TAMPA — Only a handful of weeks remain in the summer travel season, yet millions of Americans still have vacations planned before Labor Day. However, those trips may coincide with some of the season's biggest travel threats, including hurricanes, wildfires, flooding, and severe weather. This prompted AAA to explain the importance of travel insurance and how timing can affect coverage availability. 

According to a recent AAA survey:

• 56% of Floridians plan to travel between Memorial Day and Labor Day
• 42% said they plan to purchase travel insurance

"Many travelers don't think about travel insurance until they see a storm in the forecast or hear about disruptions affecting their destination," said Adrienne Woodland, spokesperson for AAA – The Auto Club Group. "The good news is that you can often purchase travel insurance up to the day of your departure. However, some options may not be available to those who wait until the last minute."

How Travel Insurance Can Help

Travel insurance can help cover eligible expenses if a trip is canceled, interrupted, or delayed due to a covered reason. Depending on the policy, coverage may also help with losses related to:

• Prepaid, non-refundable trip costs lost because of a covered disruption
• Delayed or lost luggage
• Medical emergencies while traveling
• Unexpected hotel stays, meals, and transportation during covered travel delays

How Weather Can Disrupt Travel

Severe weather can disrupt travel plans in many ways. Hurricanes, wildfires, flooding, and severe storms can:

• Cancel or delay flights
• Close cruise ports and alter itineraries
• Shut down roadways and transportation routes
• Force hotel or resort closures
• Cause missed connections and overnight stays
• Create unexpected travel expenses

Even when severe weather occurs hundreds of miles away, the effects can ripple across the transportation network and impact travelers far from the actual event.

Real-World Example

Air travel is often one of the first parts of a trip affected by severe weather.

Imagine a traveler flying to a cruise departure city when severe weather cancels their flight. The airline may rebook the passenger on a later flight or offer a refund for the canceled flight. However, weather-related disruptions are generally considered outside the airline's control, which may limit additional assistance.

That traveler could still be responsible for:

• An unexpected overnight hotel stay
• Meals during the delay
• Local transportation
• The cost of catching up with the cruise at a later port
• Certain prepaid, non-refundable trip expenses that cannot be recovered elsewhere

Depending on the policy, travel insurance may help reimburse eligible expenses associated with covered delays and may help protect certain prepaid trip costs that might otherwise be lost.

Timing Matters with Travel Insurance

Many travelers assume it's too late to buy travel insurance once their trip is only days or weeks away. In many cases, coverage can still be purchased before departure.

However, waiting may limit available options. Travelers who purchase coverage at the last minute may still have protection for travel delays, baggage issues, or medical emergencies, but fewer options for protecting prepaid trip costs.

Travelers also shouldn't assume they can wait until a hurricane, wildfire, or other disruption is already developing and receive the same coverage options that may have been available earlier.

"If you still have travel plans on the calendar this summer, now is the time to review your options," Woodland said. "The closer you get to departure, the fewer choices you may have. Taking a few minutes to understand your coverage today could save a lot of stress and expense later."

For more information on travel insurance, visit AAA.com/TravelInsurance.