shouldbewriting

After many delays, getting ready to book trip to SA next Sept. My husband's sister is ill & we may need to cancel if needed at home. Seems as though most policies cover trip cancellation due to illness of a family member, so that should not be a problem. However don't know if we need to pay whole cost upfront (only paying 50% now, remainder next summer) or if we pay some now, some later. Won't be buying airplane tix till later also -- do we add them on, or get a different policy? Have never worked with t.i. before, but large sums & possible cancellation dictate necessity now. Thanks for any advice.

sandi

As I understand "pre-existing medical" this pertains to the traveler/s as well as a family member (elderly parent, relative, child) for whom there is documentation of their illness or near death (how terrible to even write this), and the amount due has to be paid within 14/days of the initial trip deposit. Of course, if there is a sudden illness or death with no previous documentation or indication of, then the pre-existing wouldn't be an issue.

Suggest you purchase the insurance as soon as deposit made and estimate the cost of the airline tickets.

Check a site as www.insuremytrip.com where there is an 800# to call for clarification/info.

sdb2

I'm not sure I've got your question exactly straight, but it seems you might be asking, at least in part, whether you can pay your travel insurance in installments. I've never seen that done. Usually, the insurance company wants to know what the full cost of the trip is, then calculates the insurance premium and asks for full payment immediately, regardless of the amount of the down payment/deposit. Many policies have a waiver for pre-existing conditions, but for it to be effective payment of the policy must be within 14 days, or perhaps as long as 21 days, after your down payment/deposit. If you plan on buying air tickets later you might be able to cover your land portion separately from the air, but I'd double check with an agent (the company mentioned below has an 800 number).

I've used Squaremouth for many years now. You put in some basic information on your trip and they'll give you a bunch of policies to choose from. You pay the same price as if you'd gone to a particular insurance company directly (i.e., they don't charge a fee).

http://www.squaremouth.com/?qti=trav...rance_match.pl

NLspirit

Hi shouldbewriting. I'm in the process of booking for next September and often purchase travel insurance adding on as I book and prepay a portion of the trip.

For example I'm about to pay 50% for a safari package with the remainder payable 30 days prior to beginning the holiday. I'll purchase the travel insurance simultaneously and it will cover the prepaid amount.

As yet I don't have my flights arranged. However when I do, I'll prepay that amount and call my insurance provider to inform them of the cost. Then they simply 'top up' my policy in increments to include the new prepaid portion. They do require information regarding how much I've paid as well as the name and address of the seller. I've been doing this for years and it works really well. Hope this helps.

jczinn

I do the same as NLSpirit above. I always buy my travel insurance in installments. At least with the company I use (Travelguard) they instruct you to only purchase as much as the non-refundable deposits that you've already paid. As long as you pay the INITIAL installment within the 15 day window of your initial trip deposit, on (most of their) policies the pre-existing condition exclusion is waived, and you're fully covered. That's important to me, as we have some pre-existing conditions, so I make sure to buy enough to cover the initial deposit right away. Then, as more of the balance becomes due, I increase coverage to cover what's non-refundable. Remember, you only need cover what you can't get back. The policy itself will dictate amounts covered for other things (medical evacuation, lost luggage, etc.)

You could of course pay the entire amount up-front, but this is a bit pointless because if you end up canceling before you have finished paying for the trip, you've essentially over-insured, and in some cases may have spent more on the insurance than what you'd get back.

So, for example, if you've paid a 50% deposit just get enough insurance to cover what portion of that is non-refundable, and then upgrade it when you buy the airline tix, and then again when you pay the balance. Hope this is clear!

shouldbewriting

Very helpful, many thanks. I will follow advice to buy in installments -- makes most sense.

MissGreen

Read the policy rules on the trip cancellation due to sick family member. My FIL is sick and if we had to come home because of one of his existing issues or if he died from an existing issue we would of gotten nothing. Legal/insurance Jargon, it is often not what you think. Oh, and also, the insurance promotes "resumption of journey" if we had to go home but the fine print there was you only get $6000 to resume your trip, which, won't pay for everything.