trip Interruption coverage
This plan includes Trip Interruption coverage. If a traveler needs to interrupt a tour due to serious injury or illness, this provides a benefit.
Protection for your belongings
Coverage for baggage in cases of theft or delay.
Trip delay coverage
Coverage for expenses due to trip delays (lodging, food, and other reasonable expenses plus limited reimbursement of unused, forfeited, prepaid non-refundable payments for travel arrangements).
Emergency evacuation coverages
This plan includes coverages that can provide a benefit in the unlikely event a traveler should need to return home unexpectedly due to a natural disaster or unrest.
Non-Refundable Fees are outlined in EF’s Booking Conditions.
The Global Travel Protection plan includes insured components that are underwritten by United States Fire Insurance Company, a cancellation fee waiver benefit provided by EF Educational Tours, and non-insurance assistance services provided by Falck Global Assistance. You can find further details of the policy, coverage limits, and exclusions here. The Global 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.
*$190 is the current price for tours departing on or after October 1, 2023.
Cost: $590*
The Global Travel Protection Plus plan must be purchased when you book your tour. To purchase this plan, please call 800-665-5364 to speak with one of our Traveler Support Specialists.
Cancel for Any Reason**
The Global 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.
Illness and accident coverage
Provides benefits related to hospital bills, doctors’ fees, and medical transportation associated with on-tour illnesses or injuries, as well as travel and accommodation expenses for a family member to be with your child while hospitalized in the event of a life-threatening illness. Subject to policy limits and exclusions.
Trip Interruption coverage
This plan includes Trip Interruption coverage. If a traveler needs to interrupt a tour due to serious injury or illness, this provides a benefit.
Protection for your belongings
Coverage for baggage in cases of theft or delay.
Trip delay coverage
Coverage for expenses due to trip delays (lodging, food, and other reasonable expenses plus limited reimbursement of unused, forfeited, prepaid non-refundable payments for travel arrangements).
Emergency evacuation coverages
This plan includes coverages that can provide a benefit in the unlikely event a traveler should need to return home unexpectedly due to a natural disaster or unrest.
Non-Refundable Fees are outlined in EF’s Booking Conditions.
*$590 is the current price for travelers who enrolled on or after Jan 1, 2024, and are traveling on or after October 1, 2024.
**The Global Travel Protection Plus plan includes insured components that are underwritten by United States Fire Insurance Company and non-insurance assistance services provided by Falck Global Assistance. The Global Travel Protection Plus plan also includes a non-insurance Cancel for Any Reason waiver benefit provided by EF Educational Tours. The non-insurance Cancel for Any Reason waiver benefit provided by EF Educational Tours provides a cash refund for trip costs paid to EF Educational Tours for cancellation prior to departure. For plans issued in New York, customers can purchase the non-insurance Cancel for Any Reason waiver separately from the rest of the travel protection plan. For further details, please contact Risk Strategies at 877-974-7462 ext. 321. The Global Travel Protection Plus 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.
For additional details regarding the insurance components of this plan, underwritten by US 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.
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 groups
We want all of our groups to travel confidently, which is why EF is taking the necessary steps to help keep travelers as healthy and safe as possible. Our COVID-19 Travel Guidelines ask each traveler to do their part in keeping the tour experience safe for everyone.
If a traveler is diagnosed with COVID-19 while on tour, the traveler diagnosed with COVID-19 will be required to isolate based on the guidance of the destination they are in or CDC guidelines. EF will coordinate and cover costs for the isolation period, as outlined in our COVID-19 Travel Guidelines.
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.