When to buy travel insurance

When should I buy travel insurance?

Buy as soon as possible after your first trip payment, ideally within 14 days. Several benefits are only available if you buy within a set number of days of that first payment.

• Pre-existing condition coverage: within 14 or 21 days on most plans.
• Cancel for Any Reason: within 14 or 21 days.
• Supplier bankruptcy coverage on some plans: within 21 days.

Your first trip payment is your deposit or your airline ticket, whichever came first.

I booked months ago. Is it too late to buy?

No. You can still buy standard coverage up to shortly before departure. What you may no longer get are the time-sensitive benefits.

• Likely lost: the pre-existing condition waiver and Cancel for Any Reason, which must be bought within 14 or 21 days of your first trip payment.
• Exception: Trawick Pathway Premier waives the pre-existing condition exclusion if your payment for the plan is received on or before your final trip payment due date and you are medically able to travel that day. If your final payment date has passed, this no longer applies.
• The other benefits remain: cancellation for listed reasons, interruption, medical, evacuation, delay and baggage, subject to the pre-existing condition exclusion.

What counts as my first trip payment?

Your first trip payment is the first money you paid toward any part of the trip: the program or tour deposit, or your airline ticket, whichever came first.

That date starts the clock for the time-sensitive benefits (14 or 21 days, depending on the plan).

What is the time-sensitive period for each plan?

The time-sensitive period is the number of days after your first trip payment in which you must buy to get certain benefits.

• Travel Insured Deluxe: 14 days. Platinum: 21 days. New York plan: 21 days.
• Trawick Pathway Plus: 14 days (21 in the New York version). Pathway Premier: 21 days for Cancel for Any Reason; its pre-existing waiver runs until your final trip payment due date.
• WorldTrips Atlas Journey (all plans): 21 days.

State versions can differ, so check your plan document.

What do I lose if I miss the 14 or 21 day window?

You usually lose the pre-existing condition waiver and the option to add Cancel for Any Reason. On some plans you also lose supplier bankruptcy coverage.

The other benefits remain, subject to the pre-existing condition exclusion: a claim caused by a condition that showed symptoms or was treated in the look-back period (60 to 180 days, depending on the plan) would not be paid.

Can I buy insurance after something has already happened?

You can still buy a plan, but it will not cover an event that was already known or under way when you bought it. Covered reasons must be unforeseen and must occur after your coverage begins.

• A hurricane is no longer covered once the storm is named before you buy.
• An illness that already prevents or restricts travel on the day you buy is not covered, and the pre-existing condition waiver does not change that.
• A stable earlier condition that unexpectedly worsens after you buy is handled under the pre-existing condition rules.

When does coverage start and end?

Trip cancellation coverage begins shortly after you pay for the plan: at 12:01 a.m. the day after payment on Travel Insured and WorldTrips, and at 12:01 a.m. on the day payment is received on Trawick's Florida plans.

• Cancellation coverage ends when you depart (or when you cancel).
• Medical, evacuation, baggage and other benefits begin when you depart and end when the trip is completed or on your scheduled return date.
• If a covered event delays your return, plans extend coverage for a limited time (7 days on Travel Insured and Trawick, up to 30 days on WorldTrips).

How close to departure can I buy?

You must buy before you leave on your trip. Our site quotes trips that depart tomorrow or later.

Because cancellation coverage begins the day after payment on most plans, buying at the last minute leaves little or no time for the cancellation benefit, and time-sensitive benefits are usually no longer available.