Travel Insurance for August 2026

AntySoo

Hi there,

I have booked a 2-week holiday (in the Dominican Republic) for August 2026 and most insurers will not even give me a quote for a trip that will take place more than a year ahead.  The one that did quoted £350 for single trip cover.

- I do not have a current policy as I have not travelled for a while. 
- I would like to take out an annual policy rather than a single trip because I have a couple of European trips planned later this year.
- On the one hand, I want to put insurance in place asap. 
- On the other, I won't be covered by a policy that will expire before my arrival home on 28/8/26.
- It won't be cheap because I will be over 65 at the time of travel and have minor medical issues.

So I am planning to wait until 29/8/25 to get the insurance.
But do I need the insurance to run beyond the planned arrival home date in case something happens to delay my return?

grumpy_codger

AntySoo said:

So I am planning to wait until 29/8/25 to get the insurance.
But do I need the insurance to run beyond the planned arrival home date in case something happens to delay my return?

I don't know, but there is  Overseas holidays & travel planning board here for such questions.

bjorn_toby_wilde

AntySoo said:

Hi there,

I have booked a 2-week holiday (in the Dominican Republic) for August 2026 and most insurers will not even give me a quote for a trip that will take place more than a year ahead.  The one that did quoted £350 for single trip cover.

- I do not have a current policy as I have not travelled for a while. 
- I would like to take out an annual policy rather than a single trip because I have a couple of European trips planned later this year.
- On the one hand, I want to put insurance in place asap. 
- On the other, I won't be covered by a policy that will expire before my arrival home on 28/8/26.
- It won't be cheap because I will be over 65 at the time of travel and have minor medical issues.

So I am planning to wait until 29/8/25 to get the insurance.
But do I need the insurance to run beyond the planned arrival home date in case something happens to delay my return?

At this point you could probably cancel and get all of your money back. It’s normally when you get closer to travelling that the percentage of the cost that you can get back changes.

Why not check the terms and conditions and leave it for a few months?

katejo

grumpy_codger said:

AntySoo said:

So I am planning to wait until 29/8/25 to get the insurance.
But do I need the insurance to run beyond the planned arrival home date in case something happens to delay my return?

I don't know, but there is  Overseas holidays & travel planning board here for such questions.

This is the Overseas Travel and planning board. 

TELLIT01

I wouldn't worry unduly about not being able to take our insurance for another 3 weeks.  If the worst were to happen before the 29th, you would only potentially lose your deposit.

MyRealNameToo

AntySoo said:

Hi there,

I have booked a 2-week holiday (in the Dominican Republic) for August 2026 and most insurers will not even give me a quote for a trip that will take place more than a year ahead.  The one that did quoted £350 for single trip cover.

- I do not have a current policy as I have not travelled for a while. 
- I would like to take out an annual policy rather than a single trip because I have a couple of European trips planned later this year.
- On the one hand, I want to put insurance in place asap. 
- On the other, I won't be covered by a policy that will expire before my arrival home on 28/8/26.
- It won't be cheap because I will be over 65 at the time of travel and have minor medical issues.

So I am planning to wait until 29/8/25 to get the insurance.
But do I need the insurance to run beyond the planned arrival home date in case something happens to delay my return?

On the basis its already booked this is presumably a package holiday and at the moment you are only at risk of losing a modest deposit?

Most annual policies will consider it continuous cover if you renew with them so you can be ok with a holiday spanning the renewal as long as it's renewed. Each policy however is different and you should double check with your provider before buying on how they deal with matters. 

On the other hand if you are just down a modest deposit so far and have no immediate trips it may be better to buy on the date of your return therefore the full trip is in scope of the one policy. 

AntySoo

bjorn_toby_wilde said:

AntySoo said:

Hi there,

I have booked a 2-week holiday (in the Dominican Republic) for August 2026 and most insurers will not even give me a quote for a trip that will take place more than a year ahead.  The one that did quoted £350 for single trip cover.

- I do not have a current policy as I have not travelled for a while. 
- I would like to take out an annual policy rather than a single trip because I have a couple of European trips planned later this year.
- On the one hand, I want to put insurance in place asap. 
- On the other, I won't be covered by a policy that will expire before my arrival home on 28/8/26.
- It won't be cheap because I will be over 65 at the time of travel and have minor medical issues.

So I am planning to wait until 29/8/25 to get the insurance.
But do I need the insurance to run beyond the planned arrival home date in case something happens to delay my return?

At this point you could probably cancel and get all of your money back. It’s normally when you get closer to travelling that the percentage of the cost that you can get back changes.

Why not check the terms and conditions and leave it for a few months?

Thanks bjorn - I can't cancel because it is a family holiday with about 30 relatives and I need this holiday on those dates.  That is why it is being booked so far ahead of time - to ensure we get everyone at the same place at the same time.  Thanks anyway.

AntySoo

Thanks everyone.
As I have pointed out to bjorn, it is a big family holiday where we all need to be in the same place at the same time - which is why it is being planned so far ahead.  Cancellation is not an option.
MyRealNameToo - thanks especially for all that info.  Yes it is package holiday.  Because insurance for over 65s is so expensive, I don't want to have to pay for 2 annual policies.  I will wait until the date of my return.  It is with a very large holiday company so I do not expect them to go out of business.
Grumpy Codger - I could not find the answer on that link but I appreciate your input.
Thanks again.

NoodleDoodleMan

"Because insurance for over 65s is so expensive, I don't want to have to pay for 2 annual policies." 

In which case you might want to look at a joint bank account package with annual travel insurance ?

The Co-op Bank version gives cover up to 80th birthday - and the Nationwide FlexPlus account now has no age limit, it focuses on medical conditions to quote any potential additional premiums rather than age.

Cover renews automatically on the annual anniversary - although of course you need to declare any changes in health as soon as these become apparent.

The former is provided by AXA, the latter by Aviva.

MyRealNameToo

Are you looking to insure all 30 people under a single policy or just buying a policy for your immediate family and the rest of the clan are arranging their own policy?

If its all under one its more likely going to be a single trip policy than annual surely?