Worldwide Travel Insurance

[Wina G]

We have an annual travel insurance policy & didn't take out Worldwide cover this year as we are only travelling in Europe but we have now booked India & Nepal tour for next year, our renewal date is around the time the final balance is due.

We don't know if we should upgrade the policy to Worldwide now so that it covers next year or wait until the final balance is due ... will we technically be covered?

Any advice is welcome, I haven't been in touch with them yet

[Stephen]

I would speak with the insurance company to get some clarification. I would definitely upgrade, but perhaps leave it a couple of months before your trip before doing it.

[Wina G]

The final balance is due 8 weeks before we travel Stephen which is just a few weeks before the renewal date.

[david63]

Presumably you have paid your deposit so if you had to cancel, and the deposit is not refundable, then I suspect you would not be covered.

As Stephen says - ask the insurance company but my guess is that you will need to upgrade your existing policy or take out another policy to cover this trip.

[Wina G]

I understand that we would lose the deposit if we had to cancel now but my worry would be if we needed to cancel once the final balance is paid could they then say that we didn't have Worldwide insurance in place when we booked the holiday ... my thoughts would be to err on the side of caution & upgrade the existing policy to Worldwide cover!

[Dancing Queen]

I understand that we would lose the deposit if we had to cancel now but my worry would be if we needed to cancel once the final balance is paid could they then say that we didn't have Worldwide insurance in place when we booked the holiday ... my thoughts would be to err on the side of caution & upgrade the existing policy to Worldwide cover!

What you say makes sense Wina, hopefully it won't arise that you would have to cancel, I would see what the insurance company has to say and have them confirm the conversation to you in writing if they say your present cover is ok for now.

[Keechy]

Absolutely contact the insurance company asap. They need only the slightest excuse to not pay out. If they say you're OK make sure to get it in writing.

[Wina G]

Just done a single trip policy to cover our India & Nepal tour so we won't have to upgrade our existing annual policy to Worldwide ... we've gone with Explorer, £62 for the policy including pre-existing for both of us.
Also went through Topcashback site so earned another 18.37%

[Dennis The Menace]

I had the same predicament over our US and Canada cruise Wina, but we've postponed that one now.

That said even our Europe wide cover that we get free with our bank account is stopping before the next cruise so will take a look at explorer/topcashback, ta.

[Quizzical Bob]

Here's a cautionary tale:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/holida ... ay-up.html

This is a cruise that we were on and whilst we are of course pleased that there was a happy ending we were very disappointed to have to miss the Azores.

[towny44]

We have a similar situation looming with our annual travel policy, this is currently only for Europe but we have recently booked a roundtrip Caribbean cruise from Southampton but not until Jan 2016. Our annual policy is due for renewal in October, but it will be the following years renewal before we need the worldwide cover, and up until then the liability is only for the loss of deposit which would be the same level as for a European cruise.
However I will probably discuss this with the broker but I always assume that insurance companies err on the side of caution and will want to increase the premium immediately, maybe Wina's idea of a single trip policy to cover the Caribbean cruise will be the cheaper option.

[Wina G]

That's the reason we've done it Towny, we probably won't be doing another Worldwide holiday next year so will pay for another annual policy when we book something

[Romig1]

That's the reason we've done it Towny, we probably won't be doing another Worldwide holiday next year so will pay for another annual policy when we book something

"Probably won't be..."??????

I was thinking of a day-trip to Marsden as our second holiday next year!

[Wina G]

"Probably won't be..."??????

I was thinking of a day-trip to Marsden as our second holiday next year!

[towny44]

Wina just checked with our insurance broker who has advised that we do not need to upgrade our annual Europe policy until the renewal that will include our Caribbean cruise, and that deposits on this and any others that are currently outside this years policy would be covered if we had to make a claim.
However we would need to have had an annual policy in existence when we booked the holiday and for it be unbroken at the time of any claim. That has certainly put my mind at ease, and was a better result than I perhaps anticipated.

[Wina G]

Thanks for that information Towny, good to know for next time