Martin Lewis: A warning for anyone who's booked their holiday this year

NoodleDoodleMan

Holiday insurance really needs to be from the minute you make the booking and to include (obviously) the dates of travel and stay.

The classic (God forbid) worst case type scenario is that you walk out of the travel agent having committed yourself to a reservation - you slip and fall, sustaining injuries that render you unfit to fly.

If you've only selected the dates of travel and stay then your policy will not cover the losses - as the policy was not in effect at the time of the accident.

heatherw_01

Inforapennyinforapound said:

Just an aside,and it may be my fault? Last year I took out travel insurance for  a 1 week holiday abroad. I followed the advice here and bought it at least 8 weeks before said holiday .
it was only when we were due to go that I saw that the insurance was actually dated for just the 1 week of the holiday which is obviously the dates requested with the Insurance company.

so my question is: when I take out insurance this year I obviously give the dates of the start and end of the holiday which is what they will cover. Do I need to request that the start of the insurance is the day that I pay for it(2 months in advance for example) ? Surely this will make the price very much more expensive??
Yes,I am a little confused by this. Can someone please explain how it covers me for 2 months before the holiday if I am only asked for holiday dates when I take it out?

Thanks

Your travel insurance should be booked as soon as you book the trip and should cover the dates from when you leave for the trip to the point you return home in the UK.

Doesn't matter how far in advance it is, you book the insurance asap.

You don't pay more because the trip is in the future. That is irrelevant.

sheramber

Singkle trip insurance normally covers you for cancellation as soon as you take it out.

The other cover such as baggage cover, medical expenses etc only starts from the start of your trip

Marvel1

AS soon as my flight earlier today for a few months, travel insurance was done straight after.

Inforapennyinforapound

heatherw_01 said:

Inforapennyinforapound said:

Just an aside,and it may be my fault? Last year I took out travel insurance for  a 1 week holiday abroad. I followed the advice here and bought it at least 8 weeks before said holiday .
it was only when we were due to go that I saw that the insurance was actually dated for just the 1 week of the holiday which is obviously the dates requested with the Insurance company.

so my question is: when I take out insurance this year I obviously give the dates of the start and end of the holiday which is what they will cover. Do I need to request that the start of the insurance is the day that I pay for it(2 months in advance for example) ? Surely this will make the price very much more expensive??
Yes,I am a little confused by this. Can someone please explain how it covers me for 2 months before the holiday if I am only asked for holiday dates when I take it out?

Thanks

Your travel insurance should be booked as soon as you book the trip and should cover the dates from when you leave for the trip to the point you return home in the UK.

Doesn't matter how far in advance it is, you book the insurance asap.

You don't pay more because the trip is in the future. That is irrelevant.

Sorry but that doesn’t seem to answer my question,
you have just repeated what I said that obviously it covers the actual dates of the holiday which is the whole point…so what you are saying is that even though my holiday is,for example July 1st-July 8th, if I book today 9th March then I will be covered from today?….even though the form I fill in online asks for just my holiday dates?…Sounds a bit odd to me that’s all.  For example if I buy car insurance to start in July and I buy I today then that insurance starts in July,not today. This is where I am getting really confused. So when I fill out my online form do I give the start date for cover as today 9th March to July 8th or do I just give ACTUAL date of leaving and return.

This is my dilemma and I think,grateful as I am,that perhaps I didn’t perhaps make my query very clear..

Inforapennyinforapound

sheramber said:

Singkle trip insurance normally covers you for cancellation as soon as you take it out.

The other cover such as baggage cover, medical expenses etc only starts from the start of your trip

Yes I think you know what I’m getting at. The issue is that the policy form doesn’t actually state(I don’t think) that cover begins on the date purchased but starts on the first day of the holiday 

Lorian

Read the actual policy section about cancellations. 

Arthurian

If booking a package holiday, the holiday company T&Cs usually tell you how far in advance of the holiday dates you can cancel without incurring much of a penalty - for example, if you cancel 70 or more days ahead of the holiday date, you might only lose a £60 deposit.  So in such a case it wouldn't be disastrous if you waited until 71 days before travel before securing holiday insurance. 

NoodleDoodleMan

Last time I looked TUI cancellation fees were much more than £60.

Quite a lot of clients who booked using the low deposit offer thought that was all they would forfeit if cancelling before or at the 70 notice mark - whereas they were obliged to pay the full deposit.

If memory serves, the amounts were £100 and £400 respectively. This was all a few years ago - not sure what, if anything, has changed.

As a result TUI store staff were instructed to advise customers of this at the time of placing a reservation.

https://www.tui.co.uk/destinations/faq/before-you-go/changes-and-cancellations/will-i-have-to-pay-any-fees-to-cancel-my-holiday

Looks as if no change going by the above.

saajan_12

Inforapennyinforapound said:

heatherw_01 said:

Inforapennyinforapound said:

Just an aside,and it may be my fault? Last year I took out travel insurance for  a 1 week holiday abroad. I followed the advice here and bought it at least 8 weeks before said holiday .
it was only when we were due to go that I saw that the insurance was actually dated for just the 1 week of the holiday which is obviously the dates requested with the Insurance company.

so my question is: when I take out insurance this year I obviously give the dates of the start and end of the holiday which is what they will cover. Do I need to request that the start of the insurance is the day that I pay for it(2 months in advance for example) ? Surely this will make the price very much more expensive??
Yes,I am a little confused by this. Can someone please explain how it covers me for 2 months before the holiday if I am only asked for holiday dates when I take it out?

Thanks

Your travel insurance should be booked as soon as you book the trip and should cover the dates from when you leave for the trip to the point you return home in the UK.

Doesn't matter how far in advance it is, you book the insurance asap.

You don't pay more because the trip is in the future. That is irrelevant.

Sorry but that doesn’t seem to answer my question,
you have just repeated what I said that obviously it covers the actual dates of the holiday which is the whole point…so what you are saying is that even though my holiday is,for example July 1st-July 8th, if I book today 9th March then I will be covered from today?….even though the form I fill in online asks for just my holiday dates?…Sounds a bit odd to me that’s all.  For example if I buy car insurance to start in July and I buy I today then that insurance starts in July,not today. This is where I am getting really confused. So when I fill out my online form do I give the start date for cover as today 9th March to July 8th or do I just give ACTUAL date of leaving and return.

This is my dilemma and I think,grateful as I am,that perhaps I didn’t perhaps make my query very clear..

It does. You're covered for costs of the holiday in the country and dates you mention when taking out the policy. 
If that July holiday is cancelled somehow or if you're taken ill in May that affects your ability to go in July, then that's covered. 
However you're not covered for any other travel in April/May/June, nor are you covered for other side effects of your illness in May.