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The best time to purchase your travel insurance plan is as soon as possible. That way, you have coverage if you need to change your plans due to covered reasons like certain illness, natural disasters, jury duty or supplier failures. For example, say you make a deposit on an all-inclusive resort and buy your travel insurance plan that same day. A week later you need to cancel because a family member is sick and requires you to take care of them. Because you booked your travel insurance plan early, you may be covered.
When should I buy travel insurance?
You've decided you need travel insurance for an upcoming trip (great choice!), but now you need to know when to buy it, right?
When to buy a travel insurance plan
There are three ideal times to buy your travel insurance plan:
Straight after booking your travel
Within the 15-day window
The 15-day period after you make your first deposit on your trip, whether it's a down payment on a cruise or a hotel reservation, is important. That’s often the window to qualify for some valuable additional features.
The specific upgrades or options you get will vary by plan, but with Travel Guard, this includes our pre-existing medical condition exclusion waiver and the option to add Cancel for Any Reason (CFAR) coverage.
To calculate the 15-day window for your trip, start from the day you book your travel. So, for example, if you make your first payment for your trip on January 1, you have until January 15 to purchase your travel insurance plan and qualify for the additional features (on most plans).
Any time before you depart
Ultimately, the important thing is to make sure you’re covered for your vacation – a travel insurance plan bought at any time before your vacation is better than no travel insurance plan at all. That means technically you can book at any point before you set off on your trip. You may find some of the pre-departure coverages like trip cancellation won’t be as useful, but you’ll still be able to help protect your travel investment for unexpected costs related to certain baggage loss, emergency medical treatment, travel delays and more.
- For most of our plans, you actually start receiving coverage for Trip Cancellation the day after you purchase your travel insurance plan. You're not traveling yet, but your Travel Guard travel insurance plan could still be hard at work for you.
- On most Travel Guard travel insurance plans, purchasing within the 15-day window means you’ll have access to additional features.
- Our Pre-existing Medical Condition Exclusion Waiver is important for travelers with existing health conditions, so you can have coverage for certain related medical expenses during your trip. Generally, pre-existing medical conditions are excluded on our travel insurance plans (within a certain lookback period. But the waiver can override that exclusion, so if you have a pre-existing medical condition or are traveling with someone who does, this is an important one!
- The Cancel for Any Reason (CFAR) add-on optional coverage will reimburse up to 50% of your trip cost if you cancel for reasons that wouldn’t otherwise be covered by a standard plan.
Should you buy a travel insurance plan before or after booking your flight?
Ideally, you’ll buy a travel insurance plan right after booking your flight to maximize coverage. If you wait too long after, you’ll risk missing coverage for any issues that may happen before you depart on your trip.
In some cases, it may be possible to buy a travel insurance plan before booking your flight – for example if you’re reserving accommodation or tours in advance. This can be useful if you’re planning a complex itinerary or want to lock in early protection. However, you will need to provide trip cost and travel dates when purchasing a travel insurance plan. Be sure and update your travel insurance plan once all bookings are confirmed so you have coverage for your full travel investment.
How early can you buy a travel insurance plan?
You can purchase a travel insurance plan as soon as you make your first trip payment, whether that’s your flight, hotel or tour booking. Buying early will give you access to those time-sensitive features, as well as greater peace of mind in the lead up to your trip.
You don't have to have every detail of your trip figured out before booking your Travel Guard travel insurance plan. We know that planning travel is a process and can take months to finalize. Because of that, you can make certain changes to your plan and still take advantage of those early purchase features.
You'll just want to modify your travel insurance plan as soon as you finalize your trip to make sure you're fully covered. You can do that online with our modify policy form or contact our call center!
When is it too late to buy a travel insurance plan? Can I purchase a travel insurance plan last-minute?
Depending on the type of planner you are, last-minute can mean the week before your trip or while you're on the way to the airport (we've been there!). But either way, the answer is yes, you can book your travel insurance plan last minute.
Ultimately, your travel insurance plan needs to be arranged before you leave, which means you can’t purchase coverage once you’ve departed on your trip. While technically you can buy a travel insurance plan up to the day before you leave, you may find coverage is more limited than if you had purchased straight after booking your flights or hotel.
Buying late can limit cancellation coverages, only covering post-departure issues like certain medical emergencies or baggage loss. Any emergencies or disruptions that happen before the travel insurance plan start date won’t be covered.
While you’ll miss out on some of the 15-day window features, you can still buy our travel insurance plans last-minute. We’d always recommend buying earlier to help ensure comprehensive travel protection, but don’t worry if you’ve missed the window.
Our plans come with great comprehensive travel coverage, so you can still be protected in the event of certain:
Our most popular plans like our Deluxe, Preferred and Essential all go into effect the very next day. So, booking a week out is no issue.
For same-day coverage, Travel Guard offers a Pack N' Go Plan that's ideal for when you need immediate coverage. Pack N' Go has some lower benefit limits compared to our other comprehensive plans, but for same-day trips it’s a good option.
Be sure to check your specific policy documents to see what benefits you'll qualify for and any limitations or exclusions.
How much does travel insurance cost?
Lets break down how travel insurance is priced.
Get travel insurance the way you want it!
No matter when you purchase, our Travel Guard travel insurance plans come with full comprehensive coverages, global travel assistance and access to 24/7 emergency travel assistance services.
We're ready to travel with you at any time.
Tell us about yourself and your trip
Review your insurance options
Choose the plan that's right for you
We can’t wait to travel with you!
Questions?
Call us at: 800-826-5248
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Coverage available to residents of U.S. states and the District of Columbia only. This plan provides insurance coverage that only applies during the covered trip. Similar travel insurance coverage, offered by Travel Guard or another insurance provider, may be available through a variety of other sources, but may be subject to different terms and conditions (i.e. benefits, limits, exclusions, etc.). You may wish to compare the terms and conditions of this policy with those of your existing life, health, home and automobile insurance policies, as well as any other coverage which you may already have or is available to you, including through other insurers, as a member of an organization, or through your credit card program(s). If you have any questions about your current coverage, call your insurer or insurance agent or broker. Coverage is offered by Travel Guard Group, Inc. (Travel Guard). California lic. no.0B93606, 3300 Business Park Drive, Stevens Point, WI 54482, www.travelguard.com. CA DOI toll free number: 800-927-HELP. This is only a brief description of the coverage(s) available. The Policy will contain reductions, limitations, exclusions and termination provisions. Insurance underwritten by National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh, Pa., a Pennsylvania insurance company, with its principal place of business at 1271 Avenue of the Americas, 37th FL, New York, NY 10020-1304. It is currently authorized to transact business in all states and the District of Columbia. NAIC No. 19445. Coverage may not be available in all states. Travel assistance services provided by Travel Guard.