Purchasing annual travel insurance after 14 day deposit

[wrh2016]

Hi!  I have always purchased single travel policies for my cruises.  I now find myself traveling 3-4 times a year, so I want to purchase a yearly policy.  I have done a bit of research, but I am still confused on start dates.  My question is, can I purchased a yearly police well after initial deposit, and if so, does is really affect the coverage that much? Also, what date do I use as a start date - the date I purchase the travel plan, or the first day of my next trip?  TIA for any insight and experience.

[CrimsonCruiser]

I can't answer about the deposit part as we booked ours outright - but the start date starts as of the date of purchase and it's a good idea to buy it well in advance because there are some policies (like the one we got with Allianz) that won't cover trips taking place shortly after purchase (because they know people tend to buy when they are concerned about very possible cancellations due to things like snow or hurricanes).

[wrh2016]

1 hour ago, CrimsonCruiser said:

I can't answer about the deposit part as we booked ours outright - but the start date starts as of the date of purchase and it's a good idea to buy it well in advance because there are some policies (like the one we got with Allianz) that won't cover trips taking place shortly after purchase (because they know people tend to buy when they are concerned about very possible cancellations due to things like snow or hurricanes).

Thank you for your insight!

[smokeybandit]

Make sure your yearly policy covers enough for cancellation/interruption.  They tend to default to a low dollar amount

[Dad2Cue]

4 hours ago, wrh2016 said:

 Also, what date do I use as a start date - the date I purchase the travel plan, or the first day of my next trip?

We  paid the premium on an annual travel insurance plan on Sept 1st.  I was asked what date we wanted the insurance to take effect. I arbitrarily choose Sept 15th.  That date sounded like as good of a date as any.  There was a 15 day right of cancellation so I'm currently reading all the insurance policy jargon to figure out what I bought. I don't see any reason to cancel the insurance.

Our first trip begins on Sept 20th and includes a Canadian cruise beginning on Sept 28. We have several cruises planned in the next 12 months included a trans Atlantic cruise in April-May 2024.  We booked both the Canadian and trans Atlantic cruises about a year ago.

My annual plan is from Allianz.  It seems like as good of a travel insurance plan as any for unforeseen "emergencies."  My plan doesn't have too much trip cancellation coverage because that would have cost much more than I was willing to pay.   I'm more worried about the expenses of medical care and repatriation if something happens in the middle of the Atlantic. 

I'm not too worried about the cruise to Canada as everything seems good to go.  We could lose a fortune if we had to cancel in the next week or two  I'm thinking trip cancellation wouldn't be covered anyway since the insurance policy isn't even effective yet. We booked the Canadian cruise refundable but after the final payment date  --- less and less of the cost of the cruise is refundable.  I probably should have bought the travel insurance 3 months ago or maybe a year ago --- I don't know.

[CrznTxn]

You can purchase your third party insurance anytime prior to your departure. If you want it to have cancellation coverage then you need it as soon as possible. Most have a clause that you have to affirm that you have not left the country yet. We have a trip September 24th and our new coverage taking over last year's insurance starts September 23rd. Traveling more than three times in one 12 month period the annual policy is much better than single trip policies.

[TRagone]

We purchase individual plans from Allianz for each cruise. We buy it within 14 days of deposit date so that we cover any preexisting conditions. Our travel agent suggested an annual plan and gave me quotes (also with Allianz). Ultimately, she recommended we keep our individual plans for each cruise and continue to do that due to my concern of preexisting conditions. My husband has no travel restrictions but does deal with one issue. Since our concerns are mainly for medical coverage, I do not want a denial of coverage because of any medical claims that may happen. For us, purchasing each plan separately is better. Although, lately our cruise planning is twice a year, so still fine to buy separately. I’m not as concerned about domestic and non-cruise travel, so it works for us.

[Traveling Mike]

I started mine on my Birthday so I would remember to renew it.  It goes for a year, and I figured I would not forget that date.

 

[Dad2Cue]

7 hours ago, Traveling Mike said:

I started mine on my Birthday so I would remember to renew it.  It goes for a year, and I figured I would not forget that date.

 

I was going to buy my travel insurance on my birthday in August.  My birthday came too soon and there wasn't time.   It seemed liked my birthday would be a good day if someone wanted to buy me a birthday present.  Unfortunately,  nobody liked the idea of gifting me travel insurance for my birthday.