Short term premium current account for travel insurance

kaloss

Hello eveyone,
I'll go for a trip in the US this summer and I will need a travel insurance.

I was thinking to upgrade my current account (Nationwide Flexdirect) to one that includes travel insurance (Nationwide FlexPlus) an then downgrade it at the end of the trip (so in 1 month more or less). This way I would get a travel insurance for a very cheap fee.

Would that work?

InsideInsurance

In theory, though you need to see if there is a minimum duration for the upgrade.

You need travel insurance from the date of booking until the date of return. With most booking their holidays months in advance then premium bank accounts are not a cheap way of doing it but may be better value if youre a last minute booker. Just factor in enough time for the upgrade to go through before booking the holiday

kaloss

InsideInsurance wrote: »

You need travel insurance from the date of booking until the date of return. With most booking their holidays months in advance then premium bank accounts are not a cheap way of doing it but may be better value if youre a last minute booker. Just factor in enough time for the upgrade to go through before booking the holiday

You mean, that if I am leaving in 2 weeks and I already booked the flight then the travel insurance would not cover it?

Quentin

kaloss wrote: »

You mean, that if I am leaving in 2 weeks and I already booked the flight then the travel insurance would not cover it?

No.

You can take out travel insurance at any time before you depart.

Until you do though you have no cover against cancellation costs.

CKhalvashi

kaloss wrote: »

You mean, that if I am leaving in 2 weeks and I already booked the flight then the travel insurance would not cover it?

With some providers, it's possible.

I only have it with the bank, as I don't pay for the account, but for many providers this simply isn't possible.

I'm also limited in where I can be for the cover to be valid; in three places I've been to this week, as the FCO advises against all but essential travel, there's no cover.

InsideInsurance

kaloss wrote: »

You mean, that if I am leaving in 2 weeks and I already booked the flight then the travel insurance would not cover it?

No, it means if you were knocked over on the way to the bank to do the upgrade that your not covered for not being fit to travel because the injury predates the insurance.

It is prudent to buy your insurance as soon as you've committed any funds to the holiday but you can buy it later if you want. If you compare single trip cover there is typically no savings for buying it late but there is additional risk you are carrying.

kaloss

InsideInsurance wrote: »

It is prudent to buy your insurance as soon as you've committed any funds to the holiday but you can buy it later if you want. If you compare single trip cover there is typically no savings for buying it late but there is additional risk you are carrying.

Ok, but I am mainly interested in covering possible medical expenses (in the US). I guess if I get the insurance after booking the flight then the flight cancellation/delays are not covered. But that is not a big deal to me.

InsideInsurance

kaloss wrote: »

Ok, but I am mainly interested in covering possible medical expenses (in the US). I guess if I get the insurance after booking the flight then the flight cancellation/delays are not covered. But that is not a big deal to me.

They will be covered but only for things that occur after the policy incepts.

When you look at single trip cover then it makes sense to get the insurance in place as soon as possible simply because itll cost you the same and so you may as well get the most out of it as possible.

With annual trip cover, which is what you get with banks is, then there is possibly a tiny bit more of a question but still X months premium of ~£5 is still going to be relatively small compared to the possible cancellation of the holiday for sickness/injury etc

kaloss

I've been at Nationwide branch today. They told me there is no minimum amount of time to keep the upgrade to Flexplus.

That means I can upgrade, get the insurance, keep it for 1 month and then get back to the free account.

Actually they also told me there is 28 days cooling off period, so if I downgrade the account before that I get the benefits of the plus account (travel insurance and free cash withdraws) for free. They were very nice to suggest that