Three weeks after Hurricane Harvey made landfall, leaving devastation in its wake, the western hemisphere is bracing for the impact of Hurricane Irma, an “extremely dangerous” Category 4 storm whose winds have reached up to 185 mph.
What’s more, two more hurricanes — Hurricane Jose and Hurricane Katia —are gathering strength and threatening to make landfall.
Given the recent and upcoming storm activity, it’s not surprising that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predicts the 2017 hurricane season could be the strongest since 2010.
The NOAA’s 2017 Atlantic Hurricane Season Outlook calls for a 70% probability for each of the following ranges of activity during the 2017 hurricane season, which runs from June 1 through November 30:
- 14-19 named storms
- 5-9 hurricanes
- 2-5 major hurricanes
How to Protect Yourself During Hurricane Season
Travel insurance and travel medical insurance provide important benefits that can protect you when you’re away from home during hurricane season. With coverage from International Medical Group®(IMG®), you could be eligible for the below benefits, depending on the type of plan you purchase.
Get Travel Insurance for Your Trip
IMG’s iTravelInsured® travel insurance plans provide the following natural disaster protection benefits:
- You can cancel or interrupt your trip if you or your traveling companion’s primary residence or destination is rendered uninhabitable and remains uninhabitable during your scheduled trip due to a natural disaster, if the common carrier has complete cessation of services for more than six hours due to inclement weather, or if there is a government mandated shutdown of the airport or air traffic control system due to a natural disaster.
- You can cancel your trip within 24 hours of your scheduled trip if your destination is under a hurricane warning issued by the NOAA (cancellation must occur more than 14 days following your effective date).
- You can receive Missed Connection benefits if you miss your cruise or departure because your arrival at your trip destination is delayed for three or more hours due to a documented weather condition.
- If you are delayed from six to 12 hours (depending on your plan) while en route to, from or during your trip due to a documented weather condition, you can receive reimbursement for reasonable accommodation, meal and local transportation expenses.
- Please note: You must purchase your travel insurance policy before a storm is named in order to receive any benefits relating to the natural disaster.
Learn more about iTravelInsured
Protect Your Health With Travel Medical Insurance
IMG’s Patriot Travel Medical Insurance® provides natural disaster protection benefits as well as key medical coverage.
- Accommodations: IMG will pay $100 per day for up to five days for accommodations if you are displaced from your scheduled, paid accommodations due to an evacuation before a forecasted natural disaster or following a natural disaster.
- Trip Interruption: If you can’t continue your trip due to serious damage to your principal residence caused by a natural disaster, IMG will reimburse you up to $5,000 to travel home.
- Evacuation: If you become seriously injured during a natural disaster, IMG provides emergency medical evacuation benefits up to $500,000 to transport you to the nearest qualified medical facility to receive appropriate care.
Learn more about Travel Medical Insurance
Review your policy and contact IMG if you have any questions regarding your coverage, and don't wait until it's too late to get more information on IMG’s Travel Insurance and Travel Medical Insurance plans.