According to AAA, roughly 72.2 million Americans are expected to be traveling at least 50 miles from home during the 4th of July holiday. And the TSA says they’re expecting over 18.5 million people to travel by air between July 1st and July 7th.
Lots of travelers typically means lots of headaches for said travelers, and this year will probably be no different. An insurance comparison site called Squaremouth recently identified the most common travel disruptions travelers may encounter during the July 4th holiday:
Disruption #1 – Flight Delays and Cancellations
No big surprise there. Issues with Air Traffic Control, problems with Boeing planes, construction on runways, crew timing out, you name it.
To give you an idea of how flights are going this week, FlightAware is reporting that there were 35,175 delays and 1,790 cancellations on Friday the 27th, 29,700 delays and 1,657 cancellations on Saturday, 31,088 delays and (only) 846 cancellations on Sunday.
Squaremouth says:
How Travel Insurance Can Help:
- Most travel insurance plans include coverage for travel delays. If you experience a significant delay, the Travel Delay benefit can cover your expenses. For the most coverage and flexibility, look for a plan that kicks in after flight delays of 3 hours and covers any delay of a common carrier.
- If your delay forces you to cancel your trip outright, you can be fully reimbursed by Trip Cancellation coverage for prepaid, non-refundable expenses.
Disruption #2 – Severe Weather & Hurricanes
Hurricane season begins on June 1st and although the southwest hasn’t seen any huge storms yet, Florida is expected to get hit with a bunch of rain (not a hurricane – just a whole lot of rain) right around the 4th of July this week:
Weather patterns like those that caused the hailstorm around ATL and the storms in Tornado Alley could also wreak havoc throughout the week for travelers.
Squaremouth says:
How Travel Insurance Can Help:
Most travel insurance policies include Hurricane & Weather coverage, which can reimburse you for your prepaid, non-refundable trip costs if severe weather forces you to cancel your plans. To qualify for coverage, at least one of the following conditions typically must be met:
- Your airline or other common carrier is delayed due to severe weather, typically between 6-48 hours
- Your home or destination becomes uninhabitable
- A hurricane warning is issued for your destination
- A mandatory evacuation order is issued at your destination
Disruption #3 – Traffic accidents and road delays
More cars on the road means traffic slowdowns because the streets just aren’t made to hold that many cars at one time. Plus, of course, the more cars there are, the higher the chances of traffic accidents.
Squaremouth says:
How Travel Insurance Can Help:
While most travel insurance policies don’t cover general traffic delays, there is one key exception: if you’re involved in a traffic accident on the way, you can be covered.
Many policies can reimburse you for missed trip costs and additional transportation expenses required to catch up with your itinerary. To be eligible, you’ll typically need documentation of the accident and proof that it directly caused your delay.
Final Thought
Let’s face it—traveling around the July 4th holiday can be a bit of a mess. Whether you’re hitting the road or flying the friendly (or not-so-friendly) skies, there’s a good chance something might not go according to plan. Travel insurance won’t prevent delays, cancellations, or Florida’s relentless rain, but it can help make a bad situation a little less awful.
So if you haven’t looked into coverage for your trip, now might be a good time. After all, there’s no such thing as too much peace of mind when millions of people are trying to get somewhere at the same time.
Want to comment on this post? Great! Read this first to help ensure it gets approved.
Want to sponsor a post, write something for Your Mileage May Vary, or put ads on our site? Click here for more info.
Like this post? Please share it! We have plenty more just like it and would love it if you decided to hang around and sign up to get emailed notifications of when we post.
Whether you’ve read our articles before or this is the first time you’re stopping by, we’re really glad you’re here and hope you come back to visit again!
This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
