Travel insurance could prove invaluable this year with news that the 2007 Atlantic hurricane season is very likely to be worse than normal.

Climate Prediction Center experts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predict that above normal hurricane activity is a 75 per cent probability.

According to projections, there is only a one in 20 chance that hurricane activity will be below average in the coming months.

From the beginning of June through November, the NOAA expects 13 to 17 named storms, in addition to between seven and ten hurricanes. Three to five of these are likely to become major hurricanes, measuring at least Category 3, according to the meteorologists.

In an average season, the Atlantic witnesses 11 named storms and around six hurricanes, of which two are typically classed as major.

And 2007 could witness an even more ferocious hurricane season if ‘La Nina’ forms, according to lead seasonal hurricane forecaster at the NOAA Climate Prediction Center, Dr Gerry Bell.

“La Nina could form in the next one to three months,” he said. “If La Nina develops, storm activity will likely be in the upper end of the predicted range, or perhaps even higher depending on how strong La Nina becomes.”

Bill Proenza, director of the National Hurricane Center, is urging vacationers as well as east coast residents to prepare themselves, not only with physical protection and contingency plans, but also with travel insurance and other appropriate covers.

“Now is the time to update your hurricane plan, not when the storm is bearing down on you,” he urged.

Contributed by J.Bevan