When Is The Best Time To Buy Travel Insurance? (2024)

FAQs

Is it better to buy travel insurance early or late? ›

In general, you can buy coverage any time before the date of your trip. That said, it's always best to buy coverage as soon as you make your reservations. The sooner you buy travel insurance, the sooner you'll have protection and the more benefits you may be eligible to receive.

Unlike other aspects of your travel experience like airfares or hotel-room rates, the price of travel insurance doesn't increase the closer you get to your travel date. There's no financial penalty if you wait to buy travel insurance (except for those bonus coverages, of course).

For single-trip travel insurance, the start date should ideally be the same day you book your holiday to ensure you're covered for any eventualities, like trip cancellations. For annual travel insurance, the start date should be the day you book your holiday.

While it's possible to buy travel insurance up until just before — or even after — you depart, the best time to do so is shortly after you begin booking the trip.

Purchasing the night before your trip works. That's because trip insurance goes into effect the day after you purchase it. So if it's midnight on the day of your departure, it's too late to buy comprehensive travel insurance. Anytime before that works!

Travel insurance is designed to protect a traveler from certain unforeseeable events—not things that are easily foreseeable, or things that have already happened at the time you purchase your plan. That's why it's smart to buy insurance as early as possible in the booking process.

How much travel medical insurance do you need? Squaremouth, a travel insurance comparison site, recommends buying at least $50,000 in emergency medical coverage for international travel. For travelers going on a cruise or to a remote destination, the site recommends at least $100,000 in coverage.

Due to the higher chance of travel insurance providers receiving a claim from older travelers, plan costs generally increase with age.

The other best timing to take note of is to buy travel insurance 14 days of making your first trip payment, and anytime (as soon as possible) before you depart.

What does travel insurance not cover? ›

Most travel insurance policies won't pay out if you're negligent while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and have an accident or have property stolen.

The “Effective Date” is the Day After You Purchase the Policy. One key in any travel insurance policy is the fact that the policy only goes into effect the next day after you purchase it.

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Does travel insurance cover cancelled or missed flights? Your travel insurer may cover you if your flight was cancelled and the airline company doesn't or can't reschedule your flight. Your insurer may also cover you if the airline company doesn't reimburse you as a result, or only reimburses part of your expenses.

You absolutely can buy travel insurance after booking your trip. However, it's always best to purchase insurance as early in the process as possible. If you procrastinate, you may miss out on certain benefits.

Time Sensitive Period means insurance must be purchased within 20 days of the date Your initial Payments or Deposits for Your Trip is received and within 15 days of payment for any subsequent Travel Arrangements added to Your Trip.

However, if you leave buying travel insurance until very close to your departure date, you will not get cancellation cover. Last minute travel insurance might also not cover certain medical conditions or more risky activities. And if you buy post-departure cover, there might be more exclusions to watch out for.