Travel Insurance

[endofthelinefinally]

Always, always buy your travel insurance before you book your holiday.

Always, always tell them of any medical conditions, even if it costs you a bit more.

If you don't, you might as well not bother buying insurance at all.

Okay so can you address this...

If you don't buy insurance at the time of booking, you are not covered if illness or sme other life event ptevents you from going.

If I buy insurance after booking a holiday, it won't be valid for cancellation because I didn't book it with the holiday?

But it's not always possible to buy insurance at the time of booking. Pre-existing conditions aren't covered on the insurance offered by my travel agent

Then you go home and get insurance online surely?

Only a fool would travel without insurance these days. Unfortunately there are a lot of fools about.

If I buy insurance after booking a holiday, it won't be valid for cancellation because I didn't book it with the holiday?

Eh? Of course it's still valid.

This is what Martin Lewis advises on the subject

www.moneysavingexpert.com/insurance/cheap-travel-insurance/

No one is saying you must buy insurance from your travel agent, just to get it as soon as you have booked your trip

OK, now I see what you mean.
If you book your holiday on Monday, then buy insurance on Wednesday, you are covered as long as nothing disastrous happens on Tuesday.
Your insurance covers you from the date you buy it.
The lady on the other thread was planning to buy her insurance nearer to the date of travel.
However, sadly, her DH died suddenly between the booking of the holiday and the planned, future buying of the insurance.
So she cannot get her money back.

I agree entirely. It’s the bit about pre-existing conditions people often don’t really get. Even if you’ve something like well controlled mild hypertension and it’s not declared it invalidates the cover. You could go off skiing, break a leg and find your insurance won’t pay out because you failed to mention you have inhalers prescribed for occasional asthma.

It's still better to buy it just before you travel than not buy any at all though. You won't be covered for cancellation but will be for medical treatment, theft etc, especially if you were to need repatriation which incurs vast costs.

Ah you confused me by talking about buying it at the time of booking, which isn't possible for me. I was worried that meant that cancellation cover wasn't valid then for me, who buys travel insurance separately after booking the holiday, and was wondering the way around that.

Thank you for clarifying. Sorry for posting in an arsey manner - I'm annoyed because I'm childfree for the first time in months and didn't have the lie-in I was hoping for.

I have a policy with my bank, but I have some pre-existing conditions.
I call them prior to booking a trip and update them on my medical conditions.
I agree, you have to make sure you tell them everything.
It costs me around £70 but the cost of being admitted to hospital abroad would be thousands, so it is worth it.
They do place restrictions on certain activities, but, given that walking upstairs is a challenge for me, I am not likely to be doing anything lively.

No worries WhatTheNightBrings

I have brain fog, insomnia and general grumpiness much of the time.