5 Benefits of Booking Your Travel Insurance in Advance

Travel insurance policies prove to be of benefit when you are travelling overseas. Schengen countries also mandate a valid travel insurance policy before you are allowed to travel to such countries.

Besides providing a comprehensive cover against medical costs, travel insurance in India and abroad also covers other travel-related contingencies which incur financial loss. However, when people tend to buy travel insurance online, they might delay the purchase till the very end. This is wrong. Ideally, you should invest in travel insurance policies well in advance after you book your trip. Do you know why?

The reasons why Advance booking of Travel Insurance is Beneficial –

1. You get coverage against trip cancellations

Despite carefully planning for your trip, there are certain instances which might force you to cancel the trip altogether. For instance, if a fellow family member falls severely ill, you might have to cancel your trip. When the trip is cancelled, you lose the money which you have already spent on booking tickets in advance and for making hotel reservations. However, if you have invested in a travel insurance policy, the policy would pay for trip cancellations. The coverage would be available only if the policy has been purchased in advance. If you buy a policy when you are already thinking about cancelling the trip, coverage would not be available.

2. You can get coverage against illnesses which happen after buying the policy

Travel insurance in India and abroad usually does not cover medical complications which arise out of pre-existing illnesses. However, if the illness happens after buying the policy, coverage is allowed. If you buy travel insurance onlinein advance and thereafter face an illness, such illness would be covered if it becomes chronic and requires hospitalization when you travel. If you delay buying the policy and develop an illness before taking the journey, the said illness would be excluded from the scope of coverage.

3. You have time to modify the coverage if required

Travel insurance policies allow modifications. After you buy a policy and feel that a particular add-on would be suitable for enhancing the coverage, you can choose the add-on later on by paying an additional premium. Moreover, any other modifications which you think suitable can be done easily when you buy a policy in advance. If you buy the policy last minute you wouldn’t have time to reconsider the coverage features and modify the coverage even if you want.

4. You eliminate the possibility of not buying the cover altogether

When you delay buying travel insurance to the last possible minute you might end up forgetting to buy the cover at all. When the due date draws near, you are more excited about taking the trip and in all your excitement you might forget investing in a travel insurance plan. As a result, you might take the trip without any coverage and face financial difficulties in case of contingencies. Thus, to avoid forgetting about the cover, buying the plan in advance is better.

5. You can shop around

Do you know how many travel insurance policies are available in the market? There are more than a dozen and each plan offers something better than the other. To buy the best policy you should compare the different plans and then choose the best. To compare, shopping around is required. When you buy travel insurance in advance you have time to shop around and compare different plans. You can utilize the time to choose the perfect plan for your trip and enjoy a good coverage.

Taking the above-mentioned benefits in consideration, investing in a travel insurance plan in advance is always the best bet. In fact, you should book a travel insurance plan right after you book your air tickets and hotel accommodations.