When to buy travel insurance
Find out the best time to buy your insurance

If you’re planning your holiday, travel insurance may be the last thing on your mind. But it shouldn’t be. Here’s why.
Why you need travel insurance
The main reason for buying travel insurance is so that you won’t get landed with a large medical bill for hospital treatment if you fall ill or have an accident. If you’re travelling in Europe (in an EU or European Economic Area country), you are entitled to basic medical treatment if you have an EHIC (it’s a card you can get for free from the NHS). That doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll get all your treatment free. And if you needed to be airlifted to hospital, for example, after an accident, you almost certainly wouldn’t be covered.
If you travel to somewhere like the United States, where there’s no free healthcare for holidaymakers, you could be landed with a bill of tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars if you need a hospital stay.
When to buy travel insurance
It’s best not to leave buying travel insurance until the last minute. Why? For a start, you’re more likely to buy the right policy when you’re not making a last-minute decision. But, more importantly, it also means that if you have to cancel your holiday due to sickness or an accident, you should be able to claim on your travel insurance and claim the cost of your holiday back.
How to buy travel insurance
It’s really easy – in theory at least – to buy travel insurance from a price comparison site. However, it’s not just a case of buying the cheapest policy and hoping for the best. Here are my tips for buying travel insurance:
Before making financial decisions always do research, or talk to a financial adviser. Views are those of our mentors and customers and do not constitute financial advice.