Husband and I just found great airfare to STT, only good for mid-August. Would it be worth the hurricane/weather risk to try to visit then? We were thinking about trip insurance, but it seems some don't even cover hurricanes! Or at least they only cover if the place is destroyed before you leave for your trip. Has anyone ever purchased trip insurance on their own before? Who did you use? Would the trip just be too risky? Thanks so much!

Relatively speaking, August is a better risk than September.

Since I seem to be a magnet for travel calamities, I happen to have personal experience of having a trip insurance claim paid out because of a mid-trip hurricane. "Trip interruption" coverage typically pays out when your destination is affected by a hurricane -- but you have to lose money as a result of the storm (we did -- we lost sailing days on a bareboat charter, which were non-refundable, and the policy paid). If you find that your accomodations are destroyed and your deposit doesn't get returned, or your non-refundable plane tickets can't be used or re-scheduled, the insurance will pay. Or if you are forced to stay on island longer than anticipated because the airport is closed and you incur extra costs, you'll get paid. If, on the other hand, you arrive on island and the storm hits, BUT your hotel still puts you up (i.e. you get what you paid for), then you get nothing because you lost nothing (having ugly weather when you were anticipating paradise doesn't count as a loss, even though it is certainly a disappointment).

I've always used Travelguard, and been satisfied with the several claims I've had to make with them. But don't take my word -- read the fine print and determine whether the policy you are looking at covers the risks you are concerned about.

Monalua: We've never gotten trip insurance and we do go to the Caribbean during hurricane season. Luckily, we've never been hit DURING a trip (knock on wood). We've had to cancel 2 trips due to hurricanes hitting 2 islands BEFORE we were leaving (Bahamas and Grand Cayman). Both hotels reimbursed us with no problems (they were both shut down weeks after the hurricanes). The airline (Continental on both occasions) let me change destinations without a fee. Before anyone says that all airlines did that. Our trips were a few weeks after the hurricanes and the airlines were flying again to those locations. Continental's no-fee deadline had passed, but they were kind enough to waive it (be super nice over the phone and don't be to proud to beg and frankly it's just smart of Continental to keep the customers happy). Good luck whatever you decide.

Hi again. I just want to make it clear that in no way am I telling you not to get trip insurance. I was only sharing my experience/luck. I do think that you and only you can determine what it is worth to you. For me, because of my good luck so far, I won't buy it until after the day I get completely screwed.

Monalua,

We were booked with A/A to go to the Dominican Republic in Oct 2004 when they got hit with a hurricane. A/A gave us a window to rebook our trip to another destination without penalty. We used a travel agency and it was very easy to change everything.
If you are booking the hotel or villa yourself to be on the safe side I would get the insurance to cover the hotel at least. If going through a travel agency, I would ask them what their policy is. Most airlines will allow you to rebook without a penalty if there is a hurricane in that area. Ask what their policy is.
I would go for it. Sept and Oct are the months I would shy away from only because of my past experience.
Have a great trip.

We have always used Travelguard for any big trip. 2 years ago we went to St. John and we had to stay on the island 3 extra days because we couldn't go home because of the hurricanes (we live in Florida) They paid for our villa, rental car, food and other expenses for the three days. The airlines will adjust your flights if they cancel due to hurricane. It was great. We got 3 free days. The insurance isn't that expensive.

Oh,forgot to mention. We went in September, there was a hurricane threatening St John then too, but that one didn't cause us any problems.

August SHOULD be fine.We went last September and had great weather and it was alot less crowded because of hurricane season.

We bought trip insurance..just in case.You are chosing (in my opinion)one of the best times to go to St John because it is less crowded and chances are...you will have the beaches to yourselves!

Christie

I haven't bought travel insurance since my kids were little and we used to buy prepaid 'package' tours.

However, the way the past two years have been with hurricanes, I would buy it if traveling to the Caribbean in hurricane season this year.

Having been stranded on a caribbean island during a storm (freak and unexpected and after "hurricane" season) I can tell you first hand it is terrible. Due to the overly active hurricane season we just experienced and another one anticipated due to the warm waters that are still above normal temps and the lack of El Nino, I would not go. There is no thinking September is peak season anymore. The reasoning behing Sept being peak is because the Atlantic waters were at their warmest that time of year....since that no longer holds true, I would not go during that time.

Having been stranded on a caribbean island during a storm (freak and unexpected and after "hurricane" season) I can tell you first hand it is terrible. Due to the overly active hurricane season we just experienced and another one anticipated due to the warm waters that are still above normal temps and the lack of El Nino, I would not go. There is no thinking September is peak season anymore. The reasoning behing Sept being peak is because the Atlantic waters were at their warmest that time of year....since that no longer holds true, I would not go during that time. I love love love the caribbean, my husband and I can go anytime we want and we would'nt do it. I know how hard it is to give up a "good deal", but if you look at the hurricane cycle that we are in right now, you would be wise and reconsider and go at another time. Just to prove my point there was a hurricane/TS in the Atlantic this past December...granted it did not go anywhere, but it existed because of the warm in the Atlantic.

We also lost quite a bit of money due to our reservations at Maroma which was damaged during hurricane Wilma, while we did get our money back (3 months later) it took a while because the computers were down and it took a while to re imburse everyone. It was for 10 days and it was PIF on my Amex card...which meant I had to pay the bill because they could not reimburse it fast enough for the billing cycle. Also we lost money on our airfare...we changed destinations, but there was a charge to do so.

Sorry, but you did ask.

For an excellent way to buy travel insurance, go to:
www.insuremytrip.com

They have a questionaire which allows you to compare coverage and prices from different suppliers.

We go to St. John every year in August, and have never had a problem nor bought travel ins. I would if it was Sept., of course. We've been as late as Aug 15-24, usually the first or second week.

I always recommend trip insurance no matter when you go - it is cheap and offers a lot of different coverages - including being airlifted home if need be.