Taking the Kids: Traveling through hurricane season

Travel insurance is a must if you are traveling during hurricane season. Besides, during a storm, there are bound to be ripple effect travel delays felt across the country for days afterward. You may not be able to get to your Caribbean destination for several days, especially if you were connecting through Florida. You could miss your cruise ship.

According to Allianz Global Assistance, travel insurance can reimburse you for pre-paid costs plus the extra costs of flight changes (up to the maximum amounts in your policy). If you are delayed getting home, travel insurance can reimburse you for the cost of lodging, meals and other essentials. And should you be injured in a storm, travel insurance can provide emergency medical and dental benefits, as well as emergency medical transportation.

But you must buy your travel insurance early. “Once a hurricane or tropical storm becomes known, it is considered a “foreseeable event.” This means travel insurance won’t cover losses related to that storm,” explained Meghan Kayata, a spokesman for InsuremyTrip.com, a website that enables you to compare different policies.

Be forewarned that while travel insurance can reimburse you if your flights are canceled and you can’t get to your cruise ship, it likely won’t cover you if the cruise line must change the itinerary as a result of a hurricane. Consider the plus: A destination you hadn’t expected to visit. (Big ships have proven to be adept at sailing to avoid hurricanes, but may be delayed returning.)

Travel insurance can save the day, if your flights are canceled and you can’t book new ones that will give you enough time to enjoy your vacation before it’s over. But make sure to read the fine print. For example, according to Allianz, in order to make a trip cancellation claim, you must have lost more than 50 percent of your scheduled trip due to a covered travel delay — and you must have made a good-faith effort to continue your travels.

Make sure to keep all of your receipts and document everything that has happened, Kayata added. Travel insurance can help with things you didn’t even consider – your resort is in the path of a hurricane or has been badly damaged, for example.

Even if you pride yourself on being a plan-it-myself traveler, there is a big plus to working with a travel adviser, especially during hurricane season when there is a reasonable chance weather will get in the way of your fun. Rather than the frustration of not being able to connect with anyone at the airline, the hotel, tour company or cruise line, a travel adviser can sweat the details for you.

Good luck and keep smiling!

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(For more Taking the Kids, visit www.takingthekids.com and also follow TakingTheKids on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram where Eileen Ogintz welcomes your questions and comments. The Kid’s Guide to Philadelphia and The Kid’s Guide to Camping are the latest in a series of 14 books for kid travelers published by Eileen.)