When should I buy Travel Insurance?
One of the top travel insurance tips from money saving experts, is to take out cover as soon as you’ve booked your holiday. This is fairly sound advice, and ultimately provides cover for medical cancellation from the moment that you’ve paid out for your holiday and travel bookings.
Some top money experts give this advice to British travellers at the start of the year almost every year, which ties in with holiday booking season in the UK. Some of the value of travel insurance is actually before you travel and this can be lost if you don’t take out cover early enough. It can also be very costly if you have to cancel your trip and you don’t have cover.
You can buy travel insurance up to 12 months before the start of your trip, and some insurers will allow you to buy cover up to 18 months in advance. Many of the UK’s biggest websites advise that holidaymakers should buy travel insurance as soon as they’ve booked a holiday or ‘ASAB’. This includes popular consumer and travel advice websites like:
While the ‘ASAB’ rule is widely recommended, buying travel insurance months before your holiday might not be the right option for everyone.
Our latest research shows that buying travel insurance months in advance can cost up to twice as much if you have pre-existing medical conditions. Our travel insurance experts have found that medical travel insurance prices are generally at their lowest within 4 weeks of the start of your holiday.
60 Second Summary – When should I buy Travel Insurance?
According to Co-op Insurance, 11 million UK holidaymakers only buy travel insurance around 2 weeks before the start of their trip. This goes against the recommended ‘golden rule’ that you should buy travel insurance straight away after booking a holiday.
There are pros and cons to buying travel insurance as soon as you’ve booked (ASAB), which our insurance experts explain in full detail in this guide.
- Buying travel insurance immediately after booking a holiday offers peace of mind and helps to minimise financial risk if anything goes wrong before your trip.
- Pre-existing conditions travel insurance is generally cheapest between 1 – 4 weeks before the start of your trip. Using the ‘ASAB’ rule could mean that you pay more than you should for your cover.
- Buying travel insurance early protects you if you need to cancel your trip due to unforeseen reasons such as an illness, serious accident, or bereavement.
- Be aware – you won’t be protected for cancellation until your policy start date if you buy annual travel insurance. You can’t claim for cancellation if your annual travel insurance policy starts on the first day of your holiday.
- Your policy won’t pay out if you cancel your holiday voluntarily or for medical reasons that you were aware of when buying your policy (e.g. a planned surgery).
- You can buy travel insurance at any point before starting your trip, so it’s only too late to buy travel cover if your holiday has already started.
How far in advance should you get travel insurance?
When you’re trying to figure out the best time to buy travel insurance, most online sources will tell you that you must buy your policy as soon as possible. Travel insurance provides extra financial protection if you need to cancel your holiday. In most cases, your policy will only pay out for cancellation if you can’t travel for the following reasons:
- Unexpected illness
- Accidental injuries
- Unexpected bereavement
- Pregnancy (if you become pregnant after booking your holiday and will be too far along to fly)
- Airline goes bust (scheduled airline failure, not covered in all policies)
You can buy travel insurance at the same time as booking your holiday, but that’s not going to be the best or cheapest option for everyone. You should shop around for quotes and consider waiting a few weeks or months to buy your cover if the price is extremely high.
Pros and Cons of Buying Travel Insurance As Soon As you’ve Booked (ASAB)
| Pro | Con |
| You are protected and can claim if you need to cancel your trip several months before it starts (single trip policies). | Prices can be much higher for people with medical conditions when they buy early. |
| Offers peace of mind and don’t need to worry about buying it closer to the time. | You might rush into buying a policy that doesn’t offer a suitable level of cover. |
| Buying ‘ASAB’ is highly recommended advice from multiple consumer websites and financial experts. | Can’t claim for early cancellation if you buy annual travel cover that starts at the beginning of your holiday (see below). |
What does cancellation cover mean on travel insurance?
Buying travel insurance early is mainly recommended to protect you if you need to cancel your holiday because you can’t travel for unavoidable reasons. Cancellation cover protects you against cancelled or disrupted holidays caused by unforeseen circumstances like a bereavement.
The rules for cancellation cover are slightly different for annual travel insurance policies compared to single trip travel insurance. Your cancellation cover will only begin on the policy start date, so you can’t claim if your annual travel insurance policy starts on the first day of your holiday.
Note: Most travel insurance policies include cancellation cover as standard, but not all policies will. You also can’t claim if you choose to cancel your holiday voluntarily or for reasons that you were already aware of when you bought your policy.
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How many days before travelling should you buy travel insurance?
Our most recent research has found that it’s best to buy travel insurance around 1 – 4 weeks before the start of your trip. You can buy your policy earlier than this, but travel insurance prices can be lower closer to your departure date.
This is especially true for travellers with pre-existing conditions, who could pay up to double if they buy their policy 6 to 12 months before their trip. The exact reason for this is unclear, but insurers may increase the price if they think you’re more likely to cancel your trip due to your health. If you buy a policy months before you travel, there is more time for your health to potentially get worse before your trip.
Many experts would argue that this is more of a reason to buy travel insurance ahead of time, as you are protected if you need to cancel your trip for medical reasons. Ultimately the decision is yours, but you should be prepared to pay slightly more if you buy your policy several months before your trip.
Top insurer Allianz has said that you should wait until after booking your flights before buying travel insurance, even if you have booked your hotel. That way you will know which airline you are using and how much your flights cost, so you can choose an appropriate level of cover for cancellations.
When should I buy travel insurance if I have pre-existing conditions?
If you have pre-existing medical conditions, it’s often cheaper to wait to buy travel insurance until closer to the start of your trip.
Most of the UK’s biggest financial experts tell holidaymakers that they should be buying travel insurance as soon as their holiday is booked (ASAB). This advice doesn’t really account for people with medical conditions, who might have different needs than other travellers.
While buying travel insurance early can provide peace of mind, our experts have noticed that the price of travel insurance is rarely mentioned when this advice is given. Travellers with medical conditions will often pay more for travel insurance, and buying cover closer to your trip could save you money.
Our experts tested the leading ‘ASAB’ travel insurance advice by comparing travel insurance quotes for travellers with different medical conditions. In each scenario, we have generated quotes for a 1 week trip to Spain now, compared to the same trip in 6 months.
Example 1 – Applicant with High Blood Pressure (non-smoker)
| Applicant age | Trip in 1 week | Trip in 6 months |
| Age 30 | £8.60 (Admiral) | £9.58 (YourTravelCover) |
| Age 40 | £9.59 (Admiral) | £10.00 (YourTravelCover) |
| Age 50 | £10.00 (YourTravelCover) | £10.00 (YourTravelCover) |
| Age 60 | £13.98 (No Limits) | £13.98 (No Limits) |
Note: This example applicant takes one form of medication to treat high blood pressure and has no other medical conditions.
Example 2 – Applicant with a history of Heart Attacks (non-smoker)
| Applicant age | Trip in 1 week | Trip in 6 months |
| Age 30 | £20.44 (Insure & Go) | £25.04 (Insure & Go) |
| Age 40 | £20.84 (Admiral) | £27.26 (YourTravelCover) |
| Age 50 | £23.47 (Admiral) | £27.26 (YourTravelCover) |
| Age 60 | £29.37 (Vibe) | £41.63 (Vibe) |
Note: This example applicant had a heart attack between 1 – 3 years ago.
Example 3 – Applicant with Crohn’s Disease (non-smoker)
| Applicant age | Trip in 1 week | Trip in 6 months |
| Age 30 | £12.58 (Admiral) | £16.56 (YourTravelCover) |
| Age 40 | £13.24 (Admiral) | £17.33 (YourTravelCover) |
| Age 50 | £15.41 (Admiral) | £17.33 (YourTravelCover) |
| Age 60 | £21.04 (Admiral) | £27.48 (No Limits) |
Note: This example applicant had one operation to treat Crohn’s disease within the last 5 years.
As you can see, many of the quotes that our experts generated for a trip this month were several pounds cheaper compared to the same trip in 6 months. The exact price of travel insurance will vary based on your health and your trip, so these quotes are intended as examples only.
Should I buy travel insurance when booking flights?
Some airlines and travel agents will partner with travel insurance companies and provide the option to buy travel insurance when you book your flights. While this might seem more convenient, you could end up with a policy that isn’t right for you. Check how much coverage the airline’s preferred partner can offer to see if this is enough protection for your trip.
These policies might work for some people, but in most cases it’s better to take your time and shop around to find the best quotes. If the airline’s recommended insurer isn’t suited to your age or medical history, you might end up overpaying for your policy.
How last minute can you buy travel insurance?
You don’t need to worry if you’ve forgotten to buy your travel insurance, as you can buy cover right up until the moment that your trip begins. If your trip hasn’t already started, you can buy a new travel insurance policy to protect yourself.
If you’re buying last minute travel insurance, you should still take your time and consider which policy is right for you. It’s important to carefully read the policy terms and conditions to make sure the policy offers an appropriate level of cover.
You might even find that you’ve already got travel cover through your bank or credit card provider. It’s not ideal to rely on this, as it might not be a high enough level of cover for what you need. It can be useful if your holiday has already started, as you will at least have some protection if something unexpected happens.
Note: There’s usually extra financial protection if you booked a holiday using a credit card. You might be able to claim with your credit card company if you need to cancel your trip, and MoneyHelper has a full guide which explains how this process works
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Have I left it too late to buy travel insurance?
It’s never ‘too late’ to buy travel insurance unless your trip has already started. The simplest way to find the right travel insurance policy is by using an online price comparison tool. If you don’t have much time to find your policy, this is the quickest way to compare multiple travel insurance quotes.
CLICK HERE to use our specially designed online travel insurance quotes system to compare policies from top insurers like Ageas, Coverwise and Post Office.
