Business History Books » Business Plans » Hurricane Season 2004–please read
Hurricane Season 2004–please read
Question:
Sorry for the cross-post, but this is not only important for travelers, it’s also on-topic. For people visiting the Caribbean this summer (my favorite time to go), talk to your travel agent about insurance policies. The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is predicting a busy hurricane season this year. http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=570&ncid=753&e=1&u=/n… Hurricane season is June 1 through November 30, with most gales forming mid-July through November. While this is no reason not to go or to cancel existing plans, a prudent option would be to hedge your plans with insurance. There are several different policies available and all are a lot cheaper than having to lose your $$ or your vacation. Take it from someone who has been there–we went to Anguilla in September 1998 and were there only 2 days before being chased out by Hurricane Georges. The local businesses were happy to refund the money for the unused portion of our vacation, but the airlines were a harder sell for refunding our unusable return tickets. Our one-way tickets back home cost $800 each for same day departure and we were lucky to get them! So talk to your travel agent now about trip interruption and trip cancellation insurance. You’ll be glad you did.
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-SPAM- I have been hearing bloated hurricain reports for the 20 years I have been traveling to the Carribean. Has anyone EVER heard of a GOOD report? > Sorry for the cross-post, but this is not only important for travelers, it’s > also on-topic. > For people visiting the Caribbean this summer (my favorite time to go), talk > to your travel agent about insurance policies. The National Oceanographic > and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is predicting a busy hurricane season > this year.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=570&ncid=753&e=1&u=/n… – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Hurricane season is June 1 through November 30, with most gales forming > mid-July through November. While this is no reason not to go or to cancel > existing plans, a prudent option would be to hedge your plans with > insurance. There are several different policies available and all are a lot > cheaper than having to lose your $$ or your vacation. > Take it from someone who has been there–we went to Anguilla in September > 1998 and were there only 2 days before being chased out by Hurricane > Georges. The local businesses were happy to refund the money for the unused > portion of our vacation, but the airlines were a harder sell for refunding > our unusable return tickets. Our one-way tickets back home cost $800 each > for same day departure and we were lucky to get them! > So talk to your travel agent now about trip interruption and trip > cancellation insurance. You’ll be glad you did.
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> -SPAM- > I have been hearing bloated hurricain reports for the 20 years I have been > traveling to the Carribean. Has anyone EVER heard of a GOOD report?
It only takes one storm, causing wind and rain and great big waves, to happen on YOUR cruise week on YOUR itinerary to make you change your attitude. Chris
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> -SPAM- > I have been hearing bloated hurricain reports for the 20 years I have been > traveling to the Carribean. Has anyone EVER heard of a GOOD report? > It only takes one storm, causing wind and rain and great big waves, to > happen on YOUR cruise week on YOUR itinerary to make you change your > attitude. > Chris
Ok, maybe I was a bit harsh, sorry. I have spent an entire two weeks in Jamaica with not one day of sun(position of planets lined up causing high waves) and been there when there was a hurricane looming a short distance away while the entire island boarded up everything in sight. The reports of predicted storms in the preseason always catches my attention so I seem to get on the defensive when every report is overblown. I guess better to be safe then sorry but I have learned to ignore them all and take my chances. Respect. Sam
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>I have been hearing bloated hurricain reports for the 20 years I have been >traveling to the Carribean. > Has anyone EVER heard of a GOOD report?
I got an "A" for Breasts 101 from the High School football team. Oh, yeah, sure, look down your monitor to catch a peek. Pervert.
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> -SPAM- > I have been hearing bloated hurricain reports for the 20 years I have been > traveling to the Carribean. Has anyone EVER heard of a GOOD report? > It only takes one storm, causing wind and rain and great big waves, to > happen on YOUR cruise week on YOUR itinerary to make you change your > attitude. > Chris
Wind, rain, and great big waves. What an understatement! :)
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> >I have been hearing bloated hurricain reports for the 20 years I have been >traveling to the Carribean. > Has anyone EVER heard of a GOOD report? > I got an "A" for Breasts 101 from the High School football team. > Oh, yeah, sure, look down your monitor to catch a peek.
You say, "Look down your monitor to catch a peek." Let me clarify here. You’re saying look ** down ** ?? You’re sagging that damn much ??!! Yikes !! I think I’ll pass on your sagging Breast 101. Thanks anyway.
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> > It only takes one storm, causing wind and rain and great big waves, to > happen on YOUR cruise week on YOUR itinerary to make you change your > attitude. > Ok, maybe I was a bit harsh, sorry. I have spent an entire two weeks in > Jamaica with not one day of sun(position of planets lined up causing high > waves) and been there when there was a hurricane looming a short distance > away while the entire island boarded up everything in sight. The reports of > predicted storms in the preseason always catches my attention so I seem to > get on the defensive when every report is overblown. I guess better to be > safe then sorry but I have learned to ignore them all and take my chances. > Respect. > Sam
I have to laugh at this discussion because my family has had a summer home on the beach of Ocean Isle NC that got washed out to sea from a hurricane. I think that one was Iris but after a while, they all run together. We’ve also had damage to our beach house on Top Sail Island NC from hurricanes. And I’m fortunate that I was able to sail between the two hurricanes that hit Baja Mexico last year while I was there on a liveaboard. My goodness…. you complain about having a cloudy 2 weeks during vacation !! LOL
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<snip> > So talk to your travel agent now about trip interruption and trip > cancellation insurance. You’ll be glad you did.
No they won’t. They’ll realize that you were spamming.
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Twanger and said: – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->Hurricane season is June 1 through November 30, with most gales forming >mid-July through November. While this is no reason not to go or to cancel >existing plans, a prudent option would be to hedge your plans with >insurance. > [emphasis added] > THERE ARE SEVERAL DIFFERENT POLICIES AVAILABLE AND ALL ARE A LOT >CHEAPER THAN HAVING TO LOSE YOUR $$ OR YOUR VACATION. >I’m sorry to point out that this last is not correct. >Casualty insurance alwasy cost more than it pays out. >This is becasue it has to pay sales commissions and other business >expences in addition to what it pays out. Insurance companies make money. >Because of this, the general rule is NOT to insure any loss you can >afford to sustain. Well, if you can’t afford the cost of your vacation, >then stay home. >Also keep in mind that you will probably NOT loose all of your vacation >money. Most resorts and airlines will (inspite of the original posters >statements) make a full or partial refund under most conditions — >certainly if a hurrican makes thier providing the contracted services >impossible. >My advice is to SAVE the money you would pay for trip insurance. >Every few years you’ll have saved enough to treat yourself to a >better vacation — maybe even a "free" one.
My sister is an experienced travel agent. Airfare comes under "Act of God" in the situation of a hurricane. If you miss your flight due to a hurricane, there is no refund. It’s not the airline’s fault that a hurricane prevented the flight from taking place. Likewise for any connecting flights missed. If you are at your destination when a hurricane strikes, the airline may choose to reaccomdate you with a flight at their convenience after the storm. Essentially, you are flying "standby". Most trip insurance usually has an "Act of God" clause also. If you buy trip insurance, always read the fine print to see what is covered and what is not. — To email me, Edit "xt" from my email address. Brian M. Kochera "Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once!" View My Web Page: http://home.earthlink.net/~brian1951
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They predicted a BAD SEASON in FLORIDA last year and we had none. ??
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> They predicted a BAD SEASON in FLORIDA last year and we had none. ??
Perhaps you’d prefer to ignore any mention of hurricanes in the future and be caught by surprise, like back in the good old days, Bobbi? If you were in Florida in 1992, truculence like this would have cost you everything.
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Re: Insurance for your trip. Hurricane season is from June 1 thru December 1. MOST Hurricanes are in September and October. There have been hurricanes in April and mid December. ( RARE ) The No Named Storm was in March. it made most hurricanes look pretty weak. What i am trying to say is you can run into bad weather at anytime, Anywhere. If you or someone in your family has a medical problem it is prudent to take insurance. Like life insurance, it one bet you do not want to win. Do you need it? Only you know. Brent
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>>My advice is to SAVE the money you would pay for trip insurance. >Every few years you’ll have saved enough to treat yourself to a >better vacation — maybe even a "free" one.
To put this in some sort of perspective here’s some actual premiums for a quality policy as a percentage of insured trip cost. Note that these numbers are rounded off for clarity. Plan — Travel Guard’s Essentials plan: Age 34 or under: 2.2 – 2.5% (40 – 45 trips before the unpaid premiums will add up to a "free trip") Age 35 – 59: 2.9 – 3.2% (30 – 34 trips before the unpaid premiums will add up to a "free trip") Age 60 – 69: 3.8 – 4.0% (25 – 27 trips before the unpaid premiums will add up to a "free trip") Age 70 – 74: 5.1 – 5.7% (17 – 19 trips before the unpaid premiums will add up to a "free trip") Age 75 – 79: 6.1 – 6.6% (15 – 17 trips before the unpaid premiums will add up to a "free trip") Age 80 – 84: 7.3 – 8.4% (11 – 13 trips before the unpaid premiums will add up to a "free trip") Age 85+: 9.5 – 10.4% (9 – 10 trips before the unpaid premiums will add up to a "free trip") As the plan name implies this policy is not packed with many of the extras than many travelers don’t want or need but it does cover the basics. Most other plans will have a higher cost ** but this shows that for many travelers the premium for a quality plan can be a very small amount of the actual trip cost insured. In my opinion it would take more than a "few" years for most travelers to earn that "free trip" by saving the premiums. There’s MANY reasons that an informed traveler may have for not purchasing a policy but for most this isn’t going to be one of them. ** Travel Guard’s most popular plan (Protect Assist) runs about 40% more. For example, for those in the 60 – 69 age bracket the percentages become 6.2 – 6.5%. That works out to 15 – 16 trips before your saved premiums add up to a "free" trip.
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>I have to agree with Charlie. I have taken out trip insurance. But >once when it looked like I wasn’t going to get to my flight home in >time because the travel agent screwed up the reservations from the >last stop to the airport I asked whether that would be covered, and >the answer was no it wouldn’t. >So my view of insurance is that they won’t insure you if they think >they will lose their money.
You’re right, no insurance will cover you for travel agent incompetence or negligence. Can you imagine covering this scenario: My TA has me on a flight arriving into MIA at 4PM to catch a ship sailing at 5PM. No worries, I’ll just buy a policy that will cover my losses in case I don’t make it. For $50 I’ll transfer all of the risk that my stupid TA has created onto the insurer. Most plans, when dealing with connecting times, use the "legal" times established by the airlines. If you or the TA want to cut it shorter than that you certainly can but you’re on your own nickel if you don’t make it. With arrival times into a cruise embarkation port the general rule of thumb is that you need to be scheduled to land two hours prior to the sailing time. If you comply with these guidelines and don’t make the ship because of a covered delay the claim will be paid. This is from CSA’s Description of Coverage: Trip cancellation and trip interruption — other covered items: " 1) Common Carrier delays resulting from inclement weather, or mechanical breakdown of the aircraft, ship or boat or motor coach on which you are scheduled to travel, or organized labor strikes that affect public transportation; 2) Arrangements canceled by an airline, cruise line, motor coach company, or tour operator, resulting from inclement weather, mechanical breakdown of the aircraft, ship or boat or motor coach on which the Insured is scheduled to travel, or organized labor strikes that affect public transportation. Items 1 and 2 above, are subject to the following conditions: a) The scheduled carrier connecting times must meet airline required legal minimum connect times; and b) The scheduled time between arrival at the Scheduled Trip Departure City and the scheduled trip departure must be 2 hours or longer."
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>>– > "No" > Amy Carter when asked if she had a message for >the children of America. >I don’t know where you got this quote, but it’s a real hoot 
I don’t remember for sure any more. I DO recall that the source seemed credible at the time. It also seemed to be within character for Amy and the rest of the family. — "No" Amy Carter when asked if she had a message for the children of America.
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Never really sure what the insurance co’s will pay until you really need them,they have a vast amt.of small print
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> When I was a kid, I thought the angel’s name was Hark > and the horse’s name was Bob.
The horse’s name is Bobtail. I always thought the angel’s name was Harold. Chris
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>>>– >> "No" >> Amy Carter when asked if she had a message for >>the children of America. >I don’t know where you got this quote, but it’s a real hoot > I don’t remember for sure any more. I DO recall that the source >seemed credible at the time. It also seemed to be within character for Amy and >the rest of the family.
Why so?
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> I have to laugh at this discussion because my family has had a summer > home on the beach of Ocean Isle NC that got washed out to sea from a > hurricane. I think that one was Iris but after a while, they all run > together. We’ve also had damage to our beach house on Top Sail Island > NC from hurricanes. And I’m fortunate that I was able to sail between > the two hurricanes that hit Baja Mexico last year while I was there on > a liveaboard. My goodness…. you complain about having a cloudy 2 > weeks during vacation !! LOL
We rode out Andrew 20 miles inland – we might as well have been on a sailboat in the bay. I take hurricanes very seriously, except for maybe little category 1’s - Irene was actually rather fun in comparison. Chris
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"fishman" wrote > We rode out Andrew 20 miles inland – we might as well have been on a > sailboat in the bay.
Not hardly. You’re alive, aren’t you? > I take hurricanes very seriously, except for maybe little category 1’s -
Irene was actually rather fun in comparison. Andrew taught a lot of us that Hurricanes aren’t all "no big deal."
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>It only takes one storm, causing wind and rain and great big waves, to >happen on YOUR cruise week on YOUR itinerary to make you change your >attitude. >Chris
My first run to the Caribbean was in the belly of a C-130 (acutally if you have ever been in a C-130 you would know that "bowels" is probably a better word) delivering a disaster team to St. Criox after their big hurricane. (BTW: I much prefer a cruise ship). I had worked tornadoes in the past (being from the Midwest) but this was few orders of magnitude different. You get a REAL good idea of why the ships work so hard to avoid these after even one up-close experience like that. — "No" Amy Carter when asked if she had a message for the children of America.
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Specifically on cruises, remember that ship can go anywhere. They’ll change their itinerary and sail away (you hope!) from the storm. My first cruise went within 100 miles of the eye of a hurricane. What a mess! Still had fun, just not a lot of sun and missed one port. Yea, every hurricane season forecast is bad… just always a roll of the dice, especially with a 6 month hurricane season. I live on my boat on the Gulf Coast… you BET I’m always watching the weather! — Keith __ Abandon the search for Truth; settle for a good fantasy.
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> -SPAM- > I have been hearing bloated hurricain reports for the 20 years I have been > traveling to the Carribean. Has anyone EVER heard of a GOOD report? > It only takes one storm, causing wind and rain and great big waves, to > happen on YOUR cruise week on YOUR itinerary to make you change your > attitude. > Chris
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> <snip> > So talk to your travel agent now about trip interruption and trip > cancellation insurance. You’ll be glad you did. > No they won’t. They’ll realize that you were spamming.
You are mistaken, Salty. This was a post about hurricanes and how to mitigate potential losses thereby. I don’t get anything from anybody for mentioning this. Can’t you tell from spam? :)
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> Because of this, the general rule is NOT to insure any loss you can > afford to sustain. Well, if you can’t afford the cost of your vacation, > then stay home.
Not wanting to lose the money hardly equates with not being able to afford losing the money. And enjoying the fruits of a vacation that cost $10,000.00 is hardly the equal of simply losing $ 10,000.00. > Also keep in mind that you will probably NOT loose all of your vacation > money. Most resorts and airlines will (inspite of the original posters > statements) make a full or partial refund under most conditions — > certainly if a hurrican makes thier providing the contracted services > impossible.
Most resorts (as well as liveaboards) have very strict policies in place that force the buyer to carry all the risk. You might get fortunate and get a credit for future use, but even that is not assured. These days, even most First Class airfares have restrictions. Unless you have paid full boat First Class you will likely see NO protection from loss in terms of a refund (and in most cases a change or credit will involve a fee, just like Coach fares). Some non-US carries (particularly Pacific rim carriers like Thai Air, Singapore Air, Air Nippon etc) have more liberal policies in this regard, but generally you lose some money. And if you fly coach, there are very few conditions under which a refund would be forthcoming regardless of carrier. > My advice is to SAVE the money you would pay for trip insurance. > Every few years you’ll have saved enough to treat yourself to a > better vacation — maybe even a "free" one.
I used to believe this to be savvy policy, then I got ill two days before a two week trip to the Solomons. Even considering premiums not paid on past trips I still took a considerable loss. In this case trip insurance would have been a good idea, in all other cases I would have paid for coverage not utilized. Basically it’s a crapshoot. But whether or not you do buy it, it’s still a crapshoot played with your own money….the only questions is how much do you want to play with: the cost of your vacation or the cost of the insurance. And if you travel a lot you never get to know if your loss will come on a $ 15,000.00 3 week vacation to Europe, or on a $ 800.00 Apple Vacation to Puerto Vallarta.