Start Gate – Travel Protection Plan

Limited Benefit, Post Deaperture Travel Protection

Winter Park Ski-Music Festival will purchase on behalf of all registered festival participants (students and adults, whether being charged or complimentary), a limited benefit “Post Departure Group Travel Protection Plan” which helps provide post departure trip protection during a group’s travel.  This plan helps protect festival participants after trip departure, and during their trip, by offering limited benefits for specific and eligible travel and medical incidents, such as:

• trip interruption (return air only) with a maximum benefit of $500
• travel delay (more than 6 hours) with a maximum benefit of $750 ($150/day)
• missed connections (more than 3 hours) with a maximum benefit of $500
• baggage/personal effects with a maximum benefit of $1,500
• baggage delay (more than 24 hours) with a maximum benefit of $300
• accident & sickness medical expenses with a maximum benefit of $25,000
• emergency evacuation & repatriation with a maximum benefit of $100,000

Please review this Post Departure Student Protection Plan highlights brochure to view these same maximum benefits, along with important General Limitations and Exclusions of the plan, as published directly by the plan provider.

The travel protection plan purchased on behalf of all festival attendees is in NO way, any type of trip cancellation protection.  And as published, the Winter Park Ski-Music Festival has a “no refund” policy after a group’s Final Payment deadline date.   Therefore, in the event an entire group, or any individual festival attendee could not attend the festival for any reason, there would be no protection against paid trip costs. A group director is strongly encouraged to investigate and have their members purchase trip cancellation protection from a third party provider.  An internet search for Travel Cancellation Protection Providers will yield numerous articles and providers for a group to research and consider. 

Although the Winter Park Ski-Music Festival does NOT provide Trip Cancellation protection, here a few comments we have:

• Consider “Cancel For Any Reason” or CFAR coverage. Otherwise, your reasons for cancellation could be limited.
• Trip Cancellation protection does not cover 100% of paid trip costs, and usually has a maximum benefit amount.

The Limited Benefit Post Departure Plan the festival purchases on behalf of every registered festival attendee, helps protect each registered festival participant beginning after a group’s trip departure and during their trip only.  Therefore- the listed School Departure and School Return dates and times within the TRIP INFO report (can be viewed by each group director within WPSMF Online) should be reviewed carefully for a group’s travel protection plan coverage dates.

After the festival purchases the travel protection plans on behalf of each registered festival participant, shortly after March 4, 2023, each group director will be provided with both a Group Leader Manifest (listing all group members a travel protection plan was purchased on behalf of) and a state specific Plan Document (essentially a description of coverage). Each group director is then responsible to deliver, forward, and/or provide this information, however they believe necessary, to each festival participant, and/or parents/guardians of festival participants under 18 years of age.  With all festival participants, and/or their parents having all plan information, and contact methods surrounding the travel protection plan, they will then assume responsibility for initiating or filing of claim reimbursement, and/or direct communication with the plan provider for any reason.

The festival encourages for every group director to review the Plan Document (provided shortly after March 4, 2023). Any group director is welcome to contact the festival office for general questions about the travel protection plan we purchase on behalf of their registered members.  However, the festival is only the purchaser of the travel protection plans, and we will likely ask each director, or inquirer to consult with the plan provider directly (telephone number and website address listed on both the Plan Highlights and Plan Document) for specific questions, for an official response.

Notice the festival uses the term “registered festival participant” throughout this entire Travel Protection Plan narrative?  If for any reason, a group has person traveling to the festival that is not registered with the festival, that unregistered person will not have Travel Protection Plan coverage to help them.  If a group, or group director fails to notify the festival of any additional persons attending the festival, the festival has no way of knowing these persons even exist, or supposed to be attending.

The festival’s perspective surrounding travel protection plans, and a group’s decision to not travel to Winter Park:  The festival is purchasing the Travel Protection Plan on behalf of a group’s registered festival participants, which helps provide coverage and benefits once the group has legitimately departed for their destination.  Fear or unwillingness to continue travel, will likely not be an eligible coverage for the plan provider to help reimburse any paid costs.  A group director will most definitely need to contact the plan provider anytime there is any question regarding their group’s decision to not continue with their planned travel. The festival highly suggests for the group to continue with their travel to Winter Park immediately after a travel delay or travel interruption and take advantage of any portion of the remaining trip.  Your decision to not travel further, because of your own reasons, may exclude your members from receiving travel protection benefits.  

Payment of Travel Incidents 

If any injury or sickness should occur to a festival participant while traveling to and from the festival destination, or during the festival event, all required payments for medical services will be made by that participant, your group, or another group member, directly to the medical service provider.  It is recommended that such payments be made by check or credit card so evidence of payment may be more easily provided when filing a claim for reimbursement. Be sure to keep all medical services paperwork/receipts since they will be needed by the travel protection plan provider when filing a claim.  Some medical service providers may allow for their services to be billed afterwards.  

 If any travel interruption or travel delay were to occur with a group, any payments to continue travel to the festival destination, or any payments to cover reasonable additional expenses incurred for meals and lodging, will be made by your participants, group, or a group member directly to the providers.  It is recommended that such payments also be made by check or credit card so evidence of payment may be more easily provided when filing a claim for reimbursement.  Be sure to keep all paperwork/receipts since they will be needed by the travel protection plan provider when filing a claim.

For specific questions about payments for travel incidents, call the plan provider directly at 1-800-243-3174

Filing A Claim For Reimbursement

Information for filing a claim can be obtained by contacting the insurance provider or filing online.

Travel Insured International

1-800-243-3174  (Monday-Friday 8:30 am- 7:30 pm)

claims@travelinsured.com

It is the group’s, or an individual’s responsibility to contact the travel protection plan provider, to file all claims, and provide all necessary documentation as requested.  All claims will be handled directly with the travel protection plan provider.  To facilitate more prompt claims settlement, you will be asked to provide receipts for all medical treatment, and/or travel interruption/delay expenses.

 Festival’s note:  More than likely, reimbursements will be made out in the name of the traveling person.  If the group, group director, or another group member paid for reimbursable expenses of another person, please discuss with the travel protection plan provider how reimbursement(s) should be mailed to the appropriate person or address.

Traveling Participants Details

Groups with Participants Traveling on other Dates & Times  

The festival office should be notified if any registered member(s) are traveling to the festival on different dates, different departure/arrival times or via a different transportation method than listed on the WPSMF Online Trip Info report.  This information is important when the festival purchases travel protection plans!

Example: An adult or group of adults departing the school earlier and/or returning later because they are driving equipment to the festival rather than traveling with the group on via air.  Or- a particular adult is flying rather than traveling on the bus with the group.

List of Traveling Participants

The participant names a group director inputs within WPSMF Online will be compiled to create your group’s list of traveling participants.  The Final Payment deadline date for having all members’ registration completed, is expected for a group’s list of travelers to have travel protection plans purchased on their behalf. If an attendee uses their middle name or a nickname rather than their “first” legal name, this other name can be used within WPSMF Online.

 THE FESTIVAL OFFICE HAS ABSOLUTELY NO WAY OF CHECKING IF THE FESTIVAL PARTICIPANTS’ NAMES ARE SPELLED CORRECTLY FOR TRAVEL PROTECTION COVERAGE.  THIS IS EACH GROUP DIRECTOR’S RESPONSIBILITY.  On each of your member’s online registration, we asked them to contact their director if their name was listed incorrectly.  If a student or adult has indicated such, please login to WPSMF Online using your “admin” login credentials, within the “Participants” view, click the blue username (far left) of the person whose name needs correction, and correct within the correction box, followed by selecting Save.

Name Exchanges After Final Payment

 Member Name Exchanges after the Final Payment Due Date

Whenever a group has member changes after the Final Payment Due Date, a director or travel organizer must contact the festival office to make changes on the WPSMF Online for proper registration of any members that were not previously registered.  A director will not be able to make member changes as they were once able to do before the Final Payment Due Date.  Why? Because the festival will need to know of any member changes after we have already compiled the previously listed names.  An important component of any member change is purchasing travel protection for a newly added person.  It is a director’s responsibility to contact the festival office with any known member changes any time after the Final Payment Due Date so that all festival components (lodging, equipment rentals, lessons, and online registration) can be revised as needed, including a travel protection plan purchase.

 Member Name Exchanges after the Final Payment Due Date and before March 4, 2023

The Final Date for Travel Protection Name Exchanges (with no additional charge) is Saturday March 4, 2023.   As stated in the above section, any member changes after the Final Payment Due Date, requires a director or travel organizer to contact the festival office.  Besides getting any new members registered, included in rooming list, rental and lesson lists, the festival will also need to purchase travel protection for any newly added or exchanged members, not previously included within WPSMF Online.  Most often, member changes will be the exchanging of person names on your Travel Protection List, since there are no attendance decreases/refunds after the Final Payment Due Date, and a group should consider giving someone the benefit of a paid festival package.  If festival participants within your group need to be exchanged (one name substituted for another), there can be a name exchange with no additional charge if received by the festival office on or before March 4, 2023.

Assume any communication with festival office for a member name exchange has NOT been made until you have received an emailed confirmation of member changes.  It is the responsibility of the director to double check a revised Group Leader Manifest sent by the festival, or request a revised manifest, to make certain that all traveling members are on the manifest.

Travel Protection List Additions less than 72 hours from School Departure

The festival may not be able to add any members to Travel Protection Manifest within 72 hours of a group’s departure.  Call the festival office to speak to a representative, but do not assume anyone has been added until an emailed confirmation has been made.