InsureMyTrip Blog

Yesterday marked the beginning of NOAA’s National Severe Weather Preparedness Week, during which the government agency hopes to highlight key pieces of information and steps people can take to stay safe throughout potentially catastrophic weather events.  Today’s theme is “Know Your Risk,” which couldn’t be more applicable to travel and the travel insurance industry.  Our entire business, and our education of travelers, is centered around assessing and understanding what risks might be inherent in different travel decisions, then helping people to make a plan that will hopefully address those risks.

Severe weather is the kind of unforeseen event that travel insurance is truly intended for.  Obviously, there are many risks that come with venturing away from home, ranging from mild scheduling disruptions at the airport to the kind of major tragedies none of us like to envision too vividly.  But if you’re thinking about the likelihood of any one particular type of travel disruption occurring, catastrophic accidents are pretty far down on the list; weather events, on the other hand, have got to be in the top five.

There’s no way to stop severe weather from derailing your plans, but there is travel insurance coverage available to help with many of its effects.  For example, if your flights are delayed or cancelled because of the weather, you might be able to file a claim to be reimbursed for incidental expenses such as food and lodgings, as well as for possible additional costs incurred by having to make different arrangements to reach your destination.  If your accommodations are destroyed and made entirely uninhabitable by a weather event, you may be able to receive assistance from your travel insurance provider in making other suitable arrangements, recovering nonrefundable expenses, or both.  And if the severe weather strikes your home, rather than your intended vacation spot, you might be able to cancel your travels in order to stay home and take care of necessary repairs, depending on what kind of travel insurance policy you’ve purchased.

A travel insurance policy can be a useful tool for severe weather preparedness, no doubt; but how do you know if you really need one?  Here are some questions you should ask yourself when booking any trip, to help assess the risk that severe weather may impact your plans:

1. Am I traveling during a time of year when there is a known risk of severe weather?  The Atlantic Hurricane season, which runs from June through November each year, is an excellent example of a season during which any traveler may want to seriously consider insuring him or herself against the possible effects of a weather event.  However, hurricanes aren’t the only thing worth thinking about.  Consider whether or not you’re traveling at a time when snow and winter weather may cause travel backlogs.  Research rainy seasons in more remote countries.  And truly, it’s important to factor in where you live, not just where you’re going.  If you’re a Midwesterner planning to travel during the height of tornado season, travel insurance may not be a bad idea.

2. Did my trip cost enough to be a financial burden to me should I lose that money?  If you wouldn’t be comfortable losing your pre-paid, non-refundable expenses, travel insurance is a smart investment.  Many of us wouldn’t be able to take a financial loss on a significant trip, and still be able to rebook without some degree of financial difficulty.  Ask yourself whether or not that hurricane or blizzard would be as disappointing to your wallet as it would be to you.

3.  Where am I going?  This probably seems obvious, but it’s worth just taking a minute to confirm for yourself whether your destination is a place where the likelihood of severe weather taking a toll on your plans is at all heightened.  If you’re going to, say, London in May, your severe weather risk is probably a bit lower than the risk you might take in traveling to Costa Rica in September.  But it’s not just about seasons; thinking about how remote your destination is may also be a factor.  The chances that a romantic little beach hut far from the touristy crowds might be badly damaged by a severe weather event — even one that happens quite some time before your scheduled trip — are probably somewhat greater than the likelihood of the same thing happening to a suite in a large, established five-star resort in a metropolitan area.

Of course, there are many other factors that should go into making a decision about whether or not to insure your next trip.  Severe weather is far from the only event that could cause major travel headaches.  However, this week of severe weather preparedness gives us a great opportunity to remind all travelers to take a close look at their plans whenever they may be hoping to travel, and think about the way Mother Nature could impact their trip.

With Thanksgiving, and thus the kickoff to the official holiday travel season, just a month away, it’s a good time to review the top travel insurance coverage options available to those celebrating the long weekend away from home.  Thanksgiving travel is a relatively unique event in the grand scheme of holiday comings and goings; with most people making their turkey day festivities only a weekend affair, there’s a greater chance of major congestion, long lines, and frustrating mishaps crammed into one short time period.  However, because it’s also a family-centered holiday for most of us, traveling over the Thanksgiving weekend also brings with it some fairly high stakes as far as the emotional importance of getting from here to there in a safe and timely fashion.

Although conventional travel insurance wisdom usually says that people who are planning a quick, domestic trip may not really need to purchase a travel insurance policy, the exception to that rule happens to be Thanksgiving.  With jam-packed airports and train stations nearly guaranteed, the chances that something inconvenient will happen while you’re traveling for Thanksgiving are far greater than they would be for almost any other weekend getaway.  If you’re making plans to celebrate outside the comfort of your own home this year, you may want to consider the following coverage options to give you a bit more peace of mind while you’re navigating those crowded terminals.

1. Travel Delay.  Delays may be the most likely form of turkey-travel annoyance, so it’s smart to be prepared in advance.  With a travel insurance policy that covers you for travel delays, you can take advantage of benefits like reimbursement for incidental expenses (food, lodgings, etc) you may incur while waiting for your plane or train to actually depart.  Travel delay coverage is also generally part of a broader Package Plan, which may offer you assistance with rebooking if needed, as well as reimbursement for any fees associated with changing your travel plans to get to the Thanksgiving table on time.  Be sure to read your policy carefully; most of the time, you’ll only be eligible to receive benefits for travel delay if the delay stretches out for a defined period of time (typically, it’s 5 hours or more, but it varies by plan and provider).  Still, in the crowded landscape of the Thanksgiving weekend, a five-hour delay is perfectly possible.

2. Cancellation.  If, for some reason, your delay stretches out to become no longer a delay, but a severe headache, you may be able to take advantage of the cancellation benefits offered by your travel insurance policy.  Again, the terms vary by plan, but in most cases, delays lasting more than 24 hours make you eligible to cancel your trip and file a claim to receive reimbursement for all your pre-paid, non-refundable expenses.  So if your flight is supposed to take off at noon on Wednesday, but you end up being told that you’re not getting out until 2 p.m. on Thursday, you may be able to cancel your flight and call an in-town friend who’d be happy to pull up another chair at the feast table instead.

3. Baggage Delay.  There are few things more frustrating, particularly on a short trip, than getting to your destination on time — without your luggage.  While many of us probably plan to simply streamline our belongings to what fits into a carry-on, the reality is that all too often, crowded flights require last-minute bag checks that you probably didn’t anticipate.  One of the benefits offered by a travel insurance Package Plan is for baggage delay, giving you the opportunity to replace necessary belongings that don’t accompany you as planned, then file a claim for reimbursement with your travel insurance company.

4. CFAR.  Cancel for Any Reason coverage, otherwise known as CFAR, is a benefit we tend to talk about in almost every situation due to its flexibility.  It’s definitely worth a look for Thanksgiving travelers, because any number of last-minute scenarios may overtake a weekend trip — even one that involves Grandma’s pumpkin pie.  If your pet becomes too ill to be left at home, or you suddenly become obligated to show up at work the day after the holiday, or if your travel plans were going to take you to Minneapolis just as a huge band of snow starts to work its way across the Midwest, CFAR can provide you with the ability to back out of your trip and recoup your pre-paid, non-refundable expenses.  Just be forewarned that in order to exercise your CFAR benefits, you would have to cancel your plans and notify all your travel suppliers at least 48 hours in advance of your scheduled departure.  There are also some specific eligibility requirements to purchase a CFAR policy, so make sure you read the terms of any plan carefully before buying.

These coverage options, along with the many other benefits offered by travel insurance, can help take some of the aggravation out of a busy and often chaotic Thanksgiving travel scene.  On behalf of InsureMyTrip, I wish every one of our travelers a safe and happy Thanksgiving weekend, no matter where you intend to spend it.

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.