When should you buy travel insurance?
You should buy travel insurance on the same day as you have booked your holiday.
The reason for buying a good travel insurance policy as soon as you book your holiday is simple:
- You may get injured or become too ill to travel on your trip
- You might contract Covid-19 14 days prior to your departure date and have to cancel
- There is travel disruption that prevents you from travelling
- You might be made redundant after you book your holiday
- You could be forced to cancel due to bereavement for a close relative
There are all kinds of reasons why a holiday might need to be cancelled, but you need cover in place before these events happen. Otherwise, if the worst should happen and you need to cancel your holiday, you might lose the full cost you paid and be unable to re-book your holiday.
By buying a good travel insurance policy with Cancellation cover, you will have peace of mind that you won’t have spent your hard, earned money on a trip that never happens.
According to ABI data, over a third of claims are due to cancelled holidays at an average cost of £833.
A good travel insurance policy will also protect you for:
- Medical Expenses including repatriation back to the UK, should you fall ill or get injured whilst on holiday, which can be very expensive
- Having to cut short your holiday
- Missing your flight because you were stuck in a traffic jam10
- Your money or baggage being stolen
- Your baggage being delayed
- If you booked independently, the airline, hotel, theme park, car rental company going bust
These are just some of the things a good travel policy will protect you against but be aware that not all travel policies are the same and some may not offer all the above cover.