Ever had a vacation with friends or family totally RUINED by rain and bad weather?

You know the feeling — your socks are totally soaked and squishy from the water they’ve absorbed (yay), your umbrella is a useless stick that’s been blown askew by the wind (awesome), and the outdoor activities you had hoped to try are canceled (joy). If you experienced a trip like that and left it feeling defeated, frustrated, and wishing you could have gotten your money back, we have something you need to know about.

Entrepreneur has shared some details about a service called Sensible Weather and it will PAY YOU if it rains on your vacation — for REAL.

Here’s some background. Sensible Weather was founded by Nick Cavanaugh (he’s also the CEO). Cavanaugh had worked as a climate scientist and consultant. As a whole, Sensible Weather is meant to be a “climate risk technology company that aims to change the way people interact with the weather by making the unpredictable more predictable.”

The key service at Sensible Weather is their “Weather Guarantee” which gives YOU some financial protections against weather issues that could ruin your trip.

Here’s how it works. First, you’ll book a trip through one of the travel platforms that has partnered with Sensible Weather. You’ll see the “Weather Guarantee” at checkout. You’ll be able to see the cost and add it to your trip price (like travel insurance).

For now, Sensible Weather only has a limited number of partners. Two in particular that stand out are in Orlando — Coco Key Water Resort and Exploria Resorts.

Here’s a look at the rest of their partners per their website. You will NOT find places like Disney World or Universal on their list of partners, so don’t expect to add on this weather guarantee for your trip to the Most Magical Place on Earth. But it could be helpful for trips to other spots.

In terms of the pricing, Cavanaugh has explained that they underwrite based on “weather and science around weather probabilities.” That’s part of what dictates how much coverage will cost for a particular trip. The Weather Guarantee often costs around 8-12% of the total trip cost.

Once you’ve paid for the service and are out on your trip, Sensible Weather will be working in the background to watch the forecast. If bad weather is heading your way, you’ll get a text message about it.

Once they know that the weather is changing, you’ll get notified and reimbursed. There’s no need to file a claim. All you’ll have to do is watch for the reimbursement and transfer the funds to the account you want.

How much you’ll get reimbursed and what conditions actually trigger a reimbursement will depend. Cavanaugh has explained that if you purchase a rain guarantee the Company basically outlines conditions for reimbursement that will say “if it rains for this long, if it rains for this much, we will pay you back.” 

You won’t have to tell the Company how much it rained. They’ll know how much it rained based on their climate software. But the number of hours of rain needed to get you a reimbursement is subject to locale and seasonality. In places that are naturally wetter, people may be more tolerant of rain on their trip. While in drier places, they may not be tolerant to any rain. Sensible Weather adjusts the threshold of rain needed for reimbursement accordingly.

So far, Entrepreneur reports that the response to the service has been positive. Customers enjoy those preemptive payments. They don’t have to sit around for a payment. Instead, Sensible Weather reaches out to them. As Cavanaugh explains, they can tell the customer “Hey, it’s not going to be a great day. We want to put some money in your pocket.”

And on the travel partners’ side, they get to enjoy fewer complaints if bad weather does hit.

So what do you think? Would you use the service to buy a rain guarantee for your trip (assuming it qualifies)? Is this something you’d want to see expanded to more places? Tell us in the comments.

Again, the service is NOT available for trips to Disney’s theme parks (or Universal) at this time, so you’ll have to deal with that weather without financial reimbursement. Remember that during severe weather periods, some outdoor Disney World rides may close — you can see a FULL LIST of the rides that typically close here.

You can also read that full post for a breakdown of what happens at Disney World when it rains. Some things you’ll want to be prepared for include potential flooding, the swap from the traditional parade to a rainy day parade, and larger lines and crowds at indoor locations/shops/restaurants/rides/shows as people flock to spots where the rain won’t impact them.

And don’t forget that while these things can happen with your regular afternoon storm, you’ll also want to be prepared for hurricane season if traveling to Florida.

To make sure you’re prepared for rainy weather and storms in Disney World, see our posts below:

• 14 Amazon Essentials to Survive Rainy Days in Disney World
• So You Think You Want To Go To Disney World During Hurricane Season…
• 6 Items You Need for a Hurricane in Disney World

And stay tuned for more weather-related tips and tricks!

Would you use this service? Tell us in the comments.