When is the Best Time to Buy Travel Insurance? A Complete Guide
Considering the unpredictable nature of travel, protecting your trip can be just as important as planning it. But with flights to book, hotel reservations to make, and excursions to arrange, buying travel insurance can easily become an afterthought.
However, timing matters when it comes to purchasing coverage. Waiting too long to buy a policy can limit your eligibility for certain benefits and reduce your ability to fully protect yourself and your plans.
Each year, hundreds of thousands of travelers use the Squaremouth marketplace to insure their trips. Below, we break down the best time to buy travel insurance, the cost of waiting, and common mistakes we see travelers make when purchasing coverage.
How Many Days in Advance Should I Buy Travel Insurance?
Travel insurance can be purchased anytime after you book your trip, up until the day before departure. According to Squaremouth sales data from the past 12 months, travelers purchase insurance 67 days before their scheduled departure date on average.
With that said, most experts recommend buying coverage within 10-21 days of making your first payment towards your trip, rather than a set number of days before your trip begins.
What is the First Trip Deposit Rule?
Your first trip deposit is the initial payment you make toward any non-refundable trip expense. According to a recent Squaremouth survey, the first payment travelers make is typically airfare (41%) or a cruise booking (22%). When it comes to travel insurance, the date of your first payment, known as your trip deposit date, is an important milestone.
Providers will use your trip deposit date to determine your eligibility for time-sensitive benefits, which are only available to travelers who purchase coverage within a specific timeframe after their initial trip deposit. Specific eligibility requirements for these time-sensitive benefits can be found within a policy’s Certificate of Insurance.
Because this date has a big impact on your coverage, it’s important to keep records of your trip payments, including receipts and booking confirmations. If you ever need to file a claim, insurers will often request documentation showing when your first trip deposit was made.
Why Timing Matters More Than Most Travelers Realize
The timing of when you buy your policy has a big impact on coverage availability and your ability to sufficiently protect your trip. It goes without saying that purchasing travel insurance is always better than traveling without any coverage at all. However, to get the most out of your policy, it’s important to get coverage in place sooner rather than later.
Getting trip protection within your plan’s time-sensitive window comes with two major advantages:
Maximum Coverage Window for Trip Cancellation
When you buy comprehensive travel insurance, your policy will likely go into effect at 12:00 AM the day after the purchase is made. Once in place, your policy’s Trip Cancellation benefit will protect you from a wide range of disruptions that could impact your ability to travel as planned, such as unexpected illnesses, injury, death in the family, or natural disaster.
The sooner you purchase your coverage, the longer you’re covered. By waiting too long to buy travel insurance, you run the risk of not being covered when unforeseen events arise leading up to your trip that force you to cancel your plans altogether.
Time-Sensitive Travel Insurance Benefits
As mentioned above, the date you purchase your policy impacts the type of coverage available to you. One of the main reasons why so many experts, including us, urge travelers to get coverage in place as soon as possible is to qualify for time-sensitive benefits.
The three most common examples of time-sensitive benefits include:
- Pre-Existing Condition Coverage: While standard travel insurance typically excludes coverage for existing health issues, purchasing your policy within the time-sensitive window can help you qualify for a pre-existing condition waiver that removes this exclusion.
- Cancel For Any Reason (CFAR): CFAR is an optional add-on that provides partial reimbursement of your non-refundable trip costs if you choose to cancel your travel plans for a reason not already covered by your policy.
- Financial Default: If your travel supplier files for bankruptcy or suspends services due to financial reasons and forces you to cancel your trip, Financial Default coverage can reimburse you for up to 100% of your prepaid, non-refundable travel expenses.
What Happens If You Wait Too Long?
Waiting doesn’t mean you’re out of options. You can technically purchase travel insurance right up until your departure date, but doing so comes with trade-offs.
If you wait past the time-sensitive window, you’ll lose access to benefits like CFAR and pre-existing condition coverage. If a major storm is already named or a travel warning has already been issued at your destination, it’s likely too late to get coverage for those specific events.
A last-minute policy can still provide useful protections that can protect you during your trip, including coverage for medical emergencies, evacuations, delays, and baggage loss. But for the most comprehensive protection, earlier is always better.
Does Travel Insurance Coverage Kick In Immediately?
The day your coverage begins, commonly known as a policy’s effective date, depends on the type of policy you purchase. The majority of plans sold on Squaremouth are comprehensive and will offer coverage almost immediately after you buy your plan.
- Comprehensive: Your coverage period will begin at 12:00 A.M. on the day after you purchase your plan.
- Travel Medical: Your coverage period will begin at 12:00 A.M. on your trip’s departure date.
- Annual: Your coverage period will typically begin at 12:00 A.M. on the departure date of your first scheduled trip. If your policy includes Trip Cancellation coverage, your coverage period will begin the day after your annual plan is purchased.
Most Common Mistakes Travelers Make
Even savvy travelers can miss the mark when it comes to timing. Here are the most common mistakes to avoid:
- Waiting Until All Trip Payments Are Made: You don’t need to wait until all of your travel plans are finalized before you purchase travel insurance. In fact, doing so could make you miss out on time-sensitive benefits.
- Forgetting to Update Coverage As You Go: If you purchase travel insurance before all of your payments are made, it’s important to continually update your policy with each booking. This way, you’re fully protected if your trip is cancelled or interrupted.
- Buying Coverage After A Storm is Named: Travel insurance is only intended to cover unforeseen events. Once a storm is named and publicly known, it is no longer covered by travel insurance.
- Not Keeping Receipts: As mentioned, your provider will ask for booking confirmations and receipts to establish when you made your initial trip deposit. Failure to provide this documentation may result in a denied claim.
Travel Insurance Timing: FAQs
Can I Buy Travel Insurance a Week Before My Trip?
Yes, of course! You can purchase travel insurance up until your departure date. If you are purchasing a policy days before you leave for your trip, Trip Cancellation coverage may not be necessary since the chances of an unforeseen event impacting your travel plans is significantly lower compared to buying coverage months in advance.
Is it Cheaper to Buy a Plan Early?
Travel insurance premiums are generally stable regardless of when you decide to buy. The cost of a travel insurance policy is primarily based on factors like your age, trip cost, and trip length, not how early you buy.
Is Travel Insurance Refundable if I Cancel?
Most travel insurance policies include a free look period, which typically lasts 10 to 15 days after purchase. During this period, you can cancel your policy for a full refund, as long as you haven’t already departed or filed a claim. After that window closes, policies are generally non-refundable.
Can I Buy Travel Insurance After My Departure Date?
Many travel insurance marketplaces, such as Squaremouth, will not allow you to purchase insurance if you have already left for your trip. However, specialized coverage may be available if you are already on vacation.
To get coverage, we recommend reaching out to travel insurance providers directly to discuss what options are available. Because the trip has already started, any available policies will primarily provide travel medical coverage for the remainder of your trip.