Should you 'insure your trip' this summer?
Hurricane season is right around the corner, and as travel numbers surge, it could create, excuse the pun, the perfect storm.
In response, InsureMyTrip, a NOAA Weather-Ready Nation WRN Ambassador™, launched a new hurricane preparedness campaign to improve travelers' readiness and responsiveness and help them to stay informed.
InsureMyTrip has expanded its 2022 Hurricane Educational Center to include more information to better assist travelers with their upcoming trip. The content hub also offers access to travel data, a free travel guide ebook, videos, and other resources.
Important Reminder: Buy Early
InsureMyTrip reminds travelers about the advantages of buying trip insurance early. Once a storm starts forming, it is considered a foreseeable event and insurance coverage will no longer be available to cover losses related to that storm.
How Hurricane Coverage Works
Travel insurance is an effective and cost-efficient way to cope with the risk of travel during hurricane season and to help guard against potential financial losses.
When it comes to severe weather, here are some examples of how insurance may enable travelers to receive reimbursement of pre-paid, non-refundable trip costs if they must cancel a trip due to severe weather-related issues that are covered under the trip cancellation benefit:
Flights are grounded due to a hurricane: Many plans may cover a traveler when common carriers such as airlines and cruise lines cease service due to weather. The cessation of services must be for a certain number of hours, usually 24-48.
If your resort is in the path of a hurricane: A few plans may cover when the traveler's destination is under a NOAA-issued hurricane warning.*
A hurricane damaged my hotel or resort: Many plans may cover a traveler when a hotel, resort, or vacation rental is devastated and made uninhabitable by a storm.
A hurricane damaged my home: Many plans may offer coverage when the primary home of a traveler sustains destructive storm damage that renders the home uninhabitable.
I changed my mind: For the opportunity to cancel a trip for reasons other than those listed as "covered reasons" on a policy, a traveler may consider Cancel For Any Reason (CFAR) protection.
CFAR is an optional time-sensitive benefit available on some plans that allow a traveler to cancel a trip for any reason, up to 48 hours prior to the scheduled departure. Reimbursement is usually 50-75% of the prepaid, non-refundable trip cost. A traveler must meet specific eligibility requirements and must purchase a policy with CFAR selected within 14-21 days of making an initial trip payment or deposit.
Hurricanes and Airline Cancellation Policies
Flight cancellation policies vary by airline and circumstance. When an airline cancels a flight due to bad weather, most will try to rebook passengers on the next available flight.
Airlines are not required to reimburse travelers for losses incurred as a result of a canceled flight due to weather. Travelers concerned about protecting pre-paid, non-refundable trip expenses should buy travel insurance.
Travelers interested in learning more about insurance plans for travel during hurricane season can visit www.InsureMyTrip.com or call 1-800-551-4635 to speak with a licensed travel insurance agent.
*With most comprehensive travel insurance plans, the NOAA-issued hurricane warning must be issued for the traveler's destination within 24-48 hours of the traveler's scheduled departure. The cancellation must also be more than 14 days after the traveler's effective date for trip cancellation coverage. This means this coverage would not be available if the traveler is trying to purchase coverage 15 days or closer to the departure of a trip.