julienk

How far in advance does one purchase travel insurance?

We are flying using mileage, so that is not a problem. We have paid for part of our trip in full, however, we can cancel that and change the date without penalty.

I believe the balance of our tour will be due 60 days prior to leaving.

lenlu

What I've found and Sandi can probably give you a better answer but both insurances I have for this trip start on the departure date and end on the return date. You can purchase any time, I believe. I used CSA Travel Protection which covers cancellation of the trip, luggage loss and $70,000 in medical evacuation. I added Med Jet in case the cost of getting us out of Tanzania was over 70K.

julienk

I guess I meant how far in advance of the trip, not the actual time you are covered. We leave for SA, Botswana & VF/Zimbabwe, in Nov. Do I purchase it now or wait until our full payment for tour is due, about 60 days before trip.
Am I making any sense?

matnikstym

the only thing I found with buying insurance early is if you have a pre-existing condition, they will cover it if insurance if purchased X number of days of THE FIRST PAYMENT, usually 14-21 days.

MisterAviator

I would wait to purchase the insurance until you pay the non-refundable/non-changeable portion of your trip cost. At this point, there seems to be little advantage to buy the insurance. I've had excellent luck comparison shopping and having my questions answered by using the website: www.insuremytrip.com

sandi

If you or a family/travel companion member have pre-existing med conditions (i.e., you're fine, but have an elderly ill parent), the insurance should be purchased within 7-21/days of deposit, depending on the insurance provider. So read the drop-down menus of who/whom is included for pre-existing.

If this isn't the case, many simple wait till they've made their final payment (usually 60/days prior departure).

kenyatraveler

Julink:

I just did my travel insurance. See insuremytrip.com for competitive companies. As Sandi says, if you take the insurance within 15 days of your initial deposit, they will waive pre-existing conditions and with a rider double your accident and evac insurance, make them your primary coverage over your regular insurance, and even protect against default by the trip operator. Choose a company or two from the list, write down the benefits and personally call each to get good comparisons and details. Also remember that your regular health insurance is also probably valid for somr coverages (emergencies), so check with them to get a full picture of your coverage.

Patty

Pre-existing medical conditions, travel supplier financial default and terrorism coverage are generally the 3 things that will be in effect only if you purchase the insurance within X number of days of initial trip payment. Some of the "cancel for any reason" riders that you can add to certain policies have similar requirements.

If you're already beyond the X number of days, then it doesn't really matter if you buy now or wait until 60 days prior.

Duane

Hi Julie,
I made my deposit back in July 06 but did not purchase insurance at that time. By the time I got around to looking at it, there was no advantage to buying until I made my final payment. I had already missed the "pre existing conditions" window and like you, I used FF miles so I had nothing to lose but my small deposit.

Someone on here did mention that HTH Worldwide on the insuremytrip site offers pre existing condition coverage if you buy it within 24 hours of your final payment. All the others were based on deposit. Checked it out and yep, it's true. My insurance covers me worldwide, out of network, but still covers me. Not even sure if I will buy insurance but need to decide soon. One thing I will buy is a membership in that group that will fly you out of the bush, I forget the name and don't have the link at work. It's not flying doctors, but something like that.

There is also another group out there that specializes in student trips. They have insurance that was 1/2 price compared to the companies on insuremytrip. Starts with an S, something like STH or something. You can search insurance topics and find it or let me know and I'll look when I get home.

I just sent in final payment today - yes it is getting closer - and will need to decide by Friday (date of check) to purchase insurance.
Hope this helps,
Duane

Jess215

TravelSafe and Global sell a Cancel for Any Reason option if you buy insurance within 15 days of making the first deposit.

dssxxxx

Duane,

It's STA and we used them for our insurance coverage along with our normal BC/BS (Major Med), Flying Doctors and MedJet.

sandi

Duane - Flying Doctor's will get you out of the bush in emergency to hospital in Nairobi.

If you choose not to take out a comprehensive cancel/interruption policy and believe your private medical will cover you worldwide, you still should purchase Evacuation. Even if you choose MedJet to get you to your home hospital, you'll need coverage while in-country.

The medical/medical evacuation policies are very inexpensive; then add MedJet for further coverage = very very reasonable.

The other student policy, available even to "adults" is STA.