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.