If you’re planning a vacation during hurricane season (typically June through November), you are wise to consider the risks and how to protect your travel investment. When conditions become favorable for a severe storm – especially in locations around the Caribbean and Atlantic waters – the worry that your trip could be ruined is valid.
While you certainly can travel safely during hurricane season, we advise you to do your homework and be prepared for the unexpected. To help, here are our answers to some of the most common questions about hurricanes and travel insurance.
What does travel insurance cover for hurricanes?
Travel insurance can provide coverage for trip cancellation, trip interruption and trip delay in the event of a hurricane or other named storm.
When choosing a travel insurance plan with hurricanes in mind, it’s important to consider the covered reasons for trip cancellation, interruption and delay to make sure you have the coverage you need.
What’s the best travel insurance for hurricanes?
The best Travelex travel insurance plan for hurricanes is Travel Select.
With the Travel Select plan you can receive up to 100% of insured trip cost for trip cancellation and up to 150% for trip interruption in the event of a hurricane. This means if your insured trip cost was $5,000, you could receive up to $5,000 for trip cancellation and $7,500 for trip interruption for unused trip costs or newly incurred transportation expenses.
Travel Select also has trip delay benefit that can provide coverage in the event of a hurricane. If a hurricane causes you to be delayed for five consecutive hours and prevents you from reaching your destination you can receive up to $2,000 ($250/day) to cover additional expenses caused by your delay.
With Travel Select, the covered reasons for trip cancellation, interruption and delay due to a hurricane include:
- you or a traveling companion’s primary residence becoming uninhabitable or inaccessible
- your destination is made uninhabitable or inaccessible
- you or your traveling companion’s company is deemed to be unstable for business and you or your traveling companion are directly involved on the disaster recovery team
When should I buy travel insurance for a hurricane?
The best time to buy travel insurance to receive protection from hurricanes is as soon as you make your first trip payment. This will help ensure you are protected from unforeseeable events such as hurricanes that have yet to occur. Once a hurricane is a named storm, it becomes a foreseeable event. This means you can no longer purchase travel insurance and receive coverage for that storm.
What is not covered?
A common reason a hurricane (or other storm) would not be covered by travel insurance is the timing. You must purchase your travel insurance plan prior to the hurricane becoming a named storm.
Additional reasons for a hurricane not being covered will vary depending on the specific travel insurance plan. When deciding between plans, it’s important to consider the covered reasons for trip cancellation, interruption and delay for each plan to make sure you’re receiving the coverage you need.
If you’re planning a vacation during hurricane season, weather can be unpredictable. It helps to know what to expect when traveling to hurricane-prone places like the Caribbean. Purchasing travel insurance early can help alleviate risk and provide peace of mind. If you decide to travel during hurricane season, be sure to review our hurricane safety tips before you go. We’re here to help you every step of the way. Get a quote today.
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The product descriptions provided here are only brief summaries and may be changed without notice. The full coverage terms and details, including limitations and exclusions, are contained in the insurance policy. Travel Insurance is underwritten by Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance Company; NAIC #22276