My husband and I booked a Best of Europe in 14 days tour back in September. Covid was still really uncertain at that point, and I liked the comfort of knowing I could cancel without penalty until December 31, so we did not purchase travel insurance since we have not yet had any other trip-related expenses other than the deposit. Now that things are improving, I am more confident that the trip will run and that we will go. Would purchasing travel insurance at the time we pay the balance on the tour be possible? If we end up being out the deposit amount, that is fine. Just hoping we still have the option to insure the rest of the trip.
Posted by
117 posts
Hi Jen - you might want to have a look on the Squaremouth insurance site to compare policies. I found a few companies that just require you to buy insurance before you make your final trip payment. Cancel for any reason is not an option, but there were 3 policies that offered coverage including covid and pre-existing conditions.
Posted by
Hudson Valley
2267 posts
You are able to still buy a policy. Really, most insurers will sell you a policy up until the day of departure.
What you missed out on is pre-existing condition coverage. So if you buy a policy, and have to cancel for a medical reason that existed prior to the original booking, you wouldn't be covered. But all the other coverage would be the same.
Posted by
Phoenix🌵
2732 posts
Hi Jen, welcome to the forum. I just did a lot of research on annual policies (my trips are September 2022 and June 2023). It’s soooo confusing. Read all the small print in the policy. Call the company if you have questions.
Regardless if you buy annual or single trip insurance, pre-existing condition probably won’t be covered. You have a short time window to buy pre-existing conditions coverage after you make your initial deposit often 7 to 14 days depending on the company. Except for that you can buy insurance until (almost) the time you leave. I called two of the companies I’m buying trip and medical coverage to confirm.
As someone on the forum recently reminded me, buy your insurance ahead of paying for the rest of your tour, etc., so the non-refundable costs are covered. If you buy insurance after you pay for tickets, trains, tours, etc, those costs won’t be covered. I’m buying my trip insurance a week before I pay the final RS tour payment. Medical and evacuation will be bought a couple weeks before I leave.
There are a lot of insurance threads since last June. Use the search feature to find them.
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23267 posts
It all DEPENDS on the terms of the policy and there are differences, sometime major, between policies and companies. So read the fine print carefully. Most policies do not allow last minute purchase as suggested in an earlier response. The idea is that they are insuring an unknown risk across a lot of people. And conditions for making a claim vary greatly also.