Trip Insurance

[Britpamtany1205]

Do you buy trip insurance at time of initial booking or at final payment?

What are the pros/cons of either?

[TxCityKat]

A good place to research is the Cruise/Travel Insurance forum.

 

Kat

[Orator]

You first need to decide what risks you want covered. Some credit cards cover Trip Cancellation, many do not. If you pay with a card that already has cancellation insurance do you want to purchase a policy that is a duplicate? Check: insuremytrip.com to compare coverage and rates. You might save money and obtain better coverage if you shop around. I've seen the same companies that the cruise lines use at considerable savings from what the cruise lines charge. Insurance is most certainly not one size fits all type of things. There are many, many variables to consider such as age, pre existing conditions, location, etc.

Personally I buy a yearly policy from Geo Blue that covers only evacuation and medical. Fine for me, but might not be what you want.

[Mr. Click]

You normally have to buy it with a week of two of your booking. That lets you avoid pre-exsisting conditions clauses.  I rely on the folks at tripinsurancestore.com.  Steve and his staff are very knowledgeable and helpful.

[Fouremco]

Different policies have different stipulations, but generally speaking the key date is that of booking, not final payment. As with any insurance issue, ensure that you know exactly what the policy covers and the requirements imposed on the purchaser. 

[Babr]

The primary concern for buying it at the time of booking is to get coverage for pre-existing conditions or cancel for any reason.

 

There are policies that allow a waiver for pre-existing conditions at final payment, but I don't think that is true for CFAR coverage.

 

If those things don't concern you, then you could purchase travel insurance at either time. Just know that any doctor's visit or prescription change in the look-back period can be viewed as the basis for a pre-existing condition if it causes you to cancel after final payment. Without the waiver, your cancellation coverage is void.

 

Be sure you understand how pre-existing coverage works before you dismiss it.

 

Cancel-for-any-reason is your friend if you have a sick old dog or if you live in a hurricane prone area and choose to travel during hurricane season. Travel insurance isn't very forgiving of the uncertainty of an approaching storm. You have to be in the jaws of one to cancel. I'm sure there are plenty of other scenarios. People have their own reasons. The things to know are that it is pricey to add to you policy, and it reimburses about 75% of your costs.

[Doctor G]

I always purchase the insurance at the time of booking to get the pre-existing conditions waiver.  I only pay for the insurance to cover the deposit.  Then as I add payments later, I increase the value of the policy and pay the additional premium.  I did not originally know that I did not have to insure the total cost to begin with, so I am passing along this tip.  I do not know if all insurers allow you to do this.

 

Carolyn