Hurricane advice issued
As the US coastlines are battered by an already active hurricane season, US-based travel insurers are poised and ready and deal with the aftermath. Jim Grace, president and chief executive officer of InsureMyTrip, told consumers: “Now is a good time to get re-acquainted with your travel insurance policy. Our customer care team can help you review the terms of your policy and the key protection it provides, whether you’re travelling to or through a hurricane-prone region or live in a zone where weather can keep you from taking a trip.” Grace went on to explain how travel insurance can be useful to tourists caught out by severe weather: “Trip cancellation and interruption protection is based on the occurrence of unforeseen events. Once a storm has been publicly identified, it can only spell trouble for travellers without insurance protection. You need to purchase travel insurance coverage before a storm is predicted and named, not when it’s beating down on you or your intended destination.” At the end of August, Travel Guard North America said it would offer emergency travel and medical assistance services free to all US and Canadian travellers and their families affected by Hurricane Irene, the first named hurricane to the hit the country this year. Such assistance took the form of flight rebooking, hotel booking and emergency cash co-ordination. As the hurricane approached, Travel Guard experienced a 30-per-cent rise in call volume as it helped travellers, many of whom were in or around the Caribbean. For consumers, understanding how travel insurance responds to hurricane can be a daunting task, thanks to the different cover available on the market. John Cook, president of online comparison site QuoteWright said: “We receive a large number of calls from clients during the hurricane season asking about coverage for trip cancellation coverage if their plans are changed by a hurricane.” For insurers, then, the task is to be as clear as possible about how and when travel insurance can be used in the event of a hurricane.
As the US coastlines are battered by an already active hurricane season, US-based travel insurers are poised and ready and deal with the aftermath.
Jim Grace, president and chief executive officer of InsureMyTrip, told consumers: “Now is a good time to get re-acquainted with your travel insurance policy. Our customer care team can help you review the terms of your policy and the key protection it provides, whether you’re travelling to or through a hurricane-prone region or live in a zone where weather can keep you from taking a trip.”
Grace went on to explain how travel insurance can be useful to tourists caught out by severe weather: “Trip cancellation and interruption protection is based on the occurrence of unforeseen events. Once a storm has been publicly identified, it can only spell trouble for travellers without insurance protection. You need to purchase travel insurance coverage before a storm is predicted and named, not when it’s beating down on you or your intended destination.”
At the end of August, Travel Guard North America said it would offer emergency travel and medical assistance services free to all US and Canadian travellers and their families affected by Hurricane Irene, the first named hurricane to the hit the country this year. Such assistance took the form of flight rebooking, hotel booking and emergency cash co-ordination. As the hurricane approached, Travel Guard experienced a 30-per-cent rise in call volume as it helped travellers, many of whom were in or around the Caribbean.
For consumers, understanding how travel insurance responds to hurricane can be a daunting task, thanks to the different cover available on the market.
John Cook, president of online comparison site QuoteWright said: “We receive a large number of calls from clients during the hurricane season asking about coverage for trip cancellation coverage if their plans are changed by a hurricane.”
For insurers, then, the task is to be as clear as possible about how and when travel insurance can be used in the event of a hurricane.