Do I need insurance or is it ok...

Castle_Rock

Hi,
I'm travelling to Ibiza in July.
I bought my holiday insurance in April last year so it runs out in April this year.  Do I need to buy insurance now to cover myself for the July trip or am I ok to buy this in April?
I have to make another payment in a couple of weeks for my holiday but I'm worried in case the corona virus doesn't cover me.

[Deleted User]

 Very likely any insurance bought now won't cover coronvirus 

TELLIT01

With many insurers you can set a start date for some time in the future.  I've seen anything from 30 to 90 days on various sites I've been looking at.

[Deleted User]

 I booked my holiday and insurance 4 months ago for a holiday at the end of may. Single trip cover. 

maman

It might not be the cheapest option but why not call your current insurer and ask? If you were to renew in April then you'd have continuous cover. 

NoodleDoodleMan

"Do I need to buy insurance now to cover myself for the July trip or am I ok to buy this in April?"

Medical insurance cover can't be taken retrospectively to cover a prior accident or contracting a medical condition which then prevents you from travelling etc.

What happens if (God forbid) something untoward occurs during May or June when you have no cover in place ?

Get a policy soonest effective 1st May, or better still get an annual policy which will renew on the anniversary - packaged bank accounts are worth looking at.

Here's an analogy - your car insurance runs out a midnight on 31st March and you have an accident on 1st April without having renewed your policy - could you then organise a new policy to cover you for an accident claim ?

lea2012

NoodleDoodleMan said:

"Do I need to buy insurance now to cover myself for the July trip or am I ok to buy this in April?"

Medical insurance cover can't be taken retrospectively to cover a prior accident or contracting a medical condition which then prevents you from travelling etc.

What happens if (God forbid) something untoward occurs during May or June when you have no cover in place ?

Get a policy soonest effective 1st May, or better still get an annual policy which will renew on the anniversary - packaged bank accounts are worth looking at.

Here's an analogy - your car insurance runs out a midnight on 31st March and you have an accident on 1st April without having renewed your policy - could you then organise a new policy to cover you for an accident claim ?

I'm in the same boat and our annual policy runs out in April. We can't renew for an annual policy as yet as most policies seem only start up to 30 days prior so I have to wait another few weeks until its 30 days before our old policy runs out. It's unlikely the new policy will cover coronavirus even on an auto renewal though so bit buggered either way! 

maman

It wouldn't surprise me if I was wrong but if I have cover now with my current insurers and then reinsure with the same company wouldn't it be continuous cover? So a trip booked in OP's case last April (long before we knew about coronavirus) should be covered.  Under normal circumstances it would. It wouldn't surprise me though if they found a way to wriggle out of it.
Although I suppose it's like trying to renew my cover when I'd got some sort of diagnosis in the meantime. 

Sharon87

Martin Lewis covered this on his Facebook page that's relevant to the OP:

I'm getting many questions about annual travel insurance and what trips it covers in relation to my previous post.

Imagine

- You've got a hoilday booked for Oct
- Your annual policy lapses in July
- You'll get a new annual policy with diff firm to start the day after the current policy ends.

If something happens between now & july that stops you going on your Oct hol, u claim on current policy.

If it happens after July you claim on new policy.

Ageing_Disgracefully

Sharon87 said:

If something happens between now & july that stops you going on your Oct hol, u claim on current policy.

If it happens after July you claim on new policy.

I think that the issue is if a new policy specifically excludes coronavirus then that would potentially be a huge risk for travellers to take.

You would think that holiday firms would want to clarify this quickly or else nobody will book anything.  Maybe new travel insurance policies will just get a whole lot more expensive.

Manxman_in_exile

NoodleDoodleMan said:

"Do I need to buy insurance now to cover myself for the July trip or am I ok to buy this in April?"

Medical insurance cover can't be taken retrospectively to cover a prior accident or contracting a medical condition which then prevents you from travelling etc.

What happens if (God forbid) something untoward occurs during May or June when you have no cover in place ?

Get a policy soonest effective 1st May, or better still get an annual policy which will renew on the anniversary - packaged bank accounts are worth looking at.

Here's an analogy - your car insurance runs out a midnight on 31st March and you have an accident on 1st April without having renewed your policy - could you then organise a new policy to cover you for an accident claim ?

Um...haven't you misunderstood what the OP is asking?  (Or have I misunderstood!)

There's no question of them not having cover in May or June.  The OP is asking whether they should wait to renew their current insurance when it expires in April, or whether they should try to get cover in advance now for their July trip.  Either way there's no gap in insurance.  Or maybe I've completely misunderstood your point or the OP's question.