More Travelers are Purchasing Travel Insurance This Hurricane Season

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., May 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Last year's hurricane season brought major storms to highly traveled destinations, resulting in a significant increase in claims. This year, researchers predict another above-average hurricane season and leading travel insurance comparison site, Squaremouth, reports an increase in people purchasing travel insurance for the upcoming hurricane season.

Traveler Concerns Grow

• Squaremouth saw ten times as many travel insurance claims during the 2017 hurricane season, compared to the 2016 hurricane season
• Customer sales data shows a 31% increase in people purchasing travel insurance for the 2018 hurricane season compared to the 2017 season
• This hurricane season, there is a 16% increase in travelers specifically searching for policies that include Hurricane & Weather coverage

Squaremouth industry experts explain what travelers can do to plan ahead this hurricane season. Additionally, to help travelers understand travel insurance coverage for specific storms, Squaremouth created the Hurricane Center.

Prepare Now
Travelers with vacations vulnerable to hurricanes should buy their policy early, don't wait until it's in the news.

Travel insurance only covers unexpected situations; once a storm is named, it is no longer unexpected and can't be covered on any policies purchased after that date. Some travelers may be unaware that storms are named when they are tropical depressions, potentially miles and weeks away from a traveler's destination.

Cancelling or Leaving Your Trip Early When There's a Storm
Most travel insurance policies can pay travelers back for their trip costs if a storm significantly impacts their ability to take the trip. Additionally, travelers whose homes are damaged by a storm can be covered to cancel their upcoming trip or return home early if they're already traveling.

Each policy has specific situations that trigger travel insurance coverage. Most policies require one of the following before coverage begins:

• The flight or cruise is delayed for at least 12-48 hours
• The traveler's hotel or home is severely damaged and rendered 'uninhabitable'
• A hurricane warning or mandatory evacuation is issued for the traveler's destination or the city they're scheduled to fly out of

Cancel For Any Reason
The fear of traveling is never covered by travel insurance. If travelers are worried that a storm may affect their destination but they don't want to wait for the benefits to be triggered, the only option is Cancel For Any Reason coverage. This type of policy can be more expensive but it can pay travelers back a portion of their trip costs without having to provide any reason for cancelling. This upgraded coverage must be purchased within 14-30 days of the initial trip booking and 100% of the trip costs must be insured.

ABOUT SQUAREMOUTH
Squaremouth compares travel insurance policies from every major travel insurance provider in the United States. Using Squaremouth's comparison engine and third-party customer reviews, travelers can research and compare travel insurance policies side-by-side. More information can be found at www.squaremouth.com

Available Topic Expert:
Carolyn Leckie
[email protected] 
727-260-5012

SOURCE Squaremouth

Related Links

http://www.squaremouth.com