query ref travel insurance as an annual policy ends mid holiday

TOMHAYDOCK

Hi, My current annual policy ends on the 9th Sept this year. I recently booked a 15 night break abroad ( seperate apartment & flights in place we have stayed a few times before) this is from 1st Sept to 16th Sept.

 My plan was to re do an annual policy but only in Jan 26 as currently have no plans to go away again till possibly early 26 so therefore dont want to waste 25% of an annual policy cover .

  Initialy I asked my provider if I could do an extention / bolt on to my annual insurance policy to cover the 7 days. I was told no , your policy is fixed term and cant be done.

 I then asked them could I take out a 7 day basic policy to cover the 7 days ( my annual is the top tier policy they do)

 Again I was told no I would have to do a new policy for the entire trip of 15 nights  not 7 as I can't run 2 to cover the period.

 Has anyone else encountered this situation ? Are they correct as it seems crazy to me !!

Thanks

Tom

heatherw_01

I had this with my insurer and they said as long as I let the annual insurance renew, I will be covered.
But I know every insurer is different and I wanted to renew, so it was good for me personally.

You could take a single trip insurance out to cover the entire trip. That would work.

sheramber

Travel usually has to start and end in UK for travel insurance.

your last 7 days do not start in UK.

if you renewed your annual policy and cancelled it when you came back would you get a refund for the unused portion?

cw8825

They are correct and trying to help you. If you did need to claim for any reason. 2 policies means 2 claims 2 sets of excess as it will be shared by both insurers. 
It also makes no sense for them to insure you twice 

MyRealNameToo

TOMHAYDOCK said:

Hi, My current annual policy ends on the 9th Sept this year. I recently booked a 15 night break abroad ( seperate apartment & flights in place we have stayed a few times before) this is from 1st Sept to 16th Sept.

 My plan was to re do an annual policy but only in Jan 26 as currently have no plans to go away again till possibly early 26 so therefore dont want to waste 25% of an annual policy cover .

  Initialy I asked my provider if I could do an extention / bolt on to my annual insurance policy to cover the 7 days. I was told no , your policy is fixed term and cant be done.

 I then asked them could I take out a 7 day basic policy to cover the 7 days ( my annual is the top tier policy they do)

 Again I was told no I would have to do a new policy for the entire trip of 15 nights  not 7 as I can't run 2 to cover the period.

 Has anyone else encountered this situation ? Are they correct as it seems crazy to me !!

An annual policy can be cheaper than a single trip policy and at worst its equivalent to about 1.5 decent holidays. Part of the reason is that the rate of claims is massively lower than single trip which you would assume is mainly because people hold it despite not knowing for certain they are going on holiday. 

Most insurers won't change the duration of an annual policy and a regular single trip policy has to cover the full duration of the time you will be outside the UK. 

There are policy extensions available that can be bought which dont require you to cover the whole trip but these are relatively expensive and typically have much less cover. They are designed for those already overseas who have to extend their stay but nothing to stop someone buying one intentionally. 

You would almost certainly have to state to your current insurers that you intend to renew the policy until the last possible second before cancelling it and they may require you to renew it were you to make a claim before the renewal in which case the cost of the extension would be a waste. 

TOMHAYDOCK

Many thanks for the feedback on this.

I think I will do a new annual policy with a new  from 1st Sept as I have some quotes just that are lower than last years Admiral policy for same cover , me having a hernia repaired with surgery recently recently.

In addition I am still chasing current provider for a claim that is to us100% justified ( delayed start of a holiday due to mother in law falling getting out of bed banging her head & being on the floor for hours ( and ending up passing away a week later )in her care home end of April.

Tom

MyRealNameToo

TOMHAYDOCK said:

Many thanks for the feedback on this.

I think I will do a new annual policy with a new  from 1st Sept as I have some quotes just that are lower than last years Admiral policy for same cover , me having a hernia repaired with surgery recently recently.

In addition I am still chasing current provider for a claim that is to us100% justified ( delayed start of a holiday due to mother in law falling getting out of bed banging her head & being on the floor for hours ( and ending up passing away a week later )in her care home end of April.

Tom

It's certainly an option but obviously creates a problem if you get ill in August as it will predate the new policy and the old policy doesnt cover the full trip. Depending on the specific terms you may be able to claim on the old policy if you also renew it meaning you'll have paid twice for the insurance.