When to Buy Trip Insurance?

[MamaBear58]

I didn't do this through DCL because I want my whole trip covered. But do most companies make you buy within so many days of making the deposit? of paying in full?

At this point I have only the flights (booked Sunday) and cruise (deposit yesterday). I still have to make hotel reservations (1 night before and 1 night after) and transfers. Payment in full isn't due until 12/20, and excursions can't be booked until 1/4. First Disney cruise so I have no clue as to what we might book.

So can I wait until January to buy insurance?

Thanks.

 

[orion2185]

we think each travel insurance policy is different.

for us (we live in Australia) our policy starts the day we purchase it.

So in our case (might be different for your needs) it makes sense to by trip insurance as soon as possible.

Since our policy will cover from that day forward. We normally book when the cruise dates are released...so that's quite a bit of time before we sail or paid in full dates.
Therefore, we are covered by trip insurance for all the months leading up to and we like to extend our coverage a week or more after our planed return home date. Just in case anything happens while on our trip...we stayed covered with plenty of extra days to get us home. (since international travel is +/-2days)
there's allot of time between the concept of our tip, booking, and wooohoooo were onboard dates....allot can happen before when step foot on a plane. That's why we like to start our policy once we know the basic details of our trip.


our policy is a blanket policy for our entire trip (airfare, hotels, cruises, and everything in between)

again every company is different
some do it by the overall number of days your trip is
some by the overall out of pocket cost of your trip
or combo of both...or other

just check your policy and see if you have any "cooling off/waiting" periods to make a claim after you buy.

I'm sure others can give better advice for US companies and their details

 

[SuzanneSLO]

I didn't do this through DCL because I want my whole trip covered. But do most companies make you buy within so many days of making the deposit? of paying in full?

At this point I have only the flights (booked Sunday) and cruise (deposit yesterday). I still have to make hotel reservations (1 night before and 1 night after) and transfers. Payment in full isn't due until 12/20, and excursions can't be booked until 1/4. First Disney cruise so I have no clue as to what we might book.

So can I wait until January to buy insurance?

Thanks.

I would not wait until January to buy travel insurance. As you noted, all policies require you to purchase within a short period of time after putting any deposit on the trip to be eligible for cancel for any reason coverage and many require you to purchase within the same time frame to cover pre-existing conditions. I'm not aware of any policies that allow you to cover pre-existing conditions after you pay in full.

You can search for policies at sites like tripinsurancestore.com. If you are a member, USAA has also has good options.

Best of luck. -- Suzanne

 

[lanejudy]

As PP mentions, if you may need "cancel for any reason" or "pre-existing conditions" coverage then you should be purchasing your travel insurance now. You can add on various components as your plans shift (adding pre-/post-cruise hotel, flights, rental, etc.). While your cruise deposit is currently refundable if you decided to cancel, I'm assuming your airfare might not be so you probably already have non-refundable expenses you've paid. Might as well cover it.

Enjoy your cruise!

 

[MunFam]

As PP mentions, if you may need "cancel for any reason" or "pre-existing conditions" coverage then you should be purchasing your travel insurance now. You can add on various components as your plans shift (adding pre-/post-cruise hotel, flights, rental, etc.). While your cruise deposit is currently refundable if you decided to cancel, I'm assuming your airfare might not be so you probably already have non-refundable expenses you've paid. Might as well cover it.

Enjoy your cruise!

This is the way my favorite insurance company Travel Guard works...you add as you go...but if you do not purchase within 15 days of the date of your first deposit you miss out on a lot of coverage, but you pay the same price!

 

[Msidescooter]

If you're planning on purchasing travel insurance, you want to do it within the first week or so of putting your original deposit down. There's several sites out there that let you compare insurance companies...although it won't let me say which. When you buy the insurance you'll cover what you've paid deposits on (or PIF) but once you add the hotel you can call them to have it added (and pay the additional premium).

 

[Kathymford]

What happens to the insurance policy if you change cruises? I booked onboard, but not 100% sure I'll be keeping it. Most likely I will keep something, just not sure if it's this one.

 

[shelbell77]

I didn't do this through DCL because I want my whole trip covered. But do most companies make you buy within so many days of making the deposit? of paying in full?

At this point I have only the flights (booked Sunday) and cruise (deposit yesterday). I still have to make hotel reservations (1 night before and 1 night after) and transfers. Payment in full isn't due until 12/20, and excursions can't be booked until 1/4. First Disney cruise so I have no clue as to what we might book.

So can I wait until January to buy insurance?

Thanks.

If there are any preexisting conditions at all, most travel insurance policies require you to purchase the policy between the first couple weeks after making initial payment on a trip. Exact time varies by company.

 

[lanejudy]

What happens to the insurance policy if you change cruises? I booked onboard, but not 100% sure I'll be keeping it. Most likely I will keep something, just not sure if it's this one.

I think most policies allow it to move along with your plans if you change dates, but you'd want to confirm before purchasing.

Enjoy your cruise!

 

[SuzanneSLO]

If there are any preexisting conditions at all, most travel insurance policies require you to purchase the policy between the first couple weeks after making initial payment on a trip. Exact time varies by company.

And some policies may have exclusions for pre-existing conditions of non-traveling family members, which is another reason to purchase sooner rather than later. -- Suzanne

 

[shelbell77]

And some policies may have exclusions for pre-existing conditions of non-traveling family members, which is another reason to purchase sooner rather than later. -- Suzanne

Good point!

 

[Luv2Diz]

This is the way my favorite insurance company Travel Guard works...you add as you go...but if you do not purchase within 15 days of the date of your first deposit you miss out on a lot of coverage, but you pay the same price!

We also use Travel Guard and I have noticed that premiums get cheaper the closer we get to our travel date. We booked a trip back in May and premiums were high. I checked back a few times throughout the summer and each time the premium had dropped about $30. I finally bought insurance this month, still 2 months in advance of our trip and saved about $110 on the premium. The only thing that we miss out on is pre-existing condition coverage, which isn't a huge concern for us.

 

[MunFam]

We also use Travel Guard and I have noticed that premiums get cheaper the closer we get to our travel date. We booked a trip back in May and premiums were high. I checked back a few times throughout the summer and each time the premium had dropped about $30. I finally bought insurance this month, still 2 months in advance of our trip and saved about $110 on the premium. The only thing that we miss out on is pre-existing condition coverage, which isn't a huge concern for us.

Just curious, were you looking at the policy (gold and above) that include cancel for any reason including work related issues? If so, I have never seen a policy drop like that, so I stand corrected.

 

[Luv2Diz]

Just curious, were you looking at the policy (gold and above) that include cancel for any reason including work related issues? If so, I have never seen a policy drop like that, so I stand corrected.

I usually buy the Silver policy. I first noticed for a trip last year that the premium dropped a fair amount the closer we got to our travel date. Cancel for any reason is available on the Silver policy for additional cost. I've never added it because with our jobs there isn't a need.

 

[MunFam]

I usually buy the Silver policy. I first noticed for a trip last year that the premium dropped a fair amount the closer we got to our travel date. Cancel for any reason is available on the Silver policy for additional cost. I've never added it because with our jobs there isn't a need.

Ahhh, that would make sense. We always buy gold or above. And so it makes sense that the closer to the trip, the higher it would get to "cancel" any time...but without it, you are less likely to use the pre trip insurance and therefore, you are just buying an emergency while on vacation policy.