Hurricane Melissa Is Now a Category 5 — Here’s What It Means for Travelers

Hurricane Melissa is now a Category 5 storm threatening popular Caribbean destinations, including Jamaica, eastern Cuba, and the Bahamas. If you’re heading that way (or anywhere during hurricane season), you’ll want to know exactly how travel insurance works once a storm is named.

I use Squaremouth myself to compare and book travel insurance policies. They even paid out quickly when I was stranded in Cusco, Peru a couple of years ago, so I trust their advice on hurricane coverage. Here’s what they’re telling travelers right now.

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Does travel insurance cover Hurricane Melissa?

Yes, but only if you bought your policy before the storm was officially named. Travel insurance is meant to cover unforeseen events. So, once a storm has a name, it’s considered a known event, and you can’t buy coverage for it. For Hurricane Melissa, that cutoff was October 21.

You can still purchase insurance afterward for other issues, but any claim tied to that specific storm won’t be covered.

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What happens if I bought a policy before Melissa was named?

If your timing was right, you could be covered. Policies with a “Hurricane & Weather” benefit may reimburse prepaid, non-refundable costs, like flights, hotels, and tours, if one of these situations applies:

• Your destination becomes uninhabitable.
• It’s inaccessible because of storm damage.
• A hurricane warning or mandatory evacuation is issued.
• Your airline or cruise cancels the trip.
• Your home is damaged by a hurricane.

You’ll need receipts for those prepaid costs and documentation showing why you couldn’t travel.

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What about cruises?

If you purchased travel insurance before Melissa was named, most policies cover prepaid, non-refundable cruise expenses canceled because of a hurricane. That can also include hotels near the port or prepaid excursions. But fear alone doesn’t qualify – there has to be an official cancellation or warning in place.

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Common misconceptions about hurricanes and insurance

Many travelers assume they can automatically cancel a trip if a hurricane is nearby and get a refund. That’s not true. If your resort or destination remains open and reachable, your policy likely won’t pay out, even if your plans are spoiled.

Buying insurance after the storm is named also doesn’t retroactively protect you. And while standard coverage doesn’t account for “I just don’t feel safe,” you can upgrade to a Cancel For Any Reason (CFAR) policy to give yourself that flexibility – though it only reimburses a portion of your costs.

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What to do if your trip is impacted now

• Contact your insurance provider to confirm exactly what your policy includes.
• If you didn’t buy insurance, work directly with airlines or hotels to ask about waivers or credits.
• For future trips, especially during hurricane season, buy coverage as soon as you make your first trip deposit. That’s the only way to be protected from storms that haven’t yet been named.

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Hurricane Melissa is forecast to move northeast across Jamaica and eastern Cuba before tracking near the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos later this week. If you’re traveling anywhere in its path, double-check your policy -or get one early for your next trip.

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