Weather insurance?

[meeotch]

I've done some light googling, and did come across DiveAssure, but I'm not clear that they cover lost dives due to weather (vs. medical, which is definitely covered. I did shoot them an email, to ask, though).

Does weather insurance that covers dive trip rebooking exist? I'm currently in Australia, and planning a series of dives on the east coast, starting with a liveaboard in Cairns. It's apparently cyclone season here, and I can easily imagine a weather event that causes a chain-reaction of rebooking - flights, hotels, dives - even though the flights themselves are not canceled. I've got time & an open-ended return, so I'd much prefer to re-book everything and get the trip back on track than to just cancel some chunk of it and sit around in a hotel waiting for my next flight out. But I'm not sure if there's a trip insurance plan that would cover e.g. pushing a multi-stop trip by a couple weeks in the event of a cyclone.

(Note that I'm already covered medically, and my credit card covers canceled flights.)

 

[FettSolo]

I use World Nomads for travel insurance. Last year I had a day of shark diving off of Rhode Island cancelled due to weather. World Nomads fully reimbursed me for the cost of the shark diving ($350).

 

[jonhall]

World Nomads fully reimbursed me for the cost of the shark diving ($350).

Just curious - wouldn't the dive op just not charge you or credit your cc if they cancelled due to weather?

 

[meeotch]

@FettSolo - Thanks for the reply. That's interesting - I poked around on their site, but only found this under their Trip Cancellation section: "Inclement weather or a strike causing the complete cessation of services for at least 24 consecutive hours preventing you from reaching your destination." Which sounds like it's transportation-specific, but I'll write them for clarification.

@jonhall - Yes, I imagine the *first* dive op affected would offer a refund. What I'm concerned about is knock-on effects. E.g., the first dive is canceled due to weather, or my flight to Cairns is delayed, causing me to be inside the 24-hour no-dive window when I land. So I need to push my liveaboard by a day, and then my train to Ayr by a day, and my dive at Ayr by a day, etc.

I'm not sure if such insurance exists (though DiveAssure is sending me a quote, which will presumably explain what's covered). If it does exist, it might be prohibitively expensive, idk. And I'm trying to build in a couple days cushion at each site, in case of reschedules - but there's a cost to that, as well. Will post back here with results from DiveAssure and Nomads.

 

[JackOfDiamonds]

Im not sure how the insurance companies work in your area but as one who works in Travel Insurance the coverage you speak of definitely exists, its all a matter of if your specific insurance will cover such a thing.

 

[meeotch]

@JackOfDiamonds - thanks for the reply. Since you work in the industry, do you have any suggestions for a company that's likely to carry such a product, and covers U.S. citizens traveling abroad?

 

[JackOfDiamonds]

@JackOfDiamonds - thanks for the reply. Since you work in the industry, do you have any suggestions for a company that's likely to carry such a product, and covers U.S. citizens traveling abroad?

Unfortunately no, im not located in the US and therefore unfamiliar with the Insurance companies standards / packages.

As a general tip i would recommend going through the "exclusions" in any policy prior to purchasing because what you may think will be covered can be denied for a silly reason that is usually written in the exclusions.

Good luck

 

[jonhall]

@meeotch Hope you're having a good time and not worrying too much about the weather!

Just a few thoughts from someone who is not an expert on travel insurance, but has purchased it:

1. As you are already on your trip, getting trip insurance now might be difficult. The effective date of a trip insurance is generally the date you pay for it. A single trip plan may give you a quote based on payments you have paid for the trip. An annual plan will put limits on the different coverages.
2. Severe weather (I think cyclone might fit here) can be a covered reason to make a claim.
2.Some parts of a trip insurance policy that could be helpful in some of the scenarios you mention: Trip Interruption, Travel Delay, Missed Connection, and a Liveaboard Rider.
3. Anything that might be covered under different parts of a policy generally have to be prepaid. The policy won't pay for what you were planning to do but couldn't.
4. If you've prepaid certain expenses and plan to rebook and/or get the trip back on schedule, you can probably get reasonable and additional expenses to cover accommodations, food, and transportation as well as the unreimbursed payments you prepaid.
5. If, after arriving to a location, and then paying for diving, DAN dive insurance would pay for unreimbursed diving if you suffer illness or injury. Dives that do not happen due to weather are generally reimbursed by the dive op, but if it weren't, would a trip insurance cover it? That's my question!

E.g., the first dive is canceled due to weather, or my flight to Cairns is delayed, causing me to be inside the 24-hour no-dive window when I land.

You won't have to worry about that as you can land and dive - it's the time you need to wait after diving before you should fly.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[FettSolo]

Just curious - wouldn't the dive op just not charge you or credit your cc if they cancelled due to weather?

That specific op does not give refunds for weather, hence why I had purchased the insurance!

 

[Lorenzoid]

I've done some light googling, and did come across DiveAssure, but I'm not clear that they cover lost dives due to weather (vs. medical, which is definitely covered. I did shoot them an email, to ask, though). . . .

In addition to general Googling, be sure to read threads right here on SB in which trip cancellation insurance has been discussed. Google is great for that:

site:scubaboard.com insurance cancel weather