Hurricane Season Begins, Travel Insurance In Demand

With the 2017 Hurricane Season starting today, InsureMyTrip reports an increased demand for travel insurance for travel this summer and licensed travel insurance agents at InsureMyTrip expect a 20 percent jump in call volume from travelers seeking insurance protection. Agents say the top concern of summer travelers is bad weather affecting travel plans. Hurricane season officially runs June 1 through November 30.

Consider:

• Travel insurance agents expect a jump in call volume due to hurricane fears.
• Some plans enable travelers to cancel a trip when NOAA issues a hurricane warning*.
• Once a storm starts forming, it's considered a foreseeable event and insurance coverage will no longer be available to cover losses related to that storm.

"Travelers clearly have concerns about bad weather hampering their travel plans. Choosing to buy insurance early—before a storm is named—is a smart way to protect their trip investment," says InsureMyTrip CEO Jim Grace.

According to InsureMyTrip, 75 percent of customers will choose a comprehensive travel insurance policy for summer travel. This policy provides a variety of benefits including medical coverage, emergency travel services, baggage protection, trip cancellation and trip interruption coverage.

Here are some examples how insurance enables travelers to cancel a trip due to severe weather-related concerns under the trip cancellation benefit:

• Cancel trip due to weather: when common carriers such as airlines and cruise lines cease service due to weather.
• Cancel due to a hurricane warning: when a destination is under a NOAA-issued Hurricane warning.*
• Cancel because of storm damage at destination: when a hotel, resort, or vacation rental is devastated and made uninhabitable by a storm.
• Cancel because home is destroyed by storm: when the home of a traveler sustains destructive storm damage.
• Cancel trip for any reason: this is an optional time-sensitive benefit that allows travelers to cancel a trip for any reason. This benefit includes specific eligibility requirements.

Tip: Travelers concerned about hurricanes should purchase travel insurance early. Once a storm starts forming, it's considered a foreseeable event and insurance coverage will no longer be available to cover losses related to that storm. Only a few plans offer coverage for a NOAA-issued hurricane warning.

Travelers interested in learning more about protection plans for travel during hurricane season can visit InsureMyTrip or call 800-487-4722 to speak with a licensed travel insurance agent.

* With most comprehensive travel insurance plans you must be within 24-48 hours of your scheduled departure and the cancellation must be more than 14 days after your effective date for trip cancellation coverage when a destination is under a NOAA-issued hurricane warning.