Travel insurance runs out mid-trip

[orlandoamber]

If we have annual multi trip travel insurance that runs out half way through our trip, where do we stand? Would it still cover us for cancellations etc before we go despite not being valid the whole length of the holiday? And then we could just purchase a new policy to start from the date this one runs out? Or would it be better to extend the policy now with the same company (which will probably cost more than taking out a new policy, we don’t have an preexisting conditions so our insurance is relatively cheap) - or would it just be better to cancel this policy before the trip and take out a new policy that covers the whole trip?

Sorry for all the questions!

[prugone]

First job is to ring your insurance company and see what they suggest. Their response and the cost will help you decide the best course of action.

[tinkerella123]

If you don’t plan on renewing the existing annual policy then its worth starting a new one with another provider if you can get it cheaper.

[orlandoamber]

Thanks I called and the insurance said that at the moment we wouldn’t be covered for cancellation based on our own health because of the policy finishing mid-trip, but would be covered for other cancellations ie based on someone else’s health who we had to stay back to care for. We can however just renew early and once renewed as there will be no break in the cover, as when this policy ends it will roll straight into the next one, we will be covered for the whole trip (and the rest of the year).

[Guest]

Originally Posted by orlandoamber

If we have annual multi trip travel insurance that runs out half way through our trip, where do we stand? Would it still cover us for cancellations etc before we go despite not being valid the whole length of the holiday? And then we could just purchase a new policy to start from the date this one runs out? Or would it be better to extend the policy now with the same company (which will probably cost more than taking out a new policy, we don’t have an preexisting conditions so our insurance is relatively cheap) - or would it just be better to cancel this policy before the trip and take out a new policy that covers the whole trip?

Sorry for all the questions!

See more...

First question is have you already booked the holiday?

I would definitely advise against overlapping policies (not that you have suggested that) but I would also avoid changing from one policy to another part way through. The issue with both of these scenarios is that the insurance companies could both say it is up to the other one to pay and you end up piggy in the middle with nobody paying up.

Insurance policies are not normally extendable things, personal lines insurance is usually written in one year or smaller blocks, so I don’t think this would be an option. I think it would be a renewal not an extension.

If you have not already booked the holiday in question, I would be inclined to cancel the policy you have now and take out another policy that will cover the whole of the planned holiday before you book it.

[3disneykids]

After looking into options we decided to get a bank account with nationwide for £13 per month as it also includes car breakdown and phone insurance. Maybe something like this might be suitable?

[orlandoamber]

Originally Posted by Claudette

First question is have you already booked the holiday?

I would definitely advise against overlapping policies (not that you have suggested that) but I would also avoid changing from one policy to another part way through. The issue with both of these scenarios is that the insurance companies could both say it is up to the other one to pay and you end up piggy in the middle with nobody paying up.

Insurance policies are not normally extendable things, personal lines insurance is usually written in one year or smaller blocks, so I don’t think this would be an option. I think it would be a renewal not an extension.

If you have not already booked the holiday in question, I would be inclined to cancel the policy you have now and take out another policy that will cover the whole of the planned holiday before you book it.

See more...

It’s essentially two-fold because we have a holiday booked for this year affected but then because of when the annual policy renews, it’s likely to again affect our disneymoon (not yet booked) next year so we need to work it out for both occasions. We seem to like going away at similar times each year but we’ve never been affected by this before as it’s always been either side of the travel insurance renewal luckily.

From what the call handler at the insurance said, if we renew with them as there will be no break in the policy cover then it doesn’t matter that we start the holiday before the policy renews - our cover should be as standard and we can claim etc as usual while we are out there because we’ve always been covered by them. I did clarify about 20 times with her as I was concerned!

[orlandoamber]

Originally Posted by 3disneykids

After looking into options we decided to get a bank account with nationwide for £13 per month as it also includes car breakdown and phone insurance. Maybe something like this might be suitable?

See more...

That’s good value! Will have a look.

[Guest]

Originally Posted by orlandoamber

It’s essentially two-fold because we have a holiday booked for this year affected but then because of when the annual policy renews, it’s likely to again affect our disneymoon (not yet booked) next year so we need to work it out for both occasions. We seem to like going away at similar times each year but we’ve never been affected by this before as it’s always been either side of the travel insurance renewal luckily.

From what the call handler at the insurance said, if we renew with them as there will be no break in the policy cover then it doesn’t matter that we start the holiday before the policy renews - our cover should be as standard and we can claim etc as usual while we are out there because we’ve always been covered by them. I did clarify about 20 times with her as I was concerned!

See more...

Renewing sounds good, just as good as starting again elsewhere. The main thing was for it to be seamless and with only a single insurer involved for a single holiday.

[Orlando 2004]

The only other thing I would be concerned about is that most policies aay you should not have commenced travel and should be in the UK when the policy starts. Not sure this would be the same if you renew but could be a problem if you changed to a different policy mid-trip.