Last year, plenty of vacation plans were roiled by hurricanes and wildfires. If you’re traveling to an area that could be hit by Mother Nature’s wrath, consider adding travel insurance to your pretrip checklist.
You can usually skip a travel insurance policy for an inexpensive domestic trip. If something goes awry, the financial hit will likely be minimal. But for longer and more-expensive trips, which may be locked down with nonrefundable deposits that are difficult to recoup, insuring your vacation is usually worthwhile.
A comprehensive policy will typically run 5% to 10% of your total trip cost, according to Squaremouth.com, a travel insurance search site. You can get policies that reimburse you for the costs of canceling or cutting short your trip if the weather turns dangerous. Or you may be able to get covered if you need to cancel or interrupt your trip because your own home is destroyed.
From just $107.88 $24.99 for Kiplinger Personal Finance
Become a smarter, better informed investor. Subscribe from just $107.88 $24.99, plus get up to 4 Special Issues
Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.
Buy early. If you’re inspired to get travel insurance because news footage shows your destination being battered by storms, you’re probably too late. Travel insurance providers stop providing related coverage to new customers once a hurricane is named or a wildfire or other disaster becomes publicly known.
If you already have coverage and a natural disaster strikes, you can file a claim only if you are prevented from taking or continuing your trip. For example, your outbound flight is delayed a set number of hours (most plans range between six and 48 hours), your booked accommodation is uninhabitable, or your destination has been placed under a mandatory evacuation. Some policies allow you to cancel if a hurricane warning is issued for your destination by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) within one or two days of your departure.
If your airline, hotel or excursion offers free changes or a credit rather than a refund, you must turn it down in order to claim reimbursement from your insurance provider.
What about adding a “cancel for any reason” rider? That will increase your premium by about 40%, and you must buy it shortly after you make your initial trip deposit; expect to recover only 50% to 75% of your costs, and there will be other restrictions.
How to find a good policy. Start your search at www.insuremytrip.com or www.squaremouth.com to compare third-party policies. List your prepaid, nonrefundable costs, sort the results from least to most expensive, then start at the bottom and work your way up to find the most economical plan with coverage limits you like (we recommend a minimum of $50,000 for medical coverage and $100,000 for medevac). Other commonly covered reasons for canceling or interrupting your trip include serious illness (either you, your traveling partner or a family member), a death in the family or terrorism in your destination city.
Third-party policies are almost always a better deal than trip insurance offered through an airline, which tends to have lower payouts for medical costs and more-restrictive rules for weather-related cancellations. Your credit card may include cancellation and delay insurance as a free perk, but don’t assume you’ll get as much money back if you have to cancel your trip as you would with a third-party policy.
For example, the Chase Sapphire Preferred credit card can cover canceled flights and other prepaid expenses such as hotels in the event of severe weather, but instead of medical care you’d get payouts only for accidental death and dismemberment; the Chase Sapphire Reserve includes emergency medical for up to $2,500 and emergency evacuation as well.
-
3 Ways to Stretch the 2026 Social Security COLA For Your BudgetThree steps retirees can take to stretch the Social Security COLA to fit their budgets.
-
How to Keep Your Charitable Giving Momentum Going All YearInstead of treating charity like a year-end rush for tax breaks, consider using smart tools like DAFs and recurring grants for maximum impact all the year.
-
Uber Takes Aim at the Bottom Lines of Billboard LawyersUber has filed lawsuits and proposed a ballot initiative, in California, to curb settlements it claims are falsely inflated by some personal injury lawyers.
-
Why It's Worth Booking a Winter VacationTravel Smart In the early months of the year, travel demand dips — and so do prices.
-
5 Ways to Save on a Trip to the 2026 Olympics in ItalyA guide to going to the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics without breaking the bank.
-
The Best (and Worst) Airlines for Flight Delays and CancellationsWhich airlines should you book and which should you avoid if you want to make it to your destination on time?
-
Four Luxury Spa Resorts for Well-Heeled TravelersWe hand-picked these U.S. luxury spa resorts for their serenity, amenities and dedication to the comfort of older travelers.
-
Child-Free Cruises Perfect For Your Retirement CelebrationHow to find a bespoke ocean or river vacation for adults. Many of these options are smaller, charming river cruises, expeditions, or niche experiences.
-
Noctourism: The New Travel Trend For Your Next Trip"Noctourism" is a new trend of building travel and vacations around events and plans that take place at night. Take a look at some inspiring noctourism ideas.
-
My Husband and I Retired at 67 With $3.2 Million, But He's Frugal About Travel. How Can I Convince Him to Loosen Up?We asked financial planning experts for advice.
-
Cruise Lines Sue to Block Hawaii’s New Climate Tourism TaxState Tax Your vacation to the Aloha State could come at a higher price tag next year. Here’s why.
