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?

A lot of bank accounts come with holiday insurance built in. I didn’t realise until DH got me to read the small print on my bank account. A lot of people are doubling or even tripling up on insurance.

@Toomuchgoingon
Have you looked at a separate policy to cover excess?
Martin Lewis did a thing I think.
(I saw it on telly at least, very reasonable prices)

@Mummyshark2018 but I am planning to get travel insurance, just not for another few months so surely I will still be covered if anything happens on holiday because I will have travel insurance??

EHIC will cover you for whatever residents of that country are entitled to on their national healthcare. In some countries that isn't a lot.

I work for a company that provides specialist insurance. We recently covered someone who had a freak accident in a European city (slipped down some stairs and broke their back). They had an EHIC, we paid out over £360k for various things including an air ambulance, hotels, surgery and specialist repatriation.

We get insurance as soon as we've booked. Half of what you're paying for is cancellation cover so why wouldn't you want to use that benefit for the maximum amount of time?

But the insurance asks for holiday dates so you are only covered for the two weeks anyway?

I go in July. Should I book now? Holiday is already paid.

@gingajewel if you buy it you will be covered when you're on holiday but if anything happens to you from now until you buy it in May and for whatever reason you're not able to go you will have lost all money you have paid.

So if I buy insurance now, I'm covered if I need to cancel my holiday? Even though it asks for policy cover dates and you enter the date of the holiday?

@Morgan12

Yes if you need to cancel and have a legitimate reason (e.g. illness or death) then you would be refunded. It covers you whilst you're away too on those dates but it also covers other eventualities.

@gingajewel

It's a risk not taking it now as if something happened between now and When you do take it (eg May) you wouldn't be covered.

Yes, cancellation cover is standard in most travel insurance policies (although obviously you should always double check what your insurance actually covers).

@Morgan12

Yes cancellation cover is part of travel insurance, it's actually the most common thing claimed for. If for any reason you can't go they will give you money back, excluding excesses. But the insurance has to be in place before whatever it means you can't go happens (e.g before a diagnosis or bereavement). That's why it makes sense to buy insurance asap.

@Mummyshark2018 and @CharlieandLolaCat Thankyou, I haven’t been abroad for so long I have no clue what to do! I will try and get it sooner than May then! I thought it only covered you for the week/s you were on holiday and as my holiday is atol protected I thought if anything happened with the travel company I would be protected that way and then the holiday insurance would cover me when I was on holiday. I didn’t think about if I had to cancel, so thanks for the advice.

I have annual travel insurance for DH and I through work which I have always thought was a good policy, I have just checked and it does not cover pandemics and epidemics costs but if Tui cancel they will refund us and also if we can’t get home they should look after us as it is a package holiday but it does mean we can’t just cancel willynilly. We go to Austria in July so a while yet. So check your insurance

Can someone please explain. A couple of years ago I had a big holiday booked and rang a few months before to get insurance. Was debating between annual and single trip. Was going to buy one of those options during the phonecall months in advance of the holiday. The insurance person told me if I didn't go for annual insurance ( as opposed to trip) I would not be covered if something happened between then and the holiday. I didn't really understand. So is trip insurance only for when you are physically away on the trip? I'm not convinced they weren't telling me pokies. I've gone for annual ever since as I want to make sure I'm covered. Hope someone can shed light upon it. Thank you

When I said it didn’t cover pandemics and epidemics it was just the cancellation bit, it covers medical costs just not cancellation.

I have had single trip policies in the past and they have always covered cancellation from the day you buy them

I agree.

I have ZERO sympathy when I read these sob stories in the media from thickos who have lost all their money because they fell ill, death in family, lost their job, car broke, finger fell off etc etc and the travel companies won't refund them (quite rightly) and they didn't have travel insurance so are banking on a gofundme or travel company changing their minds because they've been named and shamed in the press.

Likewise with fools ON a holiday that fall ill/get injured and don't have insurance.

GET. INSURANCE. THE. DAY. YOU. BOOK!!!!

_WhentheDealGoesDown
I have booked with Tui, so if they cancel my holiday in June I will get refund from them, not insurance policy, obviously will still get insurance

I have travel insurance with my bank account.

We had booked a holiday to the Caribbean for January. In December I found out I was pregnant. I was diagnosed with hyperemesis before we were due to go away. We had to cancel the holiday and managed to get back the full amount through our travel insurance.

If we had left it until the last minute to get travel insurance, we wouldn’t have been covered and would have lost all the money we had paid as I was absolutely unable to travel.

You never know what is going to happen, always best to be covered. I pay £10 a month (other benefits include mobile phone insurance, breakdown cover and home emergency cover). Well worth it.

Mummysharkdid you managed to get refund, that was awful when TC went under

You are very defensive Toastytoes1, and also rather naïve.

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

Because it covers the cost of your holiday if you have to cancel before you go. My friend was going on a long haul holiday and stayed with her mum the night before. Her mum died during the night so she didn’t go. Her travel insurance paid out for that.

Another time, she had appendicitis on a cruise and had to be taken off the ship to the local hospital to have her appendix out. The travel insurance paid for her treatment, her husband to stay and her flights home. An EHIC card wouldn’t have covered half of that.

I’m with the OP in being bewildered by the naivety of people who leave getting travel insurance to the last minute or don’t bother getting it at all. Clearly people don’t seem to understand that travel insurance also covers you if you have to cancel the holiday. This is why it is important to take out the insurance at the time of booking. Obviously, there are exceptions, especially those who have complicated health conditions where travel insurance can run into four figures, but for most people travel insurance isn’t expensive at all.

We have an annual policy with our bank account, so at least it isn’t something we can forget.

gillyginger

Yes if a package operator cancels your holiday you can choose either a full refund or another holiday or something else I can't remember what so if they cancel you would get your money back.

Just jumping in with my two pence.
I was always blasé about travel insurance and thought it was just another way to get money out of me. What's the likelihood of anything happening etc.
But thank god my parents had the sense as our last holiday together my dad had a massive heart attack and died. It was awful and not it's not just the medical expenses/hospital fees you need to consider. I had no idea who I was speaking to at the time/making arrangements with/signing documents/arranging repatriation etc but the insurance company helped us deal with everything/knew what needed to be done and of course we didn't have the extra worry of the cost.
So for me, I'll never underestimate the importance again!

I had to deal with this at a job. There are a million reasons why people have to cancel their holidays at the last moment.

Someone lost their passport on the way to the airport. Refunding their £100 flight and £200 hotel for the two days they ran around getting a replacement more than covered the fee.

Reasons for cancelling a few days before: A child with chickenpox; burst water mains at home; burst appendix; broken leg. They refunded the full family holiday cost.

Sorry I don't know if my post makes sense it was a confusing time and I find it difficult to remember (even though it wasn't long ago)