Travel Insurance Effective Date: Start of Coverage (2024)

FAQs

Travel Insurance Effective Date: Start of Coverage? ›

The “Effective Date” is the Day After You Purchase the Policy. One key in any travel insurance policy is the fact that the policy only goes into effect the next day after you purchase it.

Because of this, the effective date of the plan will be one minute after midnight the day after you bought the plan. If you purchased your travel insurance on April 26th at 4:13pm, your plan will go into effect on April 27th at 12:01am. This will allow you to utilize your trip cancellation coverage if needed.

Single-trip travel insurance usually suits people who only travel infrequently. With it, you're protected in the event of cancellation from the moment you buy your policy. The policy start date needs to be that of your actual trip, but the cover starts right away.

Travel insurers say the best time to buy travel insurance — which usually takes effect within a day of purchase — is just after making your travel plans to have the largest possible coverage window.

The effective date is the date in which a person's coverage under an insurance policy begins for that year or period—in other words, when coverage starts. It typically applies when a person begins a new job, makes changes to their benefits during open enrollment, or experiences a qualifying event.

When your insurer sends over your new policy, the date of issue will reflect the day your policy was created (May 30th), whereas the effective date will be your move-in date and hence the start of your coverage (June 30th).

As long as you haven't yet departed, it's not too late—but your plan choice may be limited. When you get an online quote for travel insurance and enter today as your day of departure, you'll see just a few plans that are available for last-minute travel.

You'll simply need to make the purchase at least one day before travel. However, there are some types of coverage that you'll need to buy soon after booking or they won't be available. These include Cancel for Any Reason insurance as well as pre-existing medical condition insurance.

Unlike other aspects of your travel experience like airfares or hotel-room rates, the price of travel insurance doesn't increase the closer you get to your travel date. There's no financial penalty if you wait to buy travel insurance (except for those bonus coverages, of course).

Cancellation cover is a common inclusion with most standard travel insurance policies, but you can take it out separately if it doesn't offer enough cover. Alternatively, if you only want cancellation cover to protect you against cancelled flights rather than baggage protection, you can get it for that.

What are the disadvantages of travel insurance? ›

Cost: Travel insurance will add to the overall cost of your trip. Some may choose to forgo it to save money, especially on shorter or less expensive trips. Exclusions and Limitations: Policies may have various exclusions and limitations, so it's essential to read the fine print.

Travelling against medical advice or to get medical treatment. If your doctor says it's not safe for you to travel, then you won't be covered. Similarly, if you go abroad to get planned treatment, sometimes called 'medical tourism', a standard policy will not cover this – you'll need specialist insurance instead.

Without travel insurance, you'd lose the money you spent on your vacation. Fortunately, a serious, disabling illness can be considered a covered reason for trip cancellation, which means you can be reimbursed for your prepaid, nonrefundable trip costs.

An effective date is the date on which a contract, policy, or other agreement goes into effect. A start date is the date on which something begins. The main difference between an effective date and a start date is that an effective date is typically set in advance, while a start date may be more flexible.

Your insurance policy actually has two important dates noted on the declarations page: the effective date and the date of issue. The first is the day coverage starts, but the second is the day the insurance company creates your policy. While these can be the same day, they might not be.

Let's look at a couple of examples. An insurance contract might be entered into by the parties on January 1, but provide that the effective date of the insurance coverage begins on February 1. Thus, the insured's obligation to pay was created by the contract on January 1.