Whether you’re taking a short vacation, travelling for work, scheduling a two-week leave, or taking a year off to travel around the world, travel insurance can provide you with the assurance that you’re protected against various events and problems, however unlikely they may appear.

Holidays are usually a great opportunity you work hard for and eagerly wait for all year, so why wouldn’t you desire to insure them in case adventitious events put your trip at risk?

Travel insurance is an approach to protect against cancellation and unexpected events. It protects you from the probability of damage, loss, or burglary of your belongings, from passports to suitcases. It can also contribute to you restoring certain costs you incur from incidents while you’re away, or if you require medical help and even transport home (known as ‘repatriation’) in an emergency.

The time you choose to purchase travel insurance can be dependent on the journey you’re going on and the kind of policy you select that fits them. Usually, it’s best to get insurance for your holiday as soon as you’ve booked or made a financial commitment to it. That’s especially significant if you’ve paid fully or with a deposit, for flights, hotel, or a package deal, and if you’ve pre-booked any activities or journeys for while you’re there.

Purchasing events could mean having to cancel before your scheduled departure date and the knock-on impacts that might have. 

When to purchase single-trip travel insurance?

Single-trip travel insurance is usually suitable for people who travel a lot. With it, you’re safe in the event of cancellation from the moment you purchase your policy. The policy start date requires to be that of your real trip, but the cover starts immediately.

The same usually applies to specific kinds of travel insurance such as cruise cover and winter sports cover for activities like skiing and snowboarding. Cover usually begins on these policies the moment you purchase them, too.

This means that however far in advance you purchase your travel insurance, you’ll be able to restore the costs of your holiday (minus any extra) if it’s cancelled for specific reasons outside of your control. Just check the policy terms.

When to purchase annual multi-trip travel insurance?

Annual multi-trip travel insurance policies have a different story. They should be considered if you’re thinking of taking more than one trip in one year. An annual policy may be cheaper than purchasing individual single-trip policies for each of the trips you schedule to take.

Another significant difference is that cancellation cover on multi-trip policies usually starts on the policy start date you select, rather than when you purchase the insurance – unless they’re on the same date, that is.

If there is a doubt or you’ve already paid fully for or booked parts of your trip, it’s worth selecting a start date that guarantees your cancellation cover begins immediately. And assure you always know the policy details precisely before you purchase to make sure you’ll be covered for what you need when you need it.

When to purchase family travel insurance?

If you’re taking a trip abroad as a family, it is rational to buy insurance that protects you all from the moment you book your journey, especially if you have children, as the potential dangers and reasons to make a claim either before or during your trip can change.

Often, it’s not essentially a case of searching and purchasing a dedicated family travel insurance policy. Instead, standard travel insurance policies will provide a quote for the number of people travelling. That could be an individual, a couple, or two adults plus 1-8 children aged 18 or under. All must be living at the same address forever. You have to state them in the policy.

Always read the policy details to make sure your special family needs will be covered, especially if any of your family will be travelling individually.

If you have worries about the pandemic, travel supplier bankruptcy, or work, buying early can get you much-needed profits in case any one of these things causes you to postpone your trip. The following kinds of travel insurance procure coverage for these concerns. So make sure you purchase within 1-14 days (depending on the insurance provider) of booking your trip:

1. Typhoon Insurance: You’re going to a destination where there’s a chance a typhoon could hit.
2. Call off for Any Reason Coverage: You can expect that there’s any chance you might desire to cancel your travel trip.
3. Call off for Work Reasons: You have an unanticipated job or work plan.
4. Fiscal Default Coverage: You would like to guarantee against losing money if the travel company you’re working with (and have already paid) close for any reason.

Buying the day before you travel

Scheduling a trip is a great feat and it’s understandable that you might postpone buying travel insurance. On the other hand, you might have scheduled a last-minute trip and still want to insure it before departing.

Either way, you can purchase a travel insurance policy that incorporates Trip Cancellation Insurance that will protect you if you have to call off for an adventitious circumstance. Those include death, sickness, or injury, anytime up until the day before your trip. This is because the insurance will activate the day after you purchase it, so it’s too late to purchase comprehensive travel insurance after midnight on the day of your departure…but any time before that works. What you require to discern is that you have to get coverage before the circumstance arises. So if you get injured before you purchase insurance, you can’t buy the insurance and call off your trip and get a refund of your trip costs.

Buying at the last-minute

Many people postpone purchasing the travel insurance and end up buying it just a day or day before their flight departure day. This is the riskiest of buying and should be refrained as far as possible. The biggest shortcoming of buying the travel plan at this time is that you become bereft of a number of benefits of your travel schedule that you were allowed.

Any insurance schedule takes a few days to activate. Purchasing the protection schedule at the last-minute means you will be travelling uninsured until your policy activates. This might also result in insurance companies refusing your claim. Occasionally, you miss your cover for cancellation expenses. Main coverage that requires early buying to come into effect are:

1. Coverage for cancellation because of any reason
2. Coverage for cancellation because of work reasons
3. Coverage for a pre-existing medical problem
4. Protection against financial default

The best time to buy travel insurance

Generally, you should purchase A TRAVEL INSURANCE scheduled within fourteen days of booking your holiday. However, the ideal time to purchase travel insurance should be coincident with the date you make the first arrangement and make your first trip deposit like a flight ticket.

Buying a travel insurance schedule this early protects you from unpredictable circumstances. As most travel schedules cover unforeseen events, you can benefit from an early buying. For example, you booked a holiday for Emirates three months in advance.

Can I purchase travel insurance before booking my flight?

Yes! There is no need to have every detail of your trip found out before booking your Travel Guard insurance schedule. We know that scheduling travel is a process and can take months to get finalized. Because of that, you can make special changes and modifications to your policy and still benefit from those early purchase profits.