We are travelling to St. Thomas Sept. 20-25, right in the middle of hurricane season. People are telling me I should get travel insurance. I looked up some insurance companies and coverages, but it is very confusing. Also the flight insurance is separate--I can get that when I book the flights. Do you think this is necessary? Any suggestions on what type of insurance is best in case of a hurricane? Thanks for any advice.

Insurance is always a good idea, but it won't protect you for a storm that is already developed (the storm that is behind Earl, for instance, if it hits the USVI then.

But I would NOT purchase one of the airline-sold policies covering only airfare as well as a policy that covers everything else. It's just silly to double-pay for coverage, which is already pretty expensive. You want a policy that will reimburse you for your nonrefundable payments and deposits in case your trip is ruined by bad weather.

You also have to read the fine print to make sure you're covered for whatever it is you want/need to be covered for. Most hurricane protection policies pay only if your island suffers a direct hit and a complete disruption of travel into and out of the destination; your vacation can be ruined by much less.

You can compare policy terms and premiums for just about every type of travel insurance available at: www.insuremytrip.com

As Doug says, you have to read the policy terms very carefully to be sure the police you purchase will insure you against the risk you wish to insure against. It is important you do this yourself and not rely on others to do it for you.

One more thing, most travel policies must be purchased within a certain fixed number of days (usually around 7 days) from the time you booked your travel.

using a travel agent can be useful in this case. they have some understanding of the policies they offer for you - i like being able to talk to a real person to make sure i understand what i've read ...

You have to very carefully study the coverage.

You have to determine what the airline will/will not do for you if any flights are cancelled due to weather, AND whether the policy you select will cover weather related cancellations/delays.

Coverage that is 100% cost of trip for cancellation, 150% cost of trip for Trip Interruption still may not cover all contingencies.

Say you have a connecting flight. Your first flight lands, but your connecting flight to St. Thomas is cancelled due to weather. What will you do? And, what is the coverage?