Travel Insurance for the 2019 Hurricane Season

As you plan your fall travel in 2019, it’s important to consider any severe weather that may impact your vacation plans. This year’s hurricane season runs from June 1st to November 30th, although peak hurricane season activity typically occurs between August 20th and October 20th.

Here’s what you need to know about the 2019 hurricane season:

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts a 45% chance of above-normal hurricane activity for the 2019 season. While this is a slightly lower percentage than previous years, they are still predicting 10-17 named storms, with 5-9 becoming hurricanes. ¹

According to the NOAA, in an effort to improve their predicting accuracy, this will be the first hurricane season that they will use three new, next-generation satellites to monitor weather patterns. This is the first major upgrade in over 40 years that will improve tropical storm and hurricane forecasting.¹

Named Storms

Should I Buy Travel Insurance?

Now that you’ve seen the statistics, here are a few questions to ask yourself when determining if you should buy travel insurance to protect you during hurricane season:

• Do you have a trip or cruise booked during the fall?
• Do you live in an area that has experienced a hurricane?
• Are you traveling to coastal areas of the US, the Caribbean, China, or the Philippines?
• Are you changing planes in a city along the coast?

If the answer is “yes” to any of these questions, then consider purchasing a policy.

Benefits of Travel Insurance

For extensive trip-related benefits, consider an iTravelInsured plan. A few highlights of the iTravelInsured plans include, but are not limited to, the following:**

• If you must interrupt your trip for a covered reason, certain prepaid and nonrefundable expenses for your trip and your early flight home may be reimbursed.
• If you experience a travel delay due to severe weather, you may receive reimbursement for your accommodations, local transportation, and meals.
• If you or your travel companion’s residence is rendered uninhabitable due to a natural disaster or in the event of a government mandated shutdown of the airport, you may be reimbursed under the trip cancellation or trip interruption coverages.
• Missed connection benefits offer reimbursement if you miss your cruise or departure because your arrival is delayed due to weather conditions. This benefit is only available on iTravelSE and iTravelLX.
• Trip cancellation benefits offer reimbursement if, within 24 hours of your scheduled trip, your destination is under a hurricane warning issued by the NOAA (cancellation must occur more than 14 days following your plan’s effective date).

Benefits of Travel Medical Insurance

While travel medical insurance plans primarily cover your health and physical well-being while outside of your country of residence, a few helpful benefits may include, but are not limited to, the following:*

• Reimbursement costs associated with an evacuation if you must evacuate a specific location as a result of a forecasted Natural Disaster.
• Reimbursement under trip cancellation provisions if you cannot continue your trip due to damage at your residence caused by a natural disaster.

Get a quote now or you can contact the Sales Service Center with any additional questions at +1 (317) 655-4500.