Do I get my travel insurance before or after I book my flight?
We recommend that you buy travel insurance along with booking your flight, or right after you book your flight.
You see, when you are applying for travel insurance, the insurance company will ask for your trip details, including your flight schedules - when you will be leaving and when you are expected to arrive. It will also help to compute for the total value of the trip, which is also placed in consideration when you are choosing a travel insurance plan.
However, if you have already bought your travel insurance before you book your flights, those flights will still be covered as long as they are part of your trip, and within the trip duration you specified in your travel insurance application.
Do not put off buying travel insurance at the last minute. Doing so will mean that you may not be able to enjoy all the benefits that the travel insurance can offer.
For example, if you bought your travel insurance after a storm signal is raised and a storm or hurricane is officially named and announced, that storm or hurricane will be excluded from the protection the travel insurance can provide. That means that if something happens to you and you have to claim because of that storm or hurricane (your flight is cancelled, for example and you are unable to make use of your hotel stay for that night), the travel insurance will not pay for your claim.
Also, you may have to consult a doctor about a medical condition just before you go on your trip. The insurance company may consider this a pre-existing medical condition and exclude it from the medical cover you have.
It is also important to remember that if you buy your travel insurance just before you are about to start your trip, the travel insurance may not also be effective at that time. So, you will not be protected for that first part of your trip.
Another disadvantage you have when buying travel insurance just right before you are about to take your trip is that you don't get to compare the different travel plans available and you will end up paying for a more expensive plan.
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