The busy holiday travel season is fast approaching. Whether you are traveling by air, boat, rails or vehicle, safety and convenience are major concerns. Last year's Thanksgiving travel season found travelers preparing for flight delays and staying stateside, according to data from travel insurance comparison site, Squaremouth.

Weather replaces terrorism as top travel concern in 2018

Following a destructive hurricane season, more travelers this year are concerned about canceling a trip due to inclement weather than for terrorism-related events, according to Squaremouth.

  • 26% more travelers are buying policies specifically for hurricane & weather coverage.
  • Search interest specifically for terrorism coverage has decreased by 38% from last year.
Insurance agents can help ensure clients' holiday travels are safe and as stress free as possible, by sharing data from the research teams at travel insurer, InsureMyTrip, and travel booking app, Hopper, that reveal what airports and flight times to avoid. Related: 7 common reasons travel insurance claims are denied

Thanksgiving 2018 trends

  • Busiest day to depart for Thanksgiving: Wednesday, November 21.
  • Busiest day to return from Thanksgiving: Sunday, November 25.

Travel insurance tips

  • Passengers with departing flights at busier airports are more likely to utilize a travel delay insurance benefit and, therefore, may want to compare travel insurance policies with better delay protection.
  • Travel delay benefits vary with each travel insurance provider, generally between a 5 and 12-hour window. The benefit is designed to provide reimbursement for reasonable meals and accommodations while unable to travel.
  • Travelers may want to ensure baggage delay coverage is included under a selected comprehensive travel insurance plan. Baggage delay coverage generally becomes active after belongings have been delayed for a specified period of time, typically 12 or 24 hours.
The slideshow above counts down the busiest airports for Thanksgiving week, based on total departing passengers and the volume of scheduled departures. Related: 6 tips to avoid accidents on Black Friday — and Black Sunday

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Jayleen R. Heft

Jayleen Heft is the digital content editor for PropertyCasualty360.com. Contact her at [email protected].

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