Hurricane advice from Allianz
Hurricane season in the US officially begins on 1 June, and Allianz Global Assistance predicts that travellers heading to Florida, the Gulf Coast and the Caribbean may have concerns after the many devastating storms that occurred in 2017. Last year’s season saw Allianz customers file over 26,000 claims. Over 18,000 of these were filed for Irma, nearly 4,000 for Harvey, nearly 3,500 for Maria and 156 for Jose, and taken together, they contributed to an overall 58-per-cent increase in claims for the period September to December last year, compared with the equivalent period in 2016. Of the hurricane-related claims, 61 per cent were for cancellation, 16 per cent for interruptions and 13 per cent for delays.
Allianz is advising all travellers to take out comprehensive coverage for their trips, in order to ensure that they are protected against unforeseen difficulties. The correct policy could, for example, provide a holidaymaker with a full refund of all pre-paid non-refundable expenses for a trip if a hurricane disrupts proceedings.
Timing, warned Allianz Global Assistance USA’s Director of Communications Daniel Durazo, is very important under such circumstances. “Once a storm or hurricane is named, it’s too late to buy travel insurance to cover it,” he said. “For those who had the foresight to purchase travel insurance, our travel assistance department is available 24/7 to assist customers, and our TravelSmart App allows you to do everything from accessing local emergency phone numbers to filing a claim from your phone.”