When Is The Best Time To Buy Travel Insurance? (2024)

FAQs

Is it better to buy travel insurance early or late? ›

In general, you can buy coverage any time before the date of your trip. That said, it's always best to buy coverage as soon as you make your reservations. The sooner you buy travel insurance, the sooner you'll be protected and the more benefits you may be eligible to receive.

Unlike other aspects of your travel experience like airfares or hotel-room rates, the price of travel insurance doesn't increase the closer you get to your travel date. There's no financial penalty if you wait to buy travel insurance (except for those bonus coverages, of course).

The golden rule is to buy your insurance as soon as you book your trip. This move will make you a savvy traveller because it means you're immediately protected against any pre-departure mishaps, like cancellations or health issues that prevent you from travelling.

Wait—what if you haven't figured out your entire trip cost within 14 days of making your first trip deposit? It's okay! Just don't delay. Go ahead and purchase travel insurance within that 14-day window, making sure you select a plan with the existing medical condition benefit.

The good news is that you can buy travel insurance at any point–even if you already started your trip. However, you might not get all the coverage you were hoping for. Your coverage options become more and more limited the longer you wait. The price typically stays the same no matter when you buy travel protection.

It can also be expensive, difficult to file claims, and not always cover the things you thought it would — or should.

We at the MarketWatch Guides team awarded Allianz Travel Insurance 4.1 out of 5 stars based on our provider review methodology. Named our pick for concierge services, Allianz offers 24/7 travel assistance through a multilingual team, which can help policyholders with travel and coverage issues while abroad.

Credit card travel insurance is a benefit included with certain travel credit cards. You'll often see this perk with travel rewards credit cards, such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card, Chase Sapphire Reserve®, or The Platinum Card® from American Express.

Tips for keeping the cost of travel insurance down

A change of country could save you a little cash. A holiday to Paris will usually cost you less in insurance premiums than a trip to New York. It's also important to check the country you are travelling to is actually covered by your travel insurer.

While it's not recommended to purchase travel insurance before booking travel, you'll want to do so as soon as your reservations are made. At this point, you can expect to see the greatest number of options to choose from, including Cancel For Any Reason insurance.

Does travel insurance cover cancelled flights? ›

Cancellation cover is a common inclusion with most standard travel insurance policies, but you can take it out separately if it doesn't offer enough cover. Alternatively, if you only want cancellation cover to protect you against cancelled flights rather than baggage protection, you can get it for that.

If you buy a policy straight after booking, it should mean you're covered if you need to cancel your trip or if your holiday company goes bust before you go away. Sorting out your travel insurance well in advance also gives you time to compare prices and make sure you get the right policy for you.

If you experience a situation that requires last-minute travel, you can still buy travel insurance up to the day before your trip, but it will likely cost more. While coverage options may vary by insurer, you should be able to purchase a travel medical policy and coverage for your luggage and missed connections.

Based on our comprehensive review, the companies offering the best travel medical insurance are Faye, IMG, Travelex, AIG Travel Guard and Allianz. Travel medical insurance is a specialized type of coverage that helps pay for medical bills and emergency evacuations if you're hurt or become sick while traveling.

The short answer is: It's not too late! You absolutely can buy travel insurance after booking your trip. However, it's always best to purchase insurance as early in the process as possible.

Trip cancellation insurance reimburses you for non-refundable and/or non-transferable deposits on pre-paid travel arrangements and cancellation penalties that a transportation carrier or tour guide may charge.

If your reason for coming home is one of those covered reasons, you could be covered. If it's not, then you're not. In other words, you can't just decide you'd like to go home earlier than planned and be covered for any lost deposits or fees charged for an early return. That part of things is pretty cut-and-dried.

With the cost of flights and accommodation rising, travel insurance might be one of those extras you think you can do without. But, as one industry expert warns, while travel insurance premiums may be increasing, the cost of not having travel insurance in the event of something going wrong could be much, much higher.