Weather and Travel Insurance

Image source (hurricane): National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

Whether it's hurricane season or winter, it's always a good time to check your vacation plans and your travel insurance policies. Each travel insurance company has different coverage details. For example, some travel insurance companies offer coverage that only goes into effect once a tropical storm is named, regardless of storm damage. RoamRight, on the other hand, offers coverage based on local and national response to the weather event. It’s best to contact the policy provider directly if you have questions.

To begin with, you’ll need to have purchased your travel insurance policy before any weather event occurs. Buying travel insurance for your trip to the Caribbean when a hurricane warning has already been issued for the area is akin to buying homeowners insurance when your house just caught on fire. You can buy the insurance, but any claims you submit related to that situation will most likely be denied.

RoamRight’s Weather Coverage

RoamRight’s policies* cover weather-related natural disasters – named and unnamed – from hurricanes to blizzards to earthquakes.

RoamRight’s trip cancellation and trip interruption coverage will go into effect when:

• Weather causes a complete cessation of services of Your Common Carrier for at least 24 consecutive hours.
• A Natural Disaster at the site of Your destination renders accommodations uninhabitable.
• Local authorities in your destination order a mandatory evacuation due to a hurricane or other Natural Disaster. You must have 50% of Your total Trip length or less remaining on the Trip, at the time the mandatory evacuation ends, in order to cancel the Trip.
• Your arrival on your trip is delayed and you lose 50% or more of the scheduled trip duration due to a reason covered under the trip delay benefit, such as a delay of your Common Carrier due to weather.

If you are a RoamRight traveler and are unsure whether or not your trip is covered by your insurance policy, please call us at 800-699-3845 or email customerservice@roamright.com.

Has travel insurance saved one of your trips from a weather event? Share your story in the comments below.

*Updated on May 8, 2014. Policy coverage may change; please contact us if you have any questions about your current policy.

Note: Available plans and coverages may have changed since this blog was published.