How Storms Like Hurricane Irma Are Affecting Travel Insurance
Irma’s Supraugane causes many cruises and flight cancellations , as well as delays and course changes. But your travel insurance should cover all of this, right? May be. Maybe not.
What Your Travel Insurance May Cover
Depending on what coverage you get from your chosen provider, travel insurance can cover a wide variety of things during a super storm, including:
- Cancellation or reduction of trip
- Long delays requiring hotels and meals
- Trauma and medical transportation
The point is that all policies are individual, so you should check what you received upon purchase. If you have trip cancellation insurance (which will appear on your policy), you may be reimbursed for the entire cruise, flight or vacation if certain requirements are met.
For example, you cannot simply cancel a trip because you see a hurricane in the way of your trip and expect compensation. The cruise line, airline or tour must cancel the trip themselves or be forced to stop operating for at least 24 hours. Only then will your insurance company reimburse you for your non-refundable travel expenses. You also cannot cancel your trip if your cruise, airline or tour is forced to change course due to a storm. If they offer an alternative route for the same cost as your original trip, you must agree to the changes.
So you can cancel the trip if they do, and when else? Differently. If your destination is destroyed by a storm and becomes “uninhabitable,” or if a mandatory evacuation is imposed on the area , you can also undo this action. If you have travel interruption coverage, the same goes for any interruptions caused by a storm suddenly changing course and hitting your destination, or if one of them enters your home while you are away, forcing you to stay in. destination longer.
However, do not rush to cancel your flights or other travel plans. For most travel insurance, you must have lost more than 50% of your planned trip due to travel delays due to weather conditions before you can apply. Make what they call a “good faith effort to continue the journey” before canceling anything. And make sure you have copies of the travel itinerary and any statements from airlines, cruise lines or tour operators.
What’s in a name?
With the right policy, travel insurance can save you a lot of trouble during hurricane season, but there is one catch. When it comes to a severe storm like Irma, you need to purchase a travel insurance policy before the hurricane is named .
Travel insurance is protection against “unforeseen situations and events,” and a storm that has been watched long enough to be given an official name is considered a “predictable event.” If you purchased travel travel insurance after you were assigned a name — in this case, it was August 30 — your plan will not cover any hurricane-related claims .
Know what and when to get in the future
Hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30 , so if you are traveling in the Atlantic region during these months, especially the Gulf Coast and Caribbean, you should probably have travel insurance with hurricane coverage. When purchasing a policy, make sure it covers travel delays, medical evacuation, trip interruption, and trip cancellation. Also, make sure hurricanes are listed as natural disasters or extreme weather conditions on your policy.