Why you shouldn’t wait to book your travel insurance

The end of year holiday planning is now in full swing, so if you’re travelling overseas in the coming months, getting your travel insurance early is a smart money move. 

Often people mistakenly think that a travel insurance policy only begins once they board the flight or touch down in a foreign country, and so they delay making the purchase of their travel insurance until the last minute. 

But what they don’t realise is that they may be missing out on some of their  policy’s key benefits. Here are a few reasons why you should book your travel insurance as soon as you’ve confirmed your holiday plans.  

While medical or luggage cover only kicks in once your actual holiday does, cancellation cover starts working for you even before your flight lifts off the tarmac. 

Imagine this:  you’ve booked a family holiday to Japan this Christmas but you or a family member falls ill just days before departure. If you’ve already purchased your travel insurance, cancellation cover will kick in. It can reimburse, all or a portion (up to your policies limits), of the non-refundable costs of your flights, accommodation, pre-booked tours etc,  potentially saving you thousands.

The level of cancellation cover will vary depending on the travel insurance policy you purchase. Some insurers offer unlimited cover, while others will have capped amounts and some policies may not even offer cancellation cover so it’s important to know this before you purchase. Always review the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) to understand specific exclusions that may apply and ensure the policy meets your needs.

Maybe you don’t have all the tiny details set in stone from the moment you book the first flight, tour or accommodation, but this shouldn’t be a reason to delay getting your travel insurance. 

You can always add new destinations, extend travel dates and add activities to an existing policy if your travel plans change prior to your trip. Some policies and insurers (such as Freely) these days even let you adjust certain activity cover while on the go, so for instance, if you decide to go scuba diving you may be able to add that to your policy on the day prior to partaking in the activity. 

The days leading up to any big holiday are always a little frantic with all the last minute must-do’s to tick off your list, so the last thing you want is spending time reading travel insurance PDS’s.

And by doing your insurance searching early, you are more likely to find a policy that best matches your exact travel needs and budget. It can be very tempting, especially when you’re rushed to just go with whatever option you can find, but in our analysis to find Australia’s Best Travel Insurance as part of the Mozo Experts Choice Travel Insurance Awards^, we found there are potentially big savings to be gained by shopping around. On a two week trip to the USA, we found Aussies could save up to $157 or to Italy or Bali as much as $136 by choosing an award-winner^^.