09/10/2017
How Well Does Your Travel Insurance Cover Hurricanes?
By James Shillinglaw, Sep 08, 2017,
First it was Hurricane Harvey, the Category 4 storm that battered and flooded Texas, disrupting cruises out of Galveston and the holiday plans of thousands. Now it’s the massive, Category 5 Hurricane Irma, which has hit many of the major Caribbean resort islands, including Antigua, Barbuda, St. Martin, St. Barthelemy, Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and other islands, and is now heading up the coast of Florida to Miami and possibly Orlando.
What are vacationers supposed to do when confronted by such storms? Well, the immediate answer is they better have good travel insurance that covers canceled, delayed or disrupted travel and they need to understand just what kind of coverage they have purchased. We asked Chris Carnicelli (pictured above), CEO of travel insurance provider Generali Global Assistance, about travel insurance covers and does not cover in the event of a major hurricane.
What does a travel insurance policy cover today in terms of interrupted or canceled travel due to hurricanes or major weather events? We have a few different policy levels, but all of them include trip cancellation for covered events, like a hurricane, which reimburses 100 percent of the insured trip cost. The trip interruption reimbursement differs between plans, but it covers unused, non-refundable and pre-paid trip costs for a covered event. Trip interruption also provides reimbursement for additional transportation costs incurred to travel home or to rejoin a group.
Would travel insurance purchased now cover near-term storms like Irma or is too late to purchase such coverage? No, which is why it is very important for consumers to read and know what they are buying. Once Irma became a “foreseeable event” on Aug. 30, the cutoff to buy travel insurance was initiated. People who bought insurance after that date thinking it would cover them for Irma should take advantage of the free look period offered by most insurers, whereby they can cancel their policy for free.
Do you have to buy an additional trip cancellation plan or is that included in most of the plans available in the market? All of our plans have trip cancellation included, provided you are canceling for a covered event. I encourage everyone to read the policies closely to know what constitutes a covered event to determine what would, and would not, be covered under the policy. Additionally, as an add on to our Premium level plan, “cancel for any reason” can be purchased. This option allows for up to 75 percent of the insured trip cost to be refunded when canceling for reasons outside of a covered event.
What does a travel insurance company require in terms of evidence of a trip cancellation or interruption due to a major storm? For example, if flights are canceled in advance or a resort says it will be closed? We require a proof of payment for your prepaid trip and for any additional expenses claimed (e.g. receipts, credit card statements, etc.). We also require documentation from the carrier or supplier that shows the date as well as reason and length of the cancellation or delay.
When is the best time is to initiate cancellation of your trip and what are the basic steps or tips travelers should take when dealing with weather-related events? The simple answer is as soon as you know that it is a covered loss. Typically, your flight needs to be canceled to file a claim, which in relation to Irma is already occurring. For a full trip (flight, hotel, etc.), generally a certain portion, for example, 50 percent, needs to have been missed to initiate a trip cancellation claim. The good news is, in the case of Irma, as long as your travel insurance was purchased prior to Aug. 30 when Irma became a “foreseeable event,” it would be considered a covered event for trip cancellation. You do have up to one year to file a claim, but I recommend submitting it as soon as possible by going to our “how to start a claim” page on our website.
What will be covered and what won’t be covered by most policies in the market today? For example, will additional days at a resort or on a cruise be covered if a storm causes this? Will additional travel expenses be covered if a ship needs to dock at another port due to the home port being closed by a storm? Will additional hotel nights at other hotels be covered if a customer needs to move or is stuck in transit? Weather-related issues, such as Irma, are typically covered events and would, therefore, fall under most policies so long as you purchased one with trip cancellation, interruption or delay. You can compare our policies on our website to get a better understanding of the type of policy you should purchase based on the cancellation, interruption or delay coverage you may want. Based on the level of plan you have, it will pay for reasonable out-of-pocket expenses, including accommodations, meals, and local transportation. Specifically, for cruises—they may be rerouted with ports being substituted for ones that are not affected. There is no coverage for this, but sometimes the cruise line offers an onboard credit. However, if the cruise does dock at a different port, the additional transportation expenses to return home could be covered under Trip Interruption. Additional accommodation expenses like hotels, meals and ground transport could be covered under Travel Delay, and if you miss part of the trip or have to leave early due to the weather, Trip Interruption coverage could also apply.
For policies that do provide such coverage, how quickly will customers be reimbursed for canceled or interrupted travel due to hurricanes or other weather related incidents? There is no exact set timing as each claim is different and could be more or less nuanced—basically, the more straightforward a claim, the faster it will be resolved. Of course, it is important to note that we are experiencing larger than normal call and claims volumes with Irma closing in on landfall. That said, once a claim is submitted, you will receive confirmation of that submission and a dedicated claims specialist will be assigned to your case from start to finish. They will be in touch if they need further information and you can always contact us for updates on your claims process.
What should customers look for in a travel insurance policy so they are covered in the event a hurricane or other weather-related incident leads to the interruption of cancellation of their trip? How can they make sure they are covered? The number one thing I tell anyone purchasing travel insurance is to know what you are buying and read your policy. In fact, we offer a “free look” period of at least 10 days on all our policies. We want our customers to be as educated as possible on what they are buying, so we try to provide as much information about our policies as possible. You can view our plans side by side to determine what each has in terms of coverage for trip cancellation, interruption, and delay. We also encourage people to ask us questions about our policies either before or after purchase. I’m a big proponent of making the industry as transparent as possible, we want customers to be satisfied with the purchases they make and that starts with a better understanding of what they are buying.
