Timing when buying travel insurance?

[wheredowegonext]

I did a search and have read many, many posts on travel insurance -- and I am going to purchase it, but I am confused about timing.:confused: I reserved a cruise sailing the end of May 2011 (Europe). So far I've only paid the deposit. I won't/can't make air arrangements until July or so. And I probably won't make arrangements for tours until this fall or winter. I also know I should buy insurance within 7 to 30 (?) days of making a reservation. I plan on purchasing comprehensive coverage.

 

I asked customer svc at insuremytrip dot com how I would estimate the total cost of the trip and got the following reply:

 

"You should purchase the policy based on your actual out of pocket expenses as of the date of purchase. You can always add additional costs to the policy later as they are incurred and pay the appropriate additional premium."

 

This makes it sound as if I should, in March 2010, purchase a policy based on my deposit ($500) only, which seems ridiculous! Is that how you do it? If I do that, how will I know the actual cost of the policy ahead of time and how could I compare policies?

 

Would appreciate guidance based on what others have done. I am stuck!

Thank you...........

[sparky-elpaso]

I think most of the insurance companies require purchase within 14 days if it's going to cover pre-existing conditions.

 

When I got ours for our February cruise I used the actual amount of the cruise and an estimated amount for air fare (which turned out to be pretty accurate).

[GTO-Girl]

That's exactly what we do....

[wheredowegonext]

Thank you -- now I understand better. :)

 

I went back to insuremytrip and made some trial entries. I realize I should also check my AmEx coverage since that's the card we're using.

[Glaciers]

This makes it sound as if I should, in March 2010, purchase a policy based on my deposit ($500) only, which seems ridiculous! Is that how you do it? If I do that, how will I know the actual cost of the policy ahead of time and how could I compare policies?

 

Would appreciate guidance based on what others have done. I am stuck!

Thank you...........

 

We always purchase insurance on the same day we send in the initial trip deposit just to be on the safe side although the policies normally do allow a week or two grace. Need to make sure the prexisiting coverage is in place.

 

You can certainly come up with a good ballpark figure for the total trip cost to compare policies. One of the purposes of updating the policy each time you need to pay additional is that you just don't know what the total trip cost is going to be.

[Fattony]

You need to contact your insurer NOW, rather than relying on anecdotal evidence (including mine). Each policy can be different. When I looked into buying a policy from the insurance company used by Princess Cruises, for example, I was told by the insurer that the deadline was when I made the final payment for the cruise. Am Ex's may have a different policy. And be sure Am Ex covers everything you want-- for example, some policies may cover health emergencies, even evacuation, but not reimbursement for lost airfare, etc. That doesn't mean you want to buy every possible addition to your policy, but you need to be aware of its coverage and limitations ahead of time. People can feel burned after an emergency and mutter, "I thought X was covered." And sometimes people feel the cruise will cover them, such as if a national catastrophe prevents them from getting to their cruise.

[Traveler353]

Thank you -- now I understand better. :)

 

I went back to insuremytrip and made some trial entries. I realize I should also check my AmEx coverage since that's the card we're using.

 

 

I recently bought American Express travel insurance for the first time for my upcoming Triumph cruise. Very good coverage at a very good price compared to other policies. I bought it the day I booked my cruise so will be getting pre-existing coverage included.