Travel insurance whilst already abroad
Discussion
Got a tricky one here.
We have an annual super duper travel policy that is around £360 a year. Covers the usual pre-existings for a mid 50's couple. 62 days continuous max, worldwide. Great.
It renews whilst we are away (did that last year - its no problem) (away 15/11 to 30/1, renews 4/12)
Problem is, our 62 days are up whilst we will be in SE Asia, leaving us 2 weeks at the end uninsured.
I've googled "post-departure insurance" and it exists, but boy it is expensive! We are looking at around £240 for the two of use, medicals declared etc (tbh - medical is what its all about).
I looked at maybe buying a stand alone single trip policy instead (and not renewing the annual multi trip policy until we return) - but they come in at £480 - £7000!!! £480 is the cheapest and that's with really minimal cancellation cover - we don't fly economy so we really need decent cancellation cover, so, the cheapest policy with that kind of cover was £750! (India, & SE Asia - so it'll be a worldwide Excl USA policy.)
I'm still staggered at how much the single trip policy is (77 days is the trip duration).
Any tips? I'm so far figuring the "post-departure insurance" is going to be the cheapest option
We have an annual super duper travel policy that is around £360 a year. Covers the usual pre-existings for a mid 50's couple. 62 days continuous max, worldwide. Great.
It renews whilst we are away (did that last year - its no problem) (away 15/11 to 30/1, renews 4/12)
Problem is, our 62 days are up whilst we will be in SE Asia, leaving us 2 weeks at the end uninsured.
I've googled "post-departure insurance" and it exists, but boy it is expensive! We are looking at around £240 for the two of use, medicals declared etc (tbh - medical is what its all about).
I looked at maybe buying a stand alone single trip policy instead (and not renewing the annual multi trip policy until we return) - but they come in at £480 - £7000!!! £480 is the cheapest and that's with really minimal cancellation cover - we don't fly economy so we really need decent cancellation cover, so, the cheapest policy with that kind of cover was £750! (India, & SE Asia - so it'll be a worldwide Excl USA policy.)
I'm still staggered at how much the single trip policy is (77 days is the trip duration).
Any tips? I'm so far figuring the "post-departure insurance" is going to be the cheapest option
Not tips as such but I think you’ve already elaborated on your options.
Yes you could run “ bare “ for 2 weeks but then depends on how lucky you both feel and given the story I wouldn’t suggest it.
£240 sounds a lot for 2 weeks cover but that’s not really the point and indeed given as you say you don’t fly economy anyway you don’t want to then find something happens.
Probably a silly point but are you 100% sure your existing and potential renewal policy don’t both give 62 days cover ie per year of insurance as opposed to being in the aggregate ?
Yes you could run “ bare “ for 2 weeks but then depends on how lucky you both feel and given the story I wouldn’t suggest it.
£240 sounds a lot for 2 weeks cover but that’s not really the point and indeed given as you say you don’t fly economy anyway you don’t want to then find something happens.
Probably a silly point but are you 100% sure your existing and potential renewal policy don’t both give 62 days cover ie per year of insurance as opposed to being in the aggregate ?
As @miniman suggest I'd make your current annual insurer your first port of call as they are already 'on the hook' for most of your trip and avoids any issues if you were to also take out a single trip policy as the 2 insurers will tend to say the other is liable. And that's assuming you aren't already away, if you are most policies, both single and multi-trip have T&Cs that they must be taken out before the trip begins. That's for much the same as the reason 'already away' policies are so expensive too - very often the person's taking it out not because they realised they'd forgotton it but because something's already gone wrong that they want to claim for. The phone lost on Monday that doesn't get reported to the police until Wednesday...to the police and the insurer they took a policy out with on Tuesday, etc.
Cheers all - much appreciated.
Aye - our police is strictly 62 days continuous max. The fact they allow renewal whilst away on holiday doesn't "reset" the day count - I'm kind of lucky they even renew whilst you are away. They have an "add extra day" option ontheir site but it then says, "you are on the max 62 days we offer so not available". I will howver contact them....
As for taking it out when away, I've checked - the numbers I quoted (around £240) are from a company where I specifically selected "I'm already away" (you can to this in advance - which seems odd, but they do make it clear, no claims in 48 hours form start date, and obvs no cover for your outbound flight). It's all about taking out insurance that doesn't fall foul of the rules of "insure then travel".
Interestingly, well, to me, the £240ish one (might have been £270 inc medical pre existing) was "only" loaded by £21 for my high blood pressure (which is actually completely fine, but managed with pills) and the Mrs's Lupus with added £12.
I want to arrange it in advance because my experience tells me it'll cost a lot more later!
Perhaps the £240 or whatever isnt so bad
Aye - our police is strictly 62 days continuous max. The fact they allow renewal whilst away on holiday doesn't "reset" the day count - I'm kind of lucky they even renew whilst you are away. They have an "add extra day" option ontheir site but it then says, "you are on the max 62 days we offer so not available". I will howver contact them....
As for taking it out when away, I've checked - the numbers I quoted (around £240) are from a company where I specifically selected "I'm already away" (you can to this in advance - which seems odd, but they do make it clear, no claims in 48 hours form start date, and obvs no cover for your outbound flight). It's all about taking out insurance that doesn't fall foul of the rules of "insure then travel".
Interestingly, well, to me, the £240ish one (might have been £270 inc medical pre existing) was "only" loaded by £21 for my high blood pressure (which is actually completely fine, but managed with pills) and the Mrs's Lupus with added £12.
I want to arrange it in advance because my experience tells me it'll cost a lot more later!
Perhaps the £240 or whatever isnt so bad
Just an update on this - pays to look beyond the likes of moneysupermarket etc. Virgin does annual Gold that covers up to 94 days continuous , and I've just paid £317 for the two of us (excludes USA), and that includes car hire excess insurance (extra £10) that I normally pay around £45 for.
Even though we are insured with my existing annual policy well into this winters' trip, its cheaper to just take the above out before we set off, rather than buying another policy mid trip. Bonus is our existing policy covers us for cancellation whereas the Virgin one doesn't - it only covers cancellation from the start date of your policy, Nov 15th for us, which seems fair in fairness.
I asked our existing insurers for a quote but they won't until 4 weeks from departure date, so, their loss.
Even though we are insured with my existing annual policy well into this winters' trip, its cheaper to just take the above out before we set off, rather than buying another policy mid trip. Bonus is our existing policy covers us for cancellation whereas the Virgin one doesn't - it only covers cancellation from the start date of your policy, Nov 15th for us, which seems fair in fairness.
I asked our existing insurers for a quote but they won't until 4 weeks from departure date, so, their loss.
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