InsureMyTrip Blog

Our thoughts and best wishes are with all those affected by the destructive path of Hurricane Sandy, as well as those who will continue to be impacted by the storm’s devastation over the ensuing days and weeks.  As cleanup crews begin their work and flood waters hopefully recede, there will be many challenges ahead, especially within the travel industry.  With thousands of flights cancelled already and airports and train stations closed for the foreseeable future in some parts of the country, there is potential for disruption that will last for many days, impacting possibly hundreds of thousands of people across the country.  Even international travel could be badly disrupted, since a full halt to flights in and out of international airports in the New York Metropolitan area will naturally ripple outward and affect flight patterns and travel plans abroad.

If you are one of the travelers who has already been affected by Hurricane Sandy, or if you had planned to travel within the next week to ten days or so, there are some steps you can take to help sort through any confusion.  We recommend the following:

If your flight has already been cancelled or significantly delayed (more than 5 hours):

1. Call your travel insurance provider’s emergency assistance number, which can be found on your policy.  Depending upon the type of coverage you purchased, you may be able to receive assistance with re-booking and with finding lodgings, if needed.  At the very least, you’ll be able to confirm with them whether your policy covers incidental expenses like food while you’re waiting, and what kind of documentation you may need to provide to file a successful claim.

2. Call your airline and any other travel suppliers you’ve booked with for your trip.  In most circumstances, this wouldn’t be a recommended course of action, but due to the severe nature of Hurricane Sandy, many airlines and travel suppliers have made special arrangements to assist passengers and clients.  They may be able to provide you with valuable information and support in re-arranging your travel plans, as well as give you some insight into whether or not your particular airline/supplier has decided to provide refunds of any kind for disruptions caused by Sandy.

3. If you’ve determined that you are ready to file a claim with your travel insurance company, call or email the claims department at the company directly to set the process in motion.  The contact information should be listed on your travel insurance policy, but if you’ve purchased from a company whose products are offered through InsureMyTrip, you can also access the information for contacting claims assistance on our website.

If you are planning to travel within the next 7-10 days, and are concerned about the impact of Sandy on your travels:

1. We recommend staying in contact with your airlines and travel suppliers first.  While their phone lines may be quite busy for a few days, it’s important that you have a sense of how your specific carrier(s) may be faring and what their plans are to get things back on track.  If your trip is still several days away, it may be a good idea to follow your airline on social media, either through Twitter or Facebook, so that you can receive continual updates without having to wait on hold.

2. Review your travel insurance policy and make sure you understand what benefits it offers you for travel delays and cancellations, as well as other hurricane-specific coverages such as Destination Uninhabitable and Primary Residence Uninhabitable.   Whether or not flights are actually able to depart and arrive by the time you’re scheduled to travel is one thing, but whether you can actually go through with your trip if your home or the lodgings you’ve secured have been significantly damaged is another.  If you have any questions about your benefits, we’d be happy to review your policy with you, even if you’re not an InsureMyTrip customer.  Our licensed travel insurance experts can walk through your specific policy with you and explain what your policy will cover, and what it may not.  They can be reached at 800-487-4722 during normal hours of operation.

3. When in doubt, call your travel insurance company directly to inquire about assistance services and filing claims.  The contact information for your specific provider can be found on your policy.

We hope everyone stays safe and well during the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.  If you have any additional questions, don’t hesitate to contact us.  We’re here to help.

Recently, The Weather Channel announced that as of the 2012-2013 season, it will begin naming winter storm systems.  The new naming system they’ve outlined is very similar to the one most of us are already familiar with — the procedure by which tropical storms and hurricanes are named each year.  Because that naming system has resulted in greater awareness and better tracking of summer storms, which translates to better preparation by concerned citizens, TWC has decided that naming winter storm systems in a similar fashion may yield public safety dividends as well.

It makes sense; after all, when a really big one hits, the public has a tendency to name things anyway (remember “Snowmageddon” and “Snowtober?”).  And certainly, there’s an aspect of seriousness lent to a named storm.  We’re all more likely to perk up and head out for provisions if we hear that “Blizzard Bartholomew” is headed our way, rather than “There’s a big band of snow on the radar.”  Naming things, even weather events, makes them real.

Of course, naming winter storms will also make them “real” in the eyes of travel insurance companies.  Far from being just an interesting new wrinkle in the forecasts for this year, the news about named winter storm systems is a significant development travelers need to understand.  In the past, generally, snow has been…snow.  But now, snow in any potentially concerning quantity will become a bona fide, named, and therefore “known peril.”

Those who are familiar with our many posts on the topic of hurricanes and other natural disasters know where this is going: A known peril is something which, in the eyes of your travel insurance company, could be foreseen before you bought your policy and is therefore not going to be covered.  Our favorite analogy is that if there’s already water rising in your basement, it’s a bit too late to buy flood insurance.  In the travel insurance industry, a named storm — whether summer OR winter, now — is like water in your basement.

Of course, the good news is that even though naming winter storms will surely put a more defined set of parameters around what’s covered under your travel insurance policy and what’s not, the truth is that the change likely won’t result in much of a noticeable difference to most travelers.  As with hurricane season, we simply advise you to purchase your travel insurance as soon after you’ve booked your trip as possible, so that you’ll be eligible for coverage against the effects of any storms that are identified by The Weather Channel after you’ve bought your insurance.  Also, it’s important to note that even if there is a named storm brewing before you’ve got your insurance, you can still buy a policy that will cover you for quite a number of other things; medical benefits, trip interruption and cancellation not related to the previously identified storm, baggage loss and delay, and other valuable coverages will still be available, as well as coverage for the effects of any ADDITIONAL winter storms that might be named between the time your insurance goes into effect and the time you depart for your trip.

The bottom line is that, while this change to the way we forecast and track winter storms is certainly notable for a number of reasons, it’s ultimately just a reminder to all the travelers and potential travelers out there who may be planning winter getaways that buying insurance to protect your trip is not something to put off until the last minute.  A little advance preparation this winter could really save everyone a lot of hassle and headaches.

When we created our Ratings and Reviews forum, we didn’t know that in just one year, we’d receive 10,000 reviews of our products, making Ratings and Reviews on InsureMyTrip.com not just another tool for our users, but the largest collection of unbiased travel insurance reviews anywhere in the industry.

Thanks to our dedicated customers, we now have ten thousand (and still climbing!) pieces of valuable insight to help all the members of the InsureMyTrip community.  Ten thousand star ratings.  Ten thousand ways to differentiate between plans.  Ten thousand voices contributing to the conversation, sharing the good, the bad, and the ugly — all unbiased, unedited, and available to anyone who’s interested in what other travelers have to say about their insurance purchases.

In this day and age, hearing from others about their purchases is a crucial element in any online shopping experience.  With an important and often challenging product like travel insurance, it’s even more valuable to hear from your fellow travelers about the plans they’ve bought.  Which ones are the best value for the money?  Which offered the most comprehensive benefits?  Which have the most trustworthy and satisfactory claims processes?  Which companies, coverages, and plans can you trust?

No one wants to make a mistake when they’re buying insurance.  Thanks to all of the customers who have taken the time to add their reviews to our site, we now have ten thousand ways to help you get it right.  And because we’re so grateful to our wonderful customers for providing their feedback to benefit our whole community of travelers, we’ve partnered with Ten Thousand Waves Spa near Santa Fe, New Mexico to provide our lucky 10,000th reviewer with a weekend getaway.  Christine from Des Moines, Iowa has been offered the chance to relax with a loved one at the Japanese-style resort and spa and receive the full complement of services that Ten Thousand Waves has to offer.  Congratulations to Christine, and sincere thanks to Deborah Fleig and the entire team at Ten Thousand Waves for providing this generous prize.