AIBU to think that its madness not to book travel insurance as soon as you book a holiday?

[CwtchesCuddles]

So many people seem to leave sorting out insurance until its too late! If you have a holiday coming up have you got insurance cover already? If not why not?

But why do you all care so much? What business is it of anyone's whether I personally choose to buy travel insurance? Do you know my financial circumstances or my families? I can assure you, I have not, nor will I ever open a GoFundMe page. I do get travel insurance when I think it's necessary which is most of my trips but there have been occasional trips in the past where I go as a lone traveller (i.e. alone or with friends rather than my husband so financially I only need to worry about myself) for a matter of days and I'm happy to take the risk not to have insurance. And I have successfully managed to keep myself alive and my finances in tact thus far. I wouldn't even do it again as we're no longer in the EU and I won't be travelling anywhere before the transition period ends anyway so what exactly is the problem? The original question was whether people are wrong to not book insurance immediately when they book a holiday and my contribution to this thread is that I think there are some circumstances where it's perfectly fine to put off getting insurance right away if it's going to work for your own personal circumstances and you are prepared to take the risk of something happening to your ability to travel before you get insurance.... I don't get the need to criticize me purely because you think it's annoying when people (not even me) open a GoFundMe page.... Which are very easy to ignore if you don't want to open them by the way.

I have successfully managed to keep myself alive and my finances in tact thus far.

So have I. Nor has my house burnt down or my car crashed. But what’s your point?

Thanks for the thread, it just reminded me to buy insurance for a weekend away with a friend. We have an annual policy through DH's job but only if I travel with him, so I needed my own policy. Grand total of £3, and I have a connective tissue disorder and an autoimmune disease.

@Toastytoes1 it isn't my business but so many people don't seem to understand how insurance works, if you/your child/spouse needed a major operation which meant you couldn't travel, the travel insurance will cover the cost. If you only buy it the day before you travel then it won't cover you. If you understand that and choose not to buy it that's fine, but so many people don't understand this.

@Justanouk My point is it's none of your business. I didn't start this thread, I commented my opinion on it as a direct response to the question by the original poster. You don't have to agree with me but I'm not sure why it's necessary for people to comment directly on my personal choices when all I had done was offer my thoughts on the original question. Had I asked for your advice or suggestions about how I personally choose to plan my holidays then fine, critique away but I didn't. Why can't people just stick to answering a generic question in order to fill a thread with different points of view without having to target individuals and criticise them?
You think insurance is important under all circumstances, great, that's your opinion; mine is that I do think insurance is important but I don't think it is essential to book it immediately when you book the holiday or at all if you are prepared to take the risk and responsiblty for yourself if something goes wrong.... So there we are, two different points of view without the need to criticize anyone.

We are always underinsured by most people's standards. We're happy to take the risk.

Yeah I never understand - I always just have a yearly policy on the go so never have to think about it

Sorry @Toastytoes1 I hope my reply on this thread didn’t come across as an attack. I just wanted to suggest some scenarios that you and others reading this thread might not have thought of.

Everyone has a different level of risk that they are comfortable with. So long as it is a considered risk.

@Toastytoes1 I'm glad my relative didn't take your view when they were repatriated in an air ambulance from an EU country
It's not always as simple as a cheap flight

Just posted on other thread
‘Travel insurance is a necessity, not optional and should be booked when you book the holiday as you never know what can happen. Cancellations for Coronavirus are depending on the cover and fco advice. But if you were to get it or anything else on holiday I would much rather have my insurance covering the medical costs than me. ‘ but also my grandfather was taken Ill in scotland and luckily they were insured as he had to stay there for 3 weeks and then finally transferred by air to a local hospital when well enough to be transferred. The costs of all that would have been horrendous and they weren’t even out of the country.

We're going on holiday in the UK this year. I've still bought travel insurance.

I’ve literally had this conversation with my mother this afternoon. She has a massive holiday booked. Was asking about coronovrius. Doesn’t buy insurance until she makes final payment.

WTF?

She thought the airline would cover everything. Didn’t consider advance death or illness which is ironic because she knows I claimed for my honeymoon when someone died before we went.

We have annual travel insurance as we go away at least twice a year and often more. I have medical issues so my insurance is fairly expensive.

We normally book everything individually, and to get the best rates we often pay upfront, so it is even more important for us to ensure we are insured from the outset.

The trouble is with the whole 'happy to take the risk' thing is often, if the worst does happen those people and their family/friends are another SM asking for a gofundme type thing for the money to get home, pay for treatment, repatriate a loved one's body, etc.

We have annual insurance (for worldwide travel) as it’s just easier. Sometimes we book last minute holidays over bank holidays or easter for example as well as a family holiday and ones with friends or other family.

I've done mine on the way to the airport before.What does it matter?

I agree OP.

The whole "happy to take the risk" thing only works if you've actually given serious thought to the worst case scenario and can genuinely afford to personally meet the costs. If the cost of travel insurance is prohibitive that's unlikely to be the case in my book.

I have an annual policy attached to my bank account. So never need to think about it.

I've done mine on the way to the airport before.What does it matter?

You wouldn't have been covered if you'd had to cancel due illness/death of a traveller or close family member.

You may pay a lot more if a medical condition had arisen between booking the travel and the travel date.

My diving friends told me that someone they knew went diving without adequate insurance cover.

They ran into difficulties and needed a decompression chamber. £50,000 was the cost.

They had to remortgage their home.

I don't think people understand just how expensive foreign medical care can be.

If you don't want to pay the insurance premium don't go.

So I have paid for most of holiday for Greece this summer, what is the best policy to take out, family of four, have seen a basic and a slightly higher one, not doing any dangerous sports or driving, mainly just beachy, and would insurance pay out if holiday cancelled by operator, thanks

I have it through my bank. It's a joint account and costs £17 per month for myself, dh and dc. The £17 also includes RAC, mobile phone insurance, emergency house cover and something else for us all. Well worth it.

@gillyginger

Not necessarily. I booked a holiday through Thomas cook and when it went bust my insurance referred me back to TC as it was ABTA covered. If your holiday isn't covered by ABTA then insurance might cover it or credit card company may refund.

I’m confused, I haven’t been abroad for 17 years so I don’t know how the process works.
I booked a holiday last August for this August and have been paying my holiday off monthly, why do I need travel insurance now? I was planning to get it in May (few car things taking up my money the next few months) is this wrong?

@gingajewel

If in the unfortunate event that you or a family member became ill or died before your holiday you would lose everything you've paid and may be liable for the remaining balance-if there was any. If you became ill on holiday and needed to get home what would you do? That's just a few examples.

I've done mine on the way to the airport before.What does it matter?

Because if something happened between when you book and when you go that meant you had to cancel going, then you will lose all your money. If you take out insurance when you book, you’d be covered for said cancellation of the trip.