Aarp: Aarp Travel: A $2 Million Travel Plan

Aarp, which has long focused on travelers insurance, says it’s bringing back its travel insurance business by providing a new travel plan that will let travelers keep their coverage even if they leave the country.
The company says it has added more than a million customers who were affected by the U.S. government shutdown.
The new plan will provide a $2 million credit to travelers who travel within the U, or within a 100-mile radius of the U’s border, or if they are traveling to or from Canada, the U and Mexico.
“It’s the only travel insurance option that provides these kinds of benefits to those who need them most,” Aarp Chief Financial Officer Bill McKean said in a statement.
The company says customers who opt in to the new Aarp plan can keep their policies if they want.
The $2,000 credit will cover a maximum of $7,500 for a family of three, and $6,000 for a married couple.
The total cost is $2.9 million, according to the statement.
Travelers are among the most vulnerable Americans in a financial collapse caused by a government shutdown and a massive drop in gas prices.
AARP, which provides travelers insurance to thousands of businesses across the U., said its membership fell 8.5 percent last week, the most in the industry since January, as the shutdown dragged on.
In a letter to its members last week urging them to shop around for the new plan, AARP Executive Vice President Matt Muehlhauser said Aarp would offer a similar deal to its other members.
“Our members have been waiting for this for years and now they’re getting a chance to get a new plan that meets their needs,” McKea said.
The new AARP plan comes on the heels of Aarp CEO Peter B. Hirsch’s announcement last week that he is stepping down after 18 years on the job.
Burt Shafer, Aarp’s chief executive officer, has been interim CEO since Hirsch left.