Squaremouth Shares Tips for Planning Travel During Hurricane Season

Summer brings sunshine, peak travel, and—unfortunately—hurricanes. Although peak hurricane season is usually late August to early September, major storms earlier in the season are possible: Just last year, the record-breaking Hurricane Beryl hit the Caribbean, the Yucatán Peninsula, and the Gulf Coast in early July.

In anticipation of increased storm activity, online travel insurance aggregator Squaremouth has released four tips for safe travel to hurricane-prone destinations this summer.

The first tip is to stay informed. Squaremouth recommends travelers check for weather updates via national and local sources, and abide by the warnings or recommendations.

Government resources like The National Hurricane Center (NHC), The National Weather Service and NOAA.gov are a reliable source for forecasts, real-time updates, and emergency procedures. Airline apps and email notifications can also be helpful for information on flight cancellations and delays related to inclement weather.

The second tip is to buy comprehensive travel insurance with hurricane and weather coverage. Most travel insurance policies will have severe weather coverage under trip cancellation or trip interruption, which will reimburse 100% of prepaid, non-refundable trip costs.

To qualify for coverage, typically one of the following conditions must be met: Your destination or home is rendered uninhabitable; your destination is under a hurricane warning; a mandatory evacuation is issued at your destination; or your common carrier (i.e. airline, cruise line, etc.) is significantly delayed. The individual policy plan will specify a minimum delay length, but it typically ranges from six to 24 hours.

Squaremouth also recommends travelers buy travel insurance immediately after booking the trip (a good upsell opportunity for travel advisors). Not only does this maximize the coverage window, it also increases the likelihood of weather-related coverage.

As Squaremouth points out, once a storm has been named, it’s too late to buy coverage. This is because a hurricane is considered public knowledge and a “foreseeable event” after it is named, and travel insurance is designed to cover the unforeseen.

To be safe, recommend clients buy travel insurance for any trip to an area within the hurricane danger zone before Nov. 30, 2025.

Squaremouth’s final tip is to consider cancel for any reason (CFAR) coverage. These plans were designed to give travelers flexibility and peace of mind. Although a trip may be covered due to storm activity, CFAR plans mean that travelers can opt to cancel ahead of time due to poor weather or fear of a natural disaster. Note: CFAR plans will only cover 50% to 75% of prepaid, non-refundable trip costs.