Whether you’re in your 20s raring to go on your first backpacking trip, a family man who wants to take out your kids on a great holiday, or a senior citizen who wants to make the most out of life, traveling will always be a wonderful, memorable experience.
When you make travel plans, you usually include all airline and hotel bookings, what you will bring, and your itinerary. While there are still people who don’t include getting travel insurance as part of their travel plans, more and more travelers are increasingly aware of its importance. Travelers are becoming more aware of the need to secure their travel against contingencies, whether medically-related or not.
While no one wants to think of the bad things that might happen on a trip, it is important to always be ready. Comprehensive travel insurance provides coverage for medical emergencies, expatriation, and lost luggage. However, one of the most common travel insurance claims is the trip cancelation cover. Travel cancellation insurance is standard coverage in most policies. This coverage provides peace of mind, especially if you have booked a trip well in advance.
Here is an important question: will your insurance cover a canceled trip due to a weather condition?
The short answer is yes. Travel cancellation insurance will cover expenses that you can’t recover from an airline or hotel booking due to inclement weather. Better policies will pay if any type of weather problem causes your trip to be canceled or delayed. Weather-related disasters include losses caused by volcanoes, floods, earthquakes, tornadoes, and hurricanes.
You need to carefully read your policy, though. Some policies will only pay if the delay has already lasted at least 24 hours. The insurance company will reimburse expenses as long as the disruptive weather event is unforeseen by the time that the insurance is purchased. As a general rule, insurance must be purchased 24 hours before the hurricane or typhoon is named.
Other policies also include this provision: if the resort or hotel that you will be staying in is damaged in a storm before your departure, your non-refundable costs will be reimbursed. The same goes for a delayed trip because the airport is closed due to a weather event.
For weather-related incidents, the insurance will also recover your pre-paid trip expenses in the following conditions:
- The holiday is interrupted due to mandatory evacuations.
- The trip is canceled because the roads are washed out.
- Medical treatment is needed for an injury that resulted from severe weather.
- You need to wait out the weather in a hotel until the airline can reschedule flights.
- You miss a travel connection and you need to catch up to your cruise.
Travel cancellation insurance provides financial protection for travel and accommodation expenses that you have already paid for if your trip has to be canceled. One of the valid reasons for providing this type of coverage is in the event of unforeseen severe weather.
