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The Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University is offering the Sidney Topol Fellowship in Nonviolent Practice to applicants for the Masters Degree program in Coexistence and Conflict (COEX) in AY 2020/2021.
During their year in residence, the Topol Fellows will be responsible for planning and coordinating the Sidney Topol Lecture in Nonviolence which will bring to campus a leader in the field. Following their academic year in residence, Topol Fellows will secure required practicum placements in organizations that use nonviolent methods to achieve sustainable peace, or in organizations committed to developing such methods. Topol Fellows are required to produce a report detailing their experiences at Heller and in the field, and to share their expectations for furthering a career focused on the use of nonviolent methods in conflict-ridden areas.

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In the movies and perhaps for some women, your water bursts (unceremoniously) once. However, that may not be the truth. The water, which is the amniotic fluid that protects your baby, can trickle down all day long. The continuous trickling calls for a giant maxi pad, and unfortunately, this is the beginning of your maxi pad journey.

Heard of squirt bottles for giving birth? They’re actually called perineum irrigation, which is known for squirting warm water after going to the loo to ensure your stitches (if you have them) aren’t irritated, along with ensuring you aren’t rough with yourself.

coordinating the Sidney Topol Lecture in Nonviolence which will bring to campus a leader in the field. Following their academic year in residence, Topol Fellows will secure required practicum placements in organizations that use nonviolent methods to achieve sustainable peace, or in organizations committed to developing such methods. Topol Fellows are required to produce a report detailing their experiences at Heller and in the field, and to share their expectations for furthering a career focused on the use of nonviolent methods in conflict-ridden areas.

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9. Too Much Of Sweat In The Nights

Sweaty nights are something to get used to for the first few weeks. You can wake up in massive sweats that make you wonder if you’re down with the flu. The sweating can occur throughout the night and may call for a change of sheets.

10. You Might Wear A ‘Mommy Diaper’:

Maxi pads that are worn when your water breaks and during post-pregnancy for your period, can be known as “mommy diapers”. They are literally diapers for new mothers. Yes, they do help with blood, but did you know they have another use? This glorified diaper has ice in it to provide relief from the post-birth.

We sincerely hope we haven’t petrified you with these hidden secrets. On the bright side, you will now be even more prepared for whatever giving birth may throw at you.

Canceling A Trip Due To Coronavirus? Here’s What Travelers Need To Know.

With the rapid rise in reported cases of coronavirus around the world, travelers are reconsidering their 2020 vacation plans. For many, that means canceling trips. For others, it means looking into travel insurance.

“We’ve seen a huge spike in travel insurance purchases and call volume since the outbreak,” Jason Schreier, CEO of April Travel Protection, told HuffPost. “As awful as it sounds, when these kinds of things happen around the world, it absolutely is a boost to our business.”

Travel insurance can be a useful resource if you face a health emergency, such as contracting coronavirus, during a trip. If you are quarantined or fall ill, your standard trip cancellation or interruption policy should cover any nonrefundable expenses that result. Traditional travel insurance plans also cover emergency medical expenses and medical evacuations home.

But what if you haven’t taken your trip yet and are thinking about canceling because of fears about coronavirus? Will insurance cover that? And what kind of insurance should you buy if you’re booking upcoming travel now? What can travel insurance do in the face of a global health crisis?

Theallgo spoke to industry experts to find out the good and not-so-good news about travel insurance and trip cancellation coverage amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Most Policies Won’t Cover Epidemic Concerns

While travel insurance may pay for hospitalization or quarantine interruptions, standard plans generally don’t cover preemptive trip cancellations based on concerns about an epidemic.

Say you purchased a basic cancellation policy when you booked a trip to Italy. If you decide to call off your vacation because you’re worried about contracting COVID-19, you probably won’t be eligible for coverage and will have to pay the cancellation fees and nonrefundable costs yourself.

This typically applies even if the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issues an official travel alert.

“Almost every travel insurance policy I’m aware of excludes epidemics and pandemics,” Schreier said. “The one thing insurance companies are most scared of is concentrated exposure. An epidemic or pandemic by nature could put these companies out of business if they had to pay out millions of dollars for millions of policies.”

If your January trip was affected by the coronavirus outbreak, you may still be eligible for some reimbursement. As an Allianz Travel Insurance advisory notes, “Customers whose plan includes the Epidemic exclusion may still have coverage for a covered loss occurring on or prior to February 3, 2020.”

‘Cancel For Any Reason’ Plans Can Help You

Although standard plans don’t cover you if you cancel a trip due to coronavirus fears, there is a more expensive option that will. And it has a pretty straightforward name.

“[U]nless a travel insurance company has stated otherwise, you can certainly cancel a trip out of fear of contracting the virus if you select this optional benefit.”

- MEGHAN WALCH, PRODUCT MANAGER AT INSUREMYTRIP

“Since the outbreak, InsureMyTrip reports a 60% increase in travel insurance policies sold with a ‘cancel for any reason’ benefit,” Meghan Walch, a product manager at the travel insurance comparison site InsureMyTrip, told HuffPost.

“Cancel for any reason is designed to give travelers the option to cancel a trip for ‘any reason,’” she explained. “So, unless a travel insurance company has stated otherwise, you can certainly cancel a trip out of fear of contracting the virus if you select this optional benefit.”

But There Are Restrictions

There are still some limitations on travel insurance plans with a CFAR option. For starters, they’re much more expensive, which can be prohibitive.

“The challenge in CFAR is it may only be available to a narrow slice of the traveling market. CFAR tends to be an optional upgrade in the more premium plans. It may cost another 30% to 60% of the base price,” said Stan Sandberg, co-founder of TravelInsurance.com.

With CFAR, you usually have to insure the entire cost of the trip rather than certain elements. Another restriction is that you have to purchase your policy within a set time frame ― usually 7 to 21 days ― from your initial trip deposit.

If you do choose to cancel the trip, you may have to do so at least 48 hours before the departure date in order to qualify for reimbursement. Most versions of CFAR plans also reimburse travelers for only 50% to 75% of their prepaid nonrefundable trip costs.

Additionally, there’s bad news for residents of New York: You can’t buy CFAR travel insurance. The New York State Department of Financial Services, which regulates the insurance industry, does not deem CFAR to be actual insurance because it “allows the purchaser to control the event that would lead to payment.” Thus, the state does not permit the sale of that benefit.

Ultimately, it’s important to examine your chosen policy in advance to get a sense of any requirements or restrictions.

“I always recommend people read the fine print to make sure they know what they’re buying,” said Charles Leocha, president and co-founder of the consumer advocacy group Travelers United. If anything is unclear, you can also call the insurer’s customer service line with questions.

Credit Card Travel Insurance Probably Won’t Help

Several credit cards offer trip cancellation and interruption insurance as a benefit when you charge travel expenses to your card or account’s rewards program. Examples include select American Express and Chase cards, including Amex Platinum, Delta SkyMiles Reserve, Chase Sapphire Preferred and Chase Sapphire Reserve.

But as with standard travel insurance policies, concerns about the coronavirus epidemic and travel advisories do not appear to qualify as covered losses.

In fact, Chase’s policy explicitly excludes “your disinclination to travel due to an epidemic or pandemic” as a grounds for canceled trip reimbursement. (Quarantine “due to health reasons by a competent governmental authority having jurisdiction” is covered, however.)

“Coronavirus has created a smoky gray area in a lot of these cases.”

- STAN SANDBERG, CO-FOUNDER OF TRAVELINSURANCE.COM

The American Express trip cancellation benefit description states that cardholders may be reimbursed “if a Physician advises the Eligible Traveler that a Covered Trip is medically inadvisable.”

There Are Other Measures You Can Take

Even if you don’t have CFAR insurance, there are ways to cut down on the costs of a canceled trip.

“With airfare, there’s a big price difference between getting a totally refundable ticket and nonrefundable ticket, but that’s not usually the case with the rest of your travel plans,” Leocha said.

Consider booking refundable hotel accommodations, which often don’t cost too much more than nonrefundable rooms. The same can apply to car rentals, restaurant reservations and other activities.

Even if you have a nonrefundable booking, try calling customer service anyway to see if they’re making an exception for coronavirus. Airlines and other travel services may offer reimbursement, waivers or credits.

“Coronavirus has created a smoky gray area in a lot of these cases,” Sandberg said.

Alternatively, it could be worth rescheduling, rerouting a flight or adding a second destination within your original trip.

You may also want to hold off on booking flights and other expensive travel elements until there’s more concrete information available about the coronavirus epidemic.

“With how things are looking right now, it seems like airfares aren’t jumping too dramatically,” said Leocha. “So if you’re really concerned, I would say wait.”

Find the Best Travel Insurance Online

If you would like to seek out the most effective buys on travel insurance, victimization the net is one in every of the most effective ways in which to travel. Not solely does one have access to much each major insurance underwriter in Australia, however, you'll additionally compare insurance rates and receive instant data on your travel destination. the net permits you to seek out the most effective worth travel insurance while not ever having to depart the reach of your home or workplace.

Do Your preparation

Before you start your seek for the most effective travel insurance on-line, it's vital that you just begin your search reception initial. does one have any existing insurance policies that will already cowl you whereas traveling? Yes? No? Not sure? Well, which means you'll have to induce to figure finding and reviewing those policies. several travelers either incorrectly believe that their existing health or automobile policies can cowl them whereas traveling or discover that they have additional coverage supported their travel destination and activities when reviewing their policies. Be armed with the facts on the policies you've got to assist you to get solely the protection you would like.

Compile Your information

You have to grasp what you're {looking for|trying to seek out|searching for} to find the most effective travel insurance on-line and therefore the best thanks to accomplishing this is often to require a traveling inventory. wherever can you be going? however long can you be gone? what number folks area unit traveling? what number of destinations can you be visiting? can you be carrying any overpriced personal items? can you like a rental car? area unit there any sick or old members in your party? These area units simply some of the queries that you will have answers to seek out the travel policy that may best suit you.

Use a Comparison web site

Travel insurance comparison sites area unit nice timesavers and assist you effectively slim down your travel insurance underwriter and policy. These sites area unit dedicated to providing you a spread of choices that meet the specifications that you just enter on-line or via phone. Most provide ancient travel insurance, cruise insurance, vacation insurance, and backpackers insurance. employing a comparison web site is very sensible if you're running short on time or maybe patience.
Don't be inundated by the prospect of finding the most effective travel insurance. permit the net to assist you to get the travel cowl that's best for you and your family.

Travel insurance is some things that are to not be messed with, that is why you need to select the most effective travel insurance supplier potential.