When do you buy travel insurance?

Hi, Wendy.

Many insurance companies have restrictions if you purchase it after you purchase your trip (like not covering pre-existing conditions, etc). But it still may cover you for other things. It's best to call the company you want to use for insurance and ask.

Buy your insurance when you purchase the air, it will cover pre existng conditions......if you wait it won't, I think you have a few days to get it. I would purchase the ticket and then call"Travel Guard" 1-800 826 4919. Hope this helps, Jo

Thanks for the help. We have USAA insurance for our cars. I think I will call them first and see what they have to offer.
Anyone used USAA for travel insurance?
Thanks again,
Wendy

We bought ours within a few days after purchasing the airline tickets.

Try www.insuremytrip.com. They have multiple options.

Hi
Thanks everyone, I have looked at the USAA web site and printed the travel insurance info, I'll take it home and read it over tonight.
One other question, I want to do a quick quote on the web site. It asks what the cost of the trip is per person. Should I only put the amount of how much I spent/or will spend out of pocket for? The only thing I will be purchasing before our trip is airfare, and train tickets.
Hotels/pensions we will pay when we arrive.

Thanks,
Wendy

Add into the cost you want to cover any expenses that you would incur if the trip were suddenly canceled. In your case, it would only be the airfare and anything you had to pay for upfront. And as a previous poster said, check www.insuremytrip.com for a comparison of the options from many travel insurance companies.

Great thanks, I will do a comparison later today.
Thanks for all your help.

Maybe to put Nancy's words in a slightly different way. You can only insure what you would lose basically in cash -- prepaid, non-refundable tickets, non-refundable deposits, etc. For example -- if you had planned to spend totally $10,000 on your trip but had only purchased a $1000 non-refundable ticket, then all you would receive from the insurance company would be the $1000 if the trip was canceled for an ACCEPTABLE reason. You would not get $10,000. That is why it is very tricky to insure frequently flier tickets. We, personally, so not buy cancellation insurance just for that reason. It is very expensive relative to the expected benefit. HOWEVER, medical and medical evacuation insurance is critical.

I also have USAA and purchased the Worldwide Trip Protector Plan from Travel Insured International (via link from USAA.com). It only cost me $96 for $3300 worth of airfare (2 adults, 1 child from Orlando to London), I only put down the cost of the airfare. Some think it is unnecessary, but for the cost of my tickets I think it provides a lot of benefits:

Trip Cancellation Up to Trip Cost, Trip Interruption Up to 150% of Trip Cost ($1,000 Return Air Only if $0 displayed for Trip Cancellation on Your Confirmation of Benefits),
Missed Connection $750, Trip Delay $750 ($200/day/6 hours),
Pet Care $300, Baggage and Personal Effects $1,500 Baggage Delay $300/12 hours, Emergency Accident and Sickness Medical Expense $50,000/$50 deductible, Emergency Evacuation Medically Necessary Repatriation and Repatriation of Remains $500,000, and Accidental Death & Dismemberment $25,000.

Wenday, We recently purchased travel insurance to cover the airfare through Travel Guard. They required us to purchase within 15 days of the date of ticket purchase. After that time we paid a down payment on an apartment and they let us increase our premium to cover that amount also.

Well, I am with Steve and Frank on this one, I do not purchase travel insurance,, BUT I always purchase extra medical insurance. My airfare is usually only 1000-1300 dollars, and it can be used later with a change fee of 150 dollars, so I risk that much only by not getting travel insurance. I do not prepay for anything else generally, and cancellation fees for most hotels I have stayed at are nothing, or 5 euros, or at very most one night,, and thats only if I cancel less then 24-48 hrs in advance of stay.

Now,, there are certain circumstances where I think maybe it might be prudent,, paying for a tour up front for instance,, or having a sick relative that you fear may take a turn for the worst etc.

We buy our travel insurance as an extension of our homeowners insurance. So we are covered for the entire year. That means I don't have to worry about forgetting the insurance or buying it at the right time. Works for us as we have an international trip (or more) every year and the premium for a family is very affordable this way.

Edit: our "travel insurance" only covers any medical and evacuation expenses. We've never purchased trip cancellation insurance.

We ALWAYS buy travel insurance. I ALWAYS shop insuremytrip and squaremouth.com to find the insurance that best suits our needs.

I ALWAYS wait until I have purchased/reserved all of my trip; that way I know what my cash outlay will be. The insurer wants to know how much you have spent on your trip , and they only way that you can answer that question is if you have paid or reserved your transporation/ rooms.

Well my wife and I are headed to Europe for three weeks this summer and even while we have used Freq. Miles for the air - part of our trip is a pre-paid tour (two weeks) at a cos tof $8000+. I felt that the Trip insurance was well worth the $500 we paid for medical, evacuation etc. coverage. I guess it all depends on what your comfort level is. I've had too many friends who have either become sick before they left or on the trip. Having the insurance is by personal choice but well worth the expense when you lay out that kind of money.

We purchased travel insurance for about $100 as the others above have reported. However, my wife fell in Ireland and broke her arm and shoulder. Our travel insurance upgraded her to a first class seat for the return trip, as per the Drs. orders, value $3000. That is the other hidden advantage of travel insurance to cover airfare if necessary.

Actually Dan,, that is if you are talking about medical and trip combo package insurance. Maybe its different where you live, but here I have never purchased an extra travel medical plan that did NOT cover return airfare .

They are two seperate things, and can be purchased together or seperately.

Extra medical insurance IS a must,, but travel insurance is pretty optional in many situations( in my opinion) if you prepaid alot like some posters do( 8,000 dollar tour prepaid, you bet that should be insured) .

If your airline tickets are on points, and your hotels only require you cancel 24-48 hrs ahead,, then really, most one would be out is 100 plus euros of the one night penatly imposed for last minute cancellation.

Its a risk,, but not by much,, only one night.