Travel Insurance - As Soon As You Book

Grumpy_chap

A couple of weeks back, my wife and I booked our holiday to Spain in October.
Straight away following doing the booking, we went to compare and purchased a single trip travel policy from Admiral.

Reading the information received, today I noticed that the policy details read:
 Start of trip <date 1>
 End of trip <date 2>

Under "trip cancellations" it said "we don't offer cover if anything happens before your policy start date" and on the next line had the policy start date noted as <date 1> which is the day we are scheduled to fly.
Then a helpful note "Ensure you don't need trip cancellation cover prior to your start date on <date 1>"

We have overcome the query by upgrading the policy to annual.  It was less than an extra £10 in total to cover us both.  Cheekily, the annual policy start date is put retrospective to the date a couple of weeks ago when we first booked and took out the policy.

So, no specific question for me and / or anything for me to do in relation to the above, but I wanted to ask:
1.  Is this normal that single trip policies only cover the actual trip dates?

It had always been my understanding that the single trip policy covered from when the policy was taken out until returning home at the end of the holiday.
If that is not the case, then it seems to contradict this guide https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel-insurance/single-trip-travel-insurance/

MyRealNameToo

For single trip policies you are asked your travel dates but the policy normally starts instantly.

For annual trip policies you are asked what date you want the policy to start on.

Insurers often use the same policywording for both so wonder if you have possibly misinterpreted it?

sheramber

Grumpy_chap said:

A couple of weeks back, my wife and I booked our holiday to Spain in October.
Straight away following doing the booking, we went to compare and purchased a single trip travel policy from Admiral.

Reading the information received, today I noticed that the policy details read:
 Start of trip <date 1>
 End of trip <date 2>

Under "trip cancellations" it said "we don't offer cover if anything happens before your policy start date" and on the next line had the policy start date noted as <date 1> which is the day we are scheduled to fly.
Then a helpful note "Ensure you don't need trip cancellation cover prior to your start date on <date 1>"

We have overcome the query by upgrading the policy to annual.  It was less than an extra £10 in total to cover us both.  Cheekily, the annual policy start date is put retrospective to the date a couple of weeks ago when we first booked and took out the policy.

So, no specific question for me and / or anything for me to do in relation to the above, but I wanted to ask:
1.  Is this normal that single trip policies only cover the actual trip dates?

It had always been my understanding that the single trip policy covered from when the policy was taken out until returning home at the end of the holiday.
If that is not the case, then it seems to contradict this guide https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel-insurance/single-trip-travel-insurance/

You are covered for cancellation  from the date
your policy starts but  not other cover such as loss of luggage, medical expenses etc. 

https://www.admiral.com/travel-insurance/single-trip-insurance.php?infinity=ict2~net~gaw~cmp~Travel%20Insurance%20-%20Brand%20-%20%5BAdmiral%20Travel%20Insurance%5D~ag~Admiral%20Travel%20Insurance%20-%20Exact~ar~595334089806~kw~admiral%20travel%20insurance~mt~e&media=ADTRB&tracking=ef2e9c67-ae8b-4d73-ba85-555cb17447ad&gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=13962592523&gbraid=0AAAAAD3Y5sckZNjbmDTXaJR2TkguyGoWb

When should my single trip travel insurance start?

Your cover begins on the day you selected for it to start and finish (your holiday dates), but your cancellation period starts from the date you bought the cover. 

Grumpy_chap

MyRealNameToo said:

For single trip policies you are asked your travel dates but the policy normally starts instantly.

For annual trip policies you are asked what date you want the policy to start on.

Insurers often use the same policywording for both so wonder if you have possibly misinterpreted it?

That (the first two lines) is what I understood to be the case.

The wording was very clear to indicate that there was no cover until the trip date, including cancellation.  It is wrong if that is not the case, as per the link provided by Sheramber.

Overall, I guess this worked out OK as we now have the annual policy at only £10 more than the single trip policy.  It is much cheaper in total (£60) than the annual policies via the comparison sites.

luci

Have you read your policy schedule and policy wording to check what you're actually covered for. There should also be a policy summary detailing what is and isn't covered. For example, some insurers don't include Spain unless you buy a policy that specifically covers Spain. 

Have you declared any medical conditions either of you have or have had in the past x years? 

£60 seems very cheap for an annual policy for two people.

Grumpy_chap

luci said:

some insurers don't include Spain unless you buy a policy that specifically covers Spain. 

The single trip policy was to go to Spain.

luci said:

Have you declared any medical conditions either of you have or have had in the past x years? 

Medical conditions are declared.

luci said:

£60 seems very cheap for an annual policy for two people.

Was £48 for the single trip policy.
Then they sent the e-mail to upgrade to annual for £10.

luci

Grumpy_chap said:

luci said:

some insurers don't include Spain unless you buy a policy that specifically covers Spain. 

The single trip policy was to go to Spain.

I didn't say that your policy didn't include Spain. You didn't quote the part where I said, "For example". I was just giving an example of the different levels of cover some insurers have.