Hurricane Dorian Generates Thousands of Travel Insurance Claims

Hurricane Dorian has proven a tremendously destructive extreme weather event by nearly any measure, claiming a reported seven lives as of Wednesday and destroying wide swaths of the Bahamas’ Abaco and Grand Bahama Island districts. The historic storm is also producing a substantial number of travel insurance claims, report officials at Allianz Global Assistance.

As of September 4, Allianz Global Assistance received 2,200 claims and fielded more than 200 calls from customers affected by Hurricane Dorian, said Dan Durazo, a company spokesman.

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“If Dorian had occurred in 2018, so far it would be the second-largest hurricane claims event of the year,” Durazo said, “behind Hurricane Florence with 5,017 claims and ahead of Hurricane Michael with 1,433 claims. Dorian is a significant event for Allianz Travel Insurance customers.”

Said Durazo, “The majority of claims that we’ve received have been for cancellations of trips planned to areas that have been impacted by Dorian.” He added, “Most of the calls we’ve received have been from our customers asking us what their travel insurance policy covers in this situation and some are asking how to file a claim.”

However, “we also have received calls from travelers asking us if they can still buy a travel insurance policy that will cover Dorian,” he said. “Travel insurance only covers unknown, unforeseen events, so once a storm is named, it’s too late to buy a policy that will cover disruptions caused by that storm.”

Nevertheless, “Travel insurance is a must-have for travelers booking trips to hurricane-prone areas during hurricane season,” Durazo said.

Reports indicate thousands of travelers were impacted by Dorian passage over the Bahamas. While Dorian did not impact the territory’s largest resort districts, including Nassau, Paradise Island and the Cable Beach district, several Grand Bahama Island properties have closed, including the Grand Lucayan, whose website says the resort is closed until further notice “for the safety of guests and staff.”

Meanwhile, operators including Carnival Cruise Line, Norwegian Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean International altered itineraries and canceled some voyages, impacting thousands of passengers’ vacations.

Because the Atlantic hurricane season extends through November 30, Durazo says Caribbean travelers should consider purchasing a plan prior to a storm being named. Allianz recently added plans that include “more reasons to cancel or interrupt a trip, including mandatory evacuation,” he said.

The company’s Premier plan, sold through travel agencies, covers travelers when a hurricane warning interrupts or cancels a trip. Allianz policies also “allow our customers to cancel their trips for a number of hurricane-related issues, including mandatory evacuations and homes and destinations becoming uninhabitable, [and] airline delays that last more than 24 hours,” said Durazo.

He added, “[Allianz’] travel delay benefit has been redesigned to help customers reach their destination sooner by alternative means, such as when severe weather or storms causes an extended delay by the carrier of 24 hours or more.”