Protecting your trip with travel insurance
Not everyone's travel plans go smoothly, especially when it's disrupted by severe weather. AccuWeather's Emmy Victor breaks down the benefits of shopping for travel insurance to protect your plans.
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00:00Emmy Victor, she's got answers. She joins us live from Chicago's Midway Airport
00:04for some things to consider beforehand. Good morning, Emmy.
00:10Ari, good morning to you. Many of us are very familiar with being stranded
00:14at airports. You're probably aware that weather is the biggest reason why
00:18flights are delayed or canceled in the U.S. every year. And when you're in this situation,
00:23you're often wondering, well, how do I get out of this? How do I not lose money? Well,
00:28that is where travel insurance comes in. More and more, we're noticing that insurers are providing
00:34severe weather as part of these policies. And they're saying that they cover up to 100 percent
00:40of the trip's cost if severe weather disrupts your plans. Still, not every insurer is going
00:45to do that. So you're really going to have to shop around. So as you shop, it's important to
00:49see what kind of weather is covered. This is important because you may be traveling during
00:54hurricane season, but only tornadoes and hailstorms are actually covered in that policy.
00:59Another tip for you here, purchase insurance before severe weather strikes.
01:05In the case of a named storm, for example, if you know that, you know, in the eastern Atlantic,
01:11a storm has formed and it is now moved from tropical depression, tropical storm to hurricane,
01:18and it was named along the way, then that is a foreseen event, right? And once,
01:24typically, once it's a foreseen event, then coverage can't be purchased.
01:31So when it comes to making a decision here, Gallagher says to look at the financial risks
01:36of your trip. So a quick trip to Florida being disrupted may not hurt your wallet as much
01:41as a big trip to Europe. Travel insurance typically covers anything non-refundable,
01:46like flights, hotels, activities, a lot more. It can also help cover some of those costs if
01:52your luggage gets lost. So ultimately the decision is really going to come down to you
01:57because it is something that you will have to pay for. But if you do get travel insurance,
02:02make sure to save all of your receipts throughout the trip. That's important because
02:06if you need to file a claim, they're going to ask for it.