American insurance carriers denying coverage or charging higher premiums to travel to Pakistan

Some life insurers deny coverage during overseas travel

By Stephen Singer, AP Business Writer | April 2, 2006

Bruce Ferguson, senior vice president of state relations for the American Council of Life Insurers, said travelers to countries considered dangerous have a higher mortality rate than others. "The question is how can we craft clear standards that allow life insurers to classify risks differently and in accordance with the risks they represent," he said.

Israel, the West Bank, Gaza and Pakistan are among more than two dozen nations considered hazardous by the State Department.

Saud Anwar, president of the Connecticut chapter of the Pakistani American Public Affairs Committee, asked Connecticut lawmakers to bar life insurance bans or higher premiums assessed to travelers to Pakistan.

Travel between the United States and Pakistan has increased in the last few years due to the south Asian nation's growing economy and humanitarian missions following the October 2005 earthquake, he said.

Insurers who determine that travelers to Pakistan are at greater risk are engaging in "lazy underwriting," he said.