It’s well-known that timing your purchase just right could save you money, particularly when it comes to booking flights, package holidays or cruise travel. But, does this hack extend to other areas of travel? – travel insurance for example.
Unfortunately not. Buying travel insurance the day before your holiday, or while you’re on the way to the airport, could actually end up costing you more.
Starting with single trip policies. This type of travel insurance policy is perfect if you have one trip planned. There is no set rule for when you need to buy a single trip policy, but it is always best to buy travel insurance soon after you have paid for your holiday or put down a deposit. By doing this, you will have an extra layer of protection should you need to cancel the holiday (provided the reason for cancelling is covered by your travel insurance policy). Leaving your travel insurance to the day before you travel means you have no backup for non-refundable costs should you need to cancel your holiday.
A multi trip policy, however, works a little differently. If you are planning to take two or more holidays a year, a multi trip policy usually works out to be more cost effective. Most travel insurers will allow you to start a multi trip policy anytime within the 30 days after a quotation. Although it is best to start it as soon as you can. Similar to a single trip policy, you will then be covered should anything happen before you are due to go on your first trip.
So how does buying a single trip or multi trip policy as soon as you pay for your holiday, or the deposit, save you money?
If you haven’t yet brought your travel insurance policy and you need to cancel your holiday, you will lose any non-refundable costs whereas if you had travel insurance in place, these costs may have been covered.
In addition, travel insurance doesn’t tend to be any cheaper if you buy it closer to the time of travel. This is because the risk is assessed on you and your situation as opposed to when you travel.
Buying your travel insurance in advance will also give you time to check through the policy wording so you are aware of the cover you are paying for, rather than making a rushed decision and just picking the first or cheapest policy. It also allows you time to check for any mistakes that may be the difference between being covered or not.