1 min read
27th November 2018

Why Should I Buy Travel Insurance?

passport and airline ticket holder

Buying travel insurance should be seen as the same as packing your passport, you should never go on holiday without it.

Besides guarding against expensive medical treatment and/or repatriation whilst you're on holiday, travel insurance covers you if you have to cancel your holiday before you go, so it is a wise to be covered from the moment that you pay a deposit.

Most of us leave it far to late to book our travel insurance. Michael Masterson at Cover4travel, states that on average customers book their single trip travel insurance just 16 days in advance of there holiday and are therefore missing out on the vital cancellation cover – which is the element of cover that protects you if you have to cancel your holiday due to an unexpected illness, injury or death to you or a member of your travelling party.

The cancellation cover also provides you with protection if you can’t travel due to:

passport and airline ticket holder
  • Being called up for jury service, witness call or compulsory quarantine.
  • A fire, flood or burglary at your home or business occurring within 5 days of your departure date.
  • You have been notified of redundancy during the period of insurance.
  • Your presence being required by the police following your home or business being burgled.

If you make multiple trips abroad during a 12-month period, an annual multi trip policy may well work out cheaper for you. But you will need to check that it is suitable for every trip, as some policies may not:

  • Cover the activity or sport you wish to do i.e. winter sports.
  • Cover the area which you wish to travel.
  • Have a limit on the the number of days you can travel in each trip.
  • Have sufficient luggage cover if you’re taking an extend break.

But don’t fear, if you're plans change during the year, most insurers will allow you to upgrade your cover during the period of insurance provided you pay the difference in premium plus any administration cost. So, if you booked a European policy and then decide to go to the USA you would need to upgrade the policy to Worldwide cover.

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