AAA: When summer weather threatens your vacation, is it too late for travel insurance? | News, Sports, Jobs
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DEARBORN — Only a handful of weeks stay within the summer travel season, but tens of millions of Americans nonetheless have holidays deliberate earlier than Labor Day. However, these journeys could coincide with a few of the season’s greatest travel threats, together with hurricanes, wildfires, flooding, and extreme weather. This prompted AAA to elucidate the significance of travel insurance coverage and the way timing can have an effect on protection availability.
According to a current AAA survey, 59% of Michiganders plan to travel between Memorial Day and Labor Day. Yet solely 18% mentioned they plan to buy travel insurance coverage.
“Many travelers don’t think about travel insurance until they see a storm in the forecast or hear about disruptions affecting their destination,” mentioned Adrienne Woodland, spokesperson for AAA – The Auto Club Group. “The good news is that you can often purchase travel insurance up to the day of your departure. However, some options may not be available to those who wait until the last minute.”
How Travel Insurance Can Help
Travel insurance coverage can assist cowl eligible bills if a visit is canceled, interrupted, or delayed on account of a lined cause. Depending on the coverage, protection may additionally assist with losses associated to:
– Prepaid, non-refundable journey prices misplaced due to a lined disruption
– Delayed or misplaced baggage
– Medical emergencies whereas touring
– Unexpected resort stays, meals, and transportation throughout lined travel delays
How Weather Can Disrupt Travel
Severe weather can disrupt travel plans in some ways. Hurricanes, wildfires, flooding, and extreme storms can:
– Cancel or delay flights
– Close cruise ports and alter itineraries
– Shut down roadways and transportation routes
– Force resort or resort closures
– Cause missed connections and in a single day stays
– Create sudden travel bills
Even when extreme weather happens tons of of miles away, the consequences can ripple throughout the transportation community and affect vacationers removed from the present occasion.
Real-World Example
Air travel is typically one of many first components of a visit affected by extreme weather.
Imagine a traveler flying to a cruise departure metropolis when extreme weather cancels their flight. The airline could rebook the passenger on a later flight or supply a refund for the canceled flight. However, weather-related disruptions are typically thought of outdoors the airline’s management, which can restrict further help.
That traveler may nonetheless be accountable for:
– An sudden in a single day resort keep
– Meals in the course of the delay
– Local transportation
– The value of catching up with the cruise at a later port
– Certain pay as you go, non-refundable journey bills that can not be recovered elsewhere
Depending on the coverage, travel insurance coverage could assist reimburse eligible bills related to lined delays and will assist shield sure pay as you go journey prices which may in any other case be misplaced.
Timing Matters with Travel Insurance
Many vacationers assume it’s too late to purchase travel insurance coverage as soon as their journey is solely days or even weeks away. In many circumstances, protection can nonetheless be bought earlier than departure.
However, ready could restrict obtainable choices. Travelers who buy protection on the final minute should still have safety for travel delays, baggage points, or medical emergencies, however fewer choices for defending pay as you go journey prices.
Travelers additionally should not assume they will wait till a hurricane, wildfire, or different disruption is already creating and obtain the identical protection choices which will have been obtainable earlier.
“If you still have travel plans on the calendar this summer, now is the time to review your options,” Woodland mentioned. “The closer you get to departure, the fewer choices you may have. Taking a few minutes to understand your coverage today could save a lot of stress and expense later.”
For extra data on travel insurance coverage, go to AAA.com/TravelInsurance.
