When to buy travel insurance

The guidance on when to buy travel insurance is as soon as you’ve booked your trip. This will help you to get cancellation cover for longer. So if anything prevents you from travelling, you’re more likely to get a refund.

Waiting longer to buy travel insurance can lead to missing out on cancellation cover and many other benefits.  

From the minute you purchase your policy, you’re covered for any cancellations because of injuries, illness or other emergencies. However, it’s important to note that this only applies to single-trip policies. When it comes to annual multi-trip policies, the start date isn’t always immediate, as it usually has a specific start date in the near future. 

For example, imagine you booked a July holiday to Spain in March. Unfortunately, you break your leg in June, and your doctor advises you not to travel for 10 weeks, so you have to cancel your trip.

If you bought your policy as soon as you booked, you’d be able to make a claim for any non-refundable costs. If you didn't, you’d likely lose at least some of the cost of your trip.

There are a number of things that can happen that can prevent you from travelling, including:

• Illness 

 

• Family emergency 

 

• Loss of funds

 

• Work/business emergency

 

Comparing travel insurance as soon as you book can help to protect against these things.

When thinking about when you should buy travel insurance, try and remember the acronym ASAB (as soon as you book).

This is because some of the key parts of your cover begin as soon as you purchase the policy and not on the first day of your trip. They can protect against unforeseen emergencies that can prevent you from travelling, such as accidents or illness. You're far more likely to get a refund on any deposits and non-refundable costs if you have travel insurance from the day you book your holiday. 

It’s important to remember that the immediate start only applies to single-trip policies. For annual multi-trip policies, your cover will start on the first day of the policy.

Buying a policy earlier ensures that you’re covered for any non-refundable costs if you have to cancel your trip.

You avoid running the risk of losing a lot, or even all, of the money you’ve spent on your trip.

Purchasing a policy close to the time of departure might also give you less time to compare and weigh your options. You may be less likely to get the one that will suit you best and get everything covered. Buying a policy that isn’t designed for your specific circumstances can mean:

• Getting less medical cover than you’d like or need

 

• Paying more money for less comprehensive protection

 

• Getting cover that doesn’t fully suit the type of trip you are going on. For example, you probably won’t need mountain rescue cover if you’re going to the Netherlands or Denmark, two of the world’s flattest countries.

Many standard policies can be bought all the way up to just before clearing customs. Your insurer will usually ask you to prove that you haven’t already travelled before you’re able to buy your policy. Buying it late can put you at risk of not having cancellation cover before you leave.

If you left the country without travel insurance and wanted to buy one when you arrived in Spain, for example, you’d have to purchase either an Already-Travelling or Post-Departure policy. These policies can sometimes be more expensive and can come with a 48-hour waiting period before you can make a claim. It may also be more difficult to compare options for these policies, and find the right one for you.

You may also find it more difficult to find comprehensive policies if you’re comparing options after leaving the UK.

The biggest risk of delaying your purchase is having no cancellation cover. While medical protection starts when you travel, cancellation cover benefits kick in the moment you buy your policy. If a family emergency or sudden illness occurs before you’ve secured cover, you will be unable to reclaim non-refundable costs. 

You may find that if you leave it late to buy your policy, you may end up doing the following:

• Paying higher premiums - Some insurers may view last-minute buyers as higher risk, leading to increased costs. 

 

• Limited choice – You may have fewer insurers to choose from, especially if you have pre-existing conditions. 

 

• The departure cut-off – Once you leave the UK, standard policies are no longer available.