Holiday insurance, confused

jeff_chandler

Hi all.

I'm currently watching the money show where Martin tells us to book insurance as soon as you book the holiday. Does he mean book insurance for the two weeks the day you travel or, do i book insurance the day i book the holiday?.

I've just done a search and insurance from now until until we return will cost almost five times our holiday cost. We booked this afternoon for Mexico, travelling in September.

Jeff

jackieblack

Take out the policy the same day you book the holiday, for the dates of travel (the day you leave home until the day you arrive home)

Ayr_Rage

For SINGLE TRIP you put in the trip departure and return dates, location and buy it NOW.

You are then covered for cancellation from the date you buy the insurance until departure date and then for the actual holiday.

If Mexico is lumped in with the USA then premiums can be very high.

sheramber

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81980616#Comment_81980616

What happens if you break a leg or unable to travel some other reason a week before you travel.

If your insurance starts the day you are due to leave you have no cover and no holiday.

You need to be covered from the day you book until the day you come back.

jeff_chandler

Thank you for your replies. I must admit it did have me quite confused, even the wife didn't really understand.

Jeff

jackieblack

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81980622#Comment_81980622

That's why you take out the policy as soon as you book the holiday. You will be covered from the day you buy the policy if an insured event happens and you have to cancel the holiday

Not every event/circumstance will be covered, which is why it's important to check exactly what is and isn't covered before buying the policy

sheramber

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81980650#Comment_81980650

Take out the policy the same day you book the holiday, for the dates of travel (the day you leave home until the day you arrive home)

Your post reads as take out insurance the day you book to start on the day you travel.

jackieblack

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81980658#Comment_81980658

Some of the covered risks (eg loss of luggage, medical cover whilst away) will only apply to the dates of your holiday. Others (eg cancellation due to accident/serious illness before you travel)will apply from the date you take out the policy.

This will all be detailed in the policy, a copy of which should be available for you to tead before buying.

luci

@jackieblack has described it perfectly.

Travel insurance should be bought as soon as the holiday is booked. For a single trip policy, it will ask for the dates of travel and the duration. You will be covered from the date of purchase for cancellation in the event of reasons specified in the policy. You will be covered for medical, etc during the period of your holiday.

It is imperative to declare all medical conditions for everyone travelling, as failure to do so may invalidate any medical claim, which could turn out to be very costly. You need to read what is being asked on the medical declaration very carefully and ensure you answer fully and honestly.

For Mexico, you may be able to get a worldwide policy excluding the USA and Caribbean.

You can check comparison sites for travel insurance, but it may be false economy to go with the cheapest policy from the results. Many of those are pared down versions and may have low limits of cover or not cover certain things. It is highly advised to read the policy wording to make sure it covers what you need it to.

MyRealNameToo

Most put Mexico into the same grouping as the USA and Caribbean plus given Mexico has a Caribbean coastline there will always be the potential for it to be classed as Caribbean. Wife's Latin American and gets irritated when rum from her homeland isnt included in the list of Caribbean rums (thankfully most do include it)

If you are going to northern Mexico, like Baja California its not uncommon for tourists that are seriously ill to be medi-vaced to the US for more advanced treatments

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6666108/holiday-insurance-confused

It depends if you are buying single trip or annual policy. For the former, as many have already said, you declare your travel date and the policy commences immediately.

For Annual policies it's slightly different, instead you declare what date you want the policy to start, most will be adjoining it to their current policy. Anything that happens or you become aware of before the start date won't be covered.

The general advice is to have an in force policy from as soon as you have bought the holiday however there can be exceptions to this… if you are booking a holiday 18+ months in advance you need to factor other things in as not many single trip will quote that far in advance and obviously with annual policies you'll have to have two years.

Similarly if buying a package holiday and you have very high premiums then it may not be economical to buy the insurance until you become liable for the full holiday costs. There is little point spending £1,000 on insurance to protect a £250 deposit as even if you were to claim you would be £750 down. The one thing to be careful about however is to ensure you know what you are actually liable for on the holiday, certainly in the past there were some agents that allowed you to deposit a tiny amount up front and not pay the rest of the deposit until you were 6-9 months out however from day 0 you were liable for the full deposit in the event of a cancellation.

sheramber

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81980667#Comment_81980667

I know that and you know that but the OP didn’t understand travel insurance.

Saying take out insurance today for the dates of travel does not imply cover right away.

I can take out my car insurance for a date in the future( same as your ‘date of travel’) but I won’t be covered by that insurance from today until that date next month or whatever date I stated.