Recent sudden closure of airspace in the Middle East has me thinking……

I would advice to read the T&C of this insurance.
Here in Europe (no idea how it is in USA) most insurances T&C have specific exclusions for wars, with or without prior declaration, and any conflicts or international interventions using force or duress.

Our general plans here certainly exclude acts of war, but there are some specialist providers who offer security evacuation cover including war and conflict - International SOS and Global Rescue come to mind. Reading the Medjet plan, International SOS and Global Rescue are more expensive, but offer greater cover.

In the current scenario the main issue (primarily) is not that people can't travel, but they can't find a viable route at a price they can afford. In that case one of these memberships would easily pay for itself.

I have Medjet Horizon.

They sent out an email a few days ago regarding the situation in the Middle East:

Here is what it said:

Medjet can confirm we had a number of MedjetHorizon Members affected by the events in the Middle East.

Exact responses across the region were highly situational and depended on each individual member’s location and threat level. As always, the first priority is safety. A wide corridor of airspace over the Middle East was closed, so services may have entailed shelter-in-place with structured monitoring and guidance, short-term relocation guidance, or secure movement by land. Our security teams closely monitored the situation, assisted our affected members, and assessed all options.

While the policy won't cover you if you travel to an area of war, if one should break out while you are there, that is exactly one of the reasons to have the policy.

It also covers civil unrest, terrorism and natural disasters.

They sent out an email a few days ago regarding the situation in the Middle East

That matches what they posted on Facebook on 4 March
https://www.facebook.com/share/1YPASaFfHs/

No experience, but it’s a great question. I do carry the Horizon policy but was fortunately not stranded. And thanks, Windyram - I hadn’t thought to follow them on Facebook.

Carol, as soon as I read your thread, it reminded me of an article I read last week in the New York Times about a doctor who lives in New Orleans who was visiting India and tried to come back right when the war started. As you can see from the article, during the next 3 days, he traveled over four continents and spent over $10,000 to get home. He didn't mention insurance, so I don't know if he had it or not, but it's pretty scary when you think about everything that could go wrong.

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/10/travel/canceled-flights-middle-east-iran-war.html?unlocked_article_code=1.VFA.zacr.OR3lnYlq3f49&smid=url-share

Carol NR, this is an interesting travel point. And Frank, thanks for the detail you got from MedJet as well.

Thanks for the link and the gifted article, Mardee! I think the tale of Dr Miller is so very interesting, showing that you might have to be prepared to self-evacuate. The picture of the sign in the Riyadh Airport also shows a flight to London which might have gotten him home quicker if there was space but it might have been filled. But then he would have missed seeing Lucy. And why the heck did he cut it so close getting back to the airport in Addis Ababa?

In the other thread about current feelings about travel, I think it was S J from Canada that noted that they "pay up" on their CCs before they leave so they have more credit to work with in an emergency. One of the reasons I keep my AMEX SkyMiles card is that I have huge credit limit on it. They keep raising it without my asking so now I've got a limit of over $30,000 which I hope to heaven I never need to use. At the end of Covid I started traveling with 3 credit cards - the AMEX, Chase Visa and Costco Visa. I figured the combined credit limit on those cards would get me out of anything.

Interesting to try and think what you'd do in an emergency.

Unlike some other nations, it doesn't seem like the US State Dept felt any responsibility for helping Americans get home. The income taxes we pay have a low ROI.

Cala, I noticed that too. I thought it was ironic that the call from the State Department came while he was sleeping after he got home. And basically, it said, "we can't help you."

Pam, I never thought about that! I'm in the same situation as you, where I have credit cards that have well over $20,000 credit limits on them. I pay off my bills every month, so they're always wide open, but I never thought about using that as a backup if I was stuck in a situation where I'd need a lot of money quickly. Of course, it pains me to no end to think that I have to pay it off afterwards! 😂

Im sorry, but that MedJet email didn't say they did anything for anyone. But they cared. But not sure they coukd help if they wanted.

I do believe the US State Dept helped to coordinate the return of tens of thousands of US Citizens. Tonight I had a drink with a young lady who will be on a repatriation flight in the morning ... coordinated by her government.