When you start planning a trip, you need to factor in a range of things like booking flight tickets, hotel rooms, and various amenities that you would need during the trip. However, most people tend to skip an important aspect of travel planning – purchasing a domestic or international travel insurance policy.
In fact, many people are unaware of such a travel insurance policy that offers coverage from losses due to flight cancellations/delays, loss/delay of baggage at airports, etc. While you can purchase a travel medical insurance plan even a day before departing, there are certain benefits to be reaped if you purchase it earlier. In this article, we will discuss the best time for you to purchase travel insurance with medical.
There are different types of travellers and different types of travel insurance plans designed to cater to their needs. For example, if you are a business traveller and frequently travel to other countries on behalf of your company, then your organisation should opt for a multi-trip corporate travel policy that is designed for business travellers making multiple trips in a year. This can save the company a lot of hassle and money.
Let us understand when to purchase travel insurance.
The Ideal Time to Buy a Travel Insurance Policy
The best time to buy a medical travel insurance policy is before buying flight tickets or paying for a hotel room, or making any other reservation. Unfortunately, many travellers tend to defer the purchase until a day or two before the trip. This should be avoided as it can result in you losing out on various benefits offered by the plan.
It is important to remember that a travel insurance policy takes a few days to come into effect. Therefore, if you buy a policy a day before leaving, then you might have to travel uninsured until the coverage of the policy is activated. Any claim made during such a period is usually rejected by the insurer.
Why Should You Buy Your Travel Insurance Policy Early?
There are different types of travel insurance policies available offering coverage for various problems associated with your trip. When you purchase a travel plan early, the waiting period is completed before you leave. Therefore, you can get more extensive coverage. When you buy a travel plan early, you get coverage for:
- The cancellation of the trip for any reason (some insurers offer this as an add-on cover)
- Pre-existing medical condition
- Financial default (if the travel company suspends its operations due to financial issues)
In simpler terms, if your trip got cancelled for any reason, then buying travel insurance online early ensures that you get coverage for such cancellations. Most travel plans also offer a range of pre-departure services that can make your preparation easier and hassle-free. These include:
- Understanding Visa and Passport requirements
- Getting health advisory for your trip
- Vaccine requirements
- Information about the currency of the country you plan to visit
- Details about the kind of weather you can expect at your destination city
- Recommendations and reservations at hotels and restaurants
- Information about the local transport facilities in your destination city, etc.
Remember, insurers offer different types of travel insurance policies. Therefore, make sure that you go through the policy wordings carefully before making the purchase.
Summing Up
For a travel plan to succeed, a lot needs to go right. Unfortunately, from the time you book your flight tickets until your flight takes off, there are numerous things that can go wrong. A travel insurance policy offers coverage for any such unforeseen incident. Hence, it is prudent to buy a policy as soon as you make the first booking for your trip.
