Travelers Can Raise the Effectiveness of their Travel Insurance For Snowstorm Disruptions by Knowing When to Buy Coverage

East Hartford, CT (PRWEB) February 22, 2010

The recent snowstorms that have pounded the mid-Atlantic states, while disrupting travel with more than 5,000 canceled flights across the Midwest and from Southeast to Northeast, have raised travelers concerns. What is the best way to protect prepaid winter trips from cancellations and major delays unleashed by the ongoing arrival of winter weather events? When is the best time to buy travel insurance to make sure the next winter storm does not wipe out prepaid travel money along with an overturned itinerary?

Travel Insured International, a leading third-party insurer, urges travelers to remember the phrase “unforeseen risk” as the key to answering the question of when travel insurance must be purchased to provide effective coverage against storms. As with a hurricane against which travel insurance must be purchased to obtain Trip Cancellation, Trip Delay and other coverage before the storm has been identified by the U.S. Weather Service, travelers need to purchase their travel insurance before a snowstorm is identified on the weather map for their trip to be protected against disruptions resulting from that approaching storm. Once identified by the weather service, the storm no longer qualifies as the “unforeseen risk” required for coverage.

Even before the identified storm reaches your departure or destination city, it is too late to buy the plan to cover that storm.

•     Travel Insured identifies insurance coverage as taking effect “if you are prevented from taking or continuing your trip due to (specified) unforeseen events.”
•     “Unforeseen” means “not anticipated or expected and occurring after the effective date of the plan.”
•     Trip Cancellation coverage normally takes effect at 12:01 a.m. on the day after the insurance plan payment is received by the insurance company.
•     Other (non-cancellation) coverage normally takes effect at 12:01 a.m. on the day of the insured traveler’s scheduled trip departure.

All of Travel Insured International’s plans in the Worldwide Trip Protector line, as well as its Airline Ticket Protector plan, provide Trip Cancellation coverage when weather causes complete cessation of the insured traveler’s common carrier service for 24 or more consecutive hours.

All of the same Travel Insured plans provide Trip Delay coverage when the common carrier is delayed, including for weather, for a minimum of either 6 or 12 hours depending upon the specific plan purchased. Several Travel Insured plans, including World Trip Protector, Trip Protector Gold and Airline Ticket Protector, provide Missed Connection coverage when a common carrier is delayed, including for weather, for three or more hours, and the Trip Protector Lite Expanded plan provides the Missed Connection coverage for a delay of six or more hours.

Remember to buy a travel insurance plan, before a storm is identified on the weather map, that provides all of the above-snowstorm related coverage. And next time you are wondering if “unforeseen risks” are worth preparing for, ask another question. Did you really expect Washington D.C., Baltimore and Philadelphia in 2010 to break snowfall accumulation records that have stood since the 1890s?

About Travel Insured International

Travel Insured delivers comprehensive travel protection benefits ranging from trip cancellation and trip interruption to emergency assistance and Medevac insurance, travel accident and sickness medical expense, accidental death and dismemberment, missed connection and baggage delay or loss.

The company's travel insurance plans include its comprehensive Worldwide Trip Protector, the most popular travel protection plan and Worldwide Trip Protector Gold, an enhanced travel insurance plan designed to protect luxury vacations and business trips. Travel Insured also offers two travel insurance plans designed to provide basic yet flexible protection for families and budget conscious travelers, its Worldwide Trip Protector Lite insurance plan and Worldwide Trip Protector Lite Expanded insurance plan. Finally they offer an Airline Ticket Protector plan as well as a complete offering of Group Travel Insurance plans including Student Group insurance plans.

Visit Travel Insured's travel insurance web site or speak to a friendly, knowledgeable Travel Insured customer care professional at 1-800-243-3174.

Travel Insured International, based in East Hartford, Connecticut, was founded in 1993 by the foresight of insurance industry executive Peter Gehris when he acquired the travel protection division of the Travelers Insurance Company. Coverage is underwritten by Arch Insurance Company (a Missouri corporation, NAIC #11150) with executive offices located in Jersey City, NJ. Not all insurance products or coverage is available in all jurisdictions. Coverage is subject to actual policy language.

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