HELP! Trip insurance when a disaster is aiming at your home?

[Virga]

Eeep! I have an annual trip insurance policy that has always served me well. Unfortunately, it looks as though my trip interruption coverage doesn't do me a darn bit of good if the natural disaster (hurricane, in my case) is taking aim for my home. We have two cats at home, they aren't going through even a tiny storm without us!

 

Are there any insurance policies that allow for this if Emily decides to come to Florida? We'd have to come home only two days into the trip. We only booked the plane fares a couple days ago, if that matters at all. Thanks for your (desperately needed) help! We leave tomorrow =(

[klfrodo]

"Emily" is now officially a "named" storm, therefore, no longer considered as an unforeseen event,, so, hunker down and stay safe.

[Virga]

"Emily" is now officially a "named" storm, therefore, no longer considered as an unforeseen event,, so, hunker down and stay safe.

 

Well, I bought my insurance policy of December of last year, when she was an unforeseen event, and we left on our trip just before she was named. Regardless, our travel insurance isn't going to help us at all - we're just footing the bill to get home. Thanks to the US Airways change fees, we have $22 of credit from our original flight home, applied towards more than $500 in these new flights.

 

I will ask again, though, cuz I don't think I made it clear what I was asking: I live in Florida's east coast with the occasional hurricane blowing through. We travel a LOT. Is there any sort of trip insurance that will cover trip cancellation or interruption if we have to leave our trip because of an immanent natural disaster at our HOME, instead of our destination? I suppose it's a rare occurrence, but it's probably more likely than a natural disaster effecting our vacation directly. I'd like to make sure we don't foot the bill in the future.

[cruiseco]

Is there any sort of trip insurance that will cover trip cancellation or interruption if we have to leave our trip because of an immanent natural disaster at our HOME, instead of our destination? I suppose it's a rare occurrence, but it's probably more likely than a natural disaster effecting our vacation directly. I'd like to make sure we don't foot the bill in the future.

 

Yes, lots of them do under some circumstances. But rarely is it included in an annual policy. And rarely is an "immanent" natural disaster covered.

 

Here's from the covered reasons for trip cancellation and trip interruption from TravelSafe:

 

"b) Your or Your Traveling Companion's principal place of residence or destination being rendered uninhabitable by fire, flood, burglary or other natural disaster within 10 days of departure; "

 

And Travelex:

 

"(b) You or a Traveling Companion being hijacked, quarantined, required to serve on a jury, subpoenaed, the victim of felonious assault within ten (10) days of departure; or having his/her principal place of residence made uninhabitable by fire, flood or other natural disaster; or burglary of his/her principal place of residence within ten (10) days of departure. "

 

And CSA:

 

"c) your Home made Uninhabitable by fire, flood, volcano, earthquake, hurricane or other natural disaster;"

 

And Travel Guard:

 

"(d) the Insured’s principal residence or Destination being made Uninhabitable by fire,

flood, or similar Natural Disaster, vandalism, or burglary;"

 

But be sure you understand the insurer's definition of "uninhabitable". You may or may not find it in the plan wording so you may have to call or email them. What you want to know is does an evacuation advisory/warning/order from your local authorities mean your house is "uninhabitable" or does actual physical damage to the house have to occur?

 

Travel Guard does define it:

 

“Uninhabitable” means (1) the building structure itself is

unstable and there is a risk of collapse in whole or in part;

(2) there is exterior or structural damage allowing

elemental intrusion, such as rain, wind, hail, or flood; (3)

immediate safety hazards have yet to be cleared, such as

debris on roofs or downed electrical lines; or (4) the rental

is without electricity or water. An Insured's Destination is

inaccessible if he or she cannot reach the property by the

original mode of transportation."

 

So can you cancel or interrupt your cruise with this plan if you're under a hurricane warning? No. Actual damage has to occur. So if your house has the roof blown off while you're on your cruise you would be able to interrupt your trip and return home. But cancelling the cruise beforehand (pre damage) to stay home and board things up would not be covered. Nor would interrupting your cruise to return home unless the house had actually been damaged.

[klfrodo]

Well, I bought my insurance policy of December of last year, when she was an unforeseen event, and we left on our trip just before she was named. Regardless, our travel insurance isn't going to help us at all - we're just footing the bill to get home. Thanks to the US Airways change fees, we have $22 of credit from our original flight home, applied towards more than $500 in these new flights.

 

I will ask again, though, cuz I don't think I made it clear what I was asking: I live in Florida's east coast with the occasional hurricane blowing through. We travel a LOT. Is there any sort of trip insurance that will cover trip cancellation or interruption if we have to leave our trip because of an immanent natural disaster at our HOME, instead of our destination? I suppose it's a rare occurrence, but it's probably more likely than a natural disaster effecting our vacation directly. I'd like to make sure we don't foot the bill in the future.

 

My apologies.

You are correct in that I did not clearly understand the question and the full circumstances around your question.

[sirwired]

Sounds like you need to be buying policies with Cancel for Any Reason riders for future trips, because none of the normal insurance policies are going to cover you staying home for a storm that doesn't cause major damage to your house.

 

The plans offered by the cruise lines may actually be the best choice here, they pay out more than 3rd-party Any Reason riders, and are generally cheaper. They generally don't cover airfare or hotel though, but that may not be an issue for you.

 

But for this storm, yes, you are out of luck.