18 April 2024

Travel Insurance – Buy your Policy as soon as your Holiday is Booked

If you are planning a holiday, don’t forget to buy your travel insurance as soon as your holiday has been confirmed.

Many people will have heard Martin Lewis issuing the advice to buy your travel insurance as soon as you’ve booked your holiday but do you know why?

Travel insurance is there to cover you for a myriad of reasons - if your baggage gets lost, there is a medical issue while you are away or your cruise ship misses one of its ports and you can’t go on your excursion for example. But one of the biggest reasons you need travel insurance is if you have to cancel your holiday.

Without a travel insurance policy in place, you will not be covered if you need to cancel your trip in which case you are likely to lose any deposit you have already paid.

Let’s take an example:

In April Bill and Mary book a holiday in St Lucia. They’re not going until July so they decide to buy their travel insurance nearer the time. In June, Mary falls over and breaks her foot. The doctor says she can’t walk on it for at least 8 weeks. Bill and Mary cancel their holiday but they hadn’t got around to buying travel insurance so won’t get their money back

If Bill and Mary bought their travel insurance in April, they could have been covered for cancellation up to their point of departure so would have been able to put in a claim to get their money back and hopefully book another holiday when Mary had recovered.

What should you consider when looking for travel insurance?

• How long is your trip? Do you need cover for more than one holiday in the same twelve months? The answers to these questions will help you decide whether to take out a single trip, a long stay or an annual policy.

• What type of holiday is it? There are specialist policies available geared towards cruise, backpacker, winter sports holidays for example. These travel insurance policies usually have cover which is specific to that kind of holiday – missed port cover for a cruise is one such benefit.

• Do you have any pre-existing medical conditions? Not all companies will offer travel insurance if you are currently undergoing medical treatment whereas some can tailor a policy for you.

• Are you planning on any adventurous activities or sports while you are away? Bungee jumping maybe? Check that a travel insurance will cover what you have planned.

• If you taking any valuables or gadgets, you may need to specify these for them to be covered.

• Sometimes it can work out cheaper to take out a Family policy – especially if it has a ‘kids go free’ offer.

Get a quote for your travel insurance today and buy it as soon as you have booked your holiday, reserved your hotel room or arranged your flights. If you have paid out any money towards your travel, then you need insurance to have any chance of getting your money back if you have to cancel.

Lastly, we are always looking for ways to help our customers save money. Take a look at our travel insurance discount codes and deals.