Flights first. Accommodation next. Travel insurance just before you leave.
It is an easy order to follow when organising a holiday. But leaving insurance until the final packing checklist can mean overlooking an important part of the trip: the money you have already committed before departure.
A useful time to consider travel insurance is when you make your first booking.
Your Financial Commitment Starts Before Your Trip
By the time you reach the airport, you may have paid for flights, accommodation, tours, transfers and event entries.
If an unexpected situation prevents you from travelling, some of those payments may be difficult to recover.
New Zealand Consumer Protection recommends buying travel insurance when you make your first booking. Where cancellation cover applies, arranging it early can provide protection for qualifying circumstances arising before departure. It does not mean every cancellation will be covered.
Check When Each Part of Your Cover Begins
Your departure date and the date your cancellation protection starts may be different.
When arranging insurance, ask:
- When does cancellation cover begin?
- When do the overseas medical and other travel benefits begin?
- Are all travellers and travel dates correctly recorded?
- Is the cancellation limit sufficient for the costs you could lose?
Check the documents rather than assuming that paying for a policy immediately activates every benefit.
If you are relying on credit card insurance, confirm its activation requirements too.
Buying Later Does Not Turn a Known Problem Into an Unexpected One
Imagine you have booked a holiday and then learn about a disruption that could affect it. Buying insurance afterwards does not necessarily provide protection against that disruption.
Policies commonly contain conditions concerning circumstances already known when cover is arranged.
The same principle deserves attention if you develop symptoms, suffer an injury or begin medical investigations before buying insurance. Explain the situation and ask how the policy would treat it.
Insurance should be considered before a problem develops, rather than as a way to recover costs from a problem already underway.
Cancellation Cover Has Conditions
Having cancellation insurance does not mean you can cancel for any reason and receive a refund.
Ask which circumstances qualify, what exclusions apply and what documents would be needed. A change of mind should not be treated as equivalent to an insured reason for cancellation.
Also check what you can recover from the airline, accommodation provider or organiser. An insurance claim may depend on the amount left unrecovered after available refunds or credits.
Athletes Should Check More Than Their Flights
For an overseas sporting trip, your bookings might include a race entry, bike transport, a training camp and accommodation close to the course.
Make those costs part of the insurance conversation.
One particularly useful question is:
“What happens if I’m medically unable to race, but I’m still able to travel?”
That is different from being unable to take the trip at all. Ask whether the policy responds to either situation, and whether race-entry fees or other event costs are eligible.
Review the Policy as Your Plans Develop
Booking insurance early is a starting point. Your plans can still change afterwards.
You might add another destination, extend your stay, enter an event or decide to take valuable equipment. Your health may also change.
Check whether you need to update the insurer and whether the existing cover remains suitable. Keep any revised documents and written confirmations together.
A Simple Booking Checklist
When you make your first travel booking:
- Start considering insurance alongside the booking.
- Explain your destinations, activities and health circumstances.
- Check when cancellation protection begins.
- Review the limit against your potential non-refundable costs.
- Revisit the cover when your plans or circumstances change.
Planning a trip? Talk to HMIS while you’re arranging it. We can help you consider insurance alongside your bookings, with attention to the journey you actually intend to take.
This article provides general information only and does not take into account your individual circumstances. Cover, commencement dates, limits, exclusions and eligibility vary between policies. Refer to your policy wording, schedule and any endorsements, and seek advice appropriate to your circumstances.
