When to Buy Vacation Rental Travel Protection: Timing is Everything
Imagine.... you set up your trip way in advance, paid for it all and even shopped around for travel insurance. You didn't buy travel protection right away, thinking you had plenty of time before you leave. But, when you get around to insuring your trip, you realize it's too late to qualify for coverage for your pre-existing medical condition!
You can avoid this kind of situation and others like it by considering a key factor—timing when to buy travel protection.
Some coverages and features of our travel insurance plans include time sensitive factors that are important to understand in order to get the most out of what you pay for. At Generali Global Assistance, we try to make our plans easy to understand.
In this post, we break down the best time to buy travel protection for your vacation rental trip and when it's possible to get a plan, including last minute buying and details on when you should buy in order to qualify for coverage for pre-existing medical conditions.
When is the best time to buy travel protection?
We suggest you buy a travel protection plan when you make your first trip payment, like a vacation rental, airfare or a cruise. That way you maximize your coverage period in case you need to cancel your trip.
The financially prudent thing to do is to insure your trip when you have money at risk. If you buy nonrefundable airfare or put money down on a vacation rental your money is at risk right away. For cruises and tours, it may not be an issue until cancellation penalties start to kick in. That could be at six months prior to departure.
Later on, you can add coverage to the same plan for your hotel, tours and other pre-paid, non-refundable trip costs. It’s best to contact us to add coverage as soon as possible after you make new trip payments to be sure you have coverage for your full trip cost.
Also read: Get More Value Out of Your Travel Protection Plan
When can you buy travel protection?
Generali Global Assistance travel protection can be purchased online up to 18 months before the trip departure date and up until the day prior to departure. For trips planned further out than that, you can call us to get a quote and purchase a plan.
Often times travelers will pay for a trip in installments, and they wonder when they can buy travel protection, since they haven't paid fully yet. Rest assured—you can. When getting a quote, simply enter the total trip costs that you will be paying and you can modify the plan if those costs change, as long as you have not left on your trip or incurred any losses.
When is it too late to buy travel insurance and assistance services?
You cannot buy a Generali Global Assistance travel protection plan on the day you are leaving on your trip or once you are on your trip. At 12 a.m. the day you depart for your trip it becomes too late to buy travel protection.
Can you buy travel protection after booking a vacation rental or flight?
Yes, you can buy travel protection once you've booked your travel arrangements. In fact, you should wait to buy it until you book your travel and know the ticket price.
Last Minute Travel Protection
Procrastinators are welcome here. While we don't suggest waiting too long before insuring your trip, you can get a last minute travel protection plan from Generali Global Assistance. The last chance you have to buy a plan from us is the day before you leave on your insured trip. Sorry—you won't be able to buy a plan at the airport as you're leaving or once you arrive at your destination.
Trip Cancellation coverage starts the day after purchase at 12:01 a.m. We'll email your policy confirmation, so you'll have all of the information you need when you leave in case you need to contact us for assistance on your trip.
One downside to buying last minute travel protection is that certain coverages are dependent on when you buy your plan and may not be available if you buy last minute. Read the next section for more details.
Top Reasons to Buy Early
Trip Cancellation
Life is unpredictable, so it makes sense to be covered for as much time as possible before you start traveling. All sorts of things can throw a wrench into your travel plans after you've paid for the trip, forcing you to cancel. Why wait to insure your trip until the week before you leave?
When travelers can’t go on their trip due to a covered reason, Trip Cancellation coverage pays for forfeited, pre-paid, non-refundable travel arrangements. Travelers can get maximum coverage for Trip Cancellation if they purchase their plan as soon as they make their first trip payment, like airfare.
Pre-Existing Conditions
Some travelers may need to look for plans that offer coverage for pre-existing medical conditions when they buy travel protection, and it’s important to understand the purchase window to qualify for that feature. If you don't insure during the right timeframe, you might not be covered for Trip Cancellation, Medical and Dental and other claims related to that pre-existing condition.
Coverage for pre-existing conditions is included with all of the plans available on this site, but coverage must be purchased prior to or within 24 hours of the final trip payment, travelers must be medically able to travel at the time the coverage is purchased and they must insure 100% of their pre-paid trip costs that would be subject to cancellation penalties or restrictions.
An important advantage offered by our plans is that the exclusion for pre-existing conditions does not apply to non-traveling family members. In other words, if a family member who is not traveling with you has a pre-existing medical condition, and you have to cancel your trip because of their illness, you can still be covered.
Travel Protection Review Period
For travelers who have bought a plan but wish to cancel it and receive a full refund of their plan cost, they may do so within a designated number of days from the date of purchase as long as they haven’t left for their trip or filed a claim. This is referred to as a “free look” period and is available with all Generali Global Assistance travel protection plans. While the timeframe for the free look period varies from state to state, it is generally 10 days from purchase. Travelers should always refer to their Plan Documents to determine the number of free look period days available in their state of residence.
Other Timing FAQs
When does my travel protection plan go into effect and when does it end?
The Trip Cancellation coverage included with your plan goes into effect the day after you purchase travel protection at 12:01 a.m. On your scheduled departure date, once you begin your trip, you can no longer file a claim for Trip Cancellation.
As soon as you depart, the other coverages in your plan become effective. Those coverages end as soon as one of these occurs: You return from your trip, the trip is completed, your scheduled return date arrives (unless you qualify for extension of coverage*), or your arrival at the destination on a one-way trip.
A variety of Travel Services are included with your plan. Concierge Services are available to use as soon as you purchase your plan and end when you return. Travel Assistance Services can be used during your trip. ID Theft Resolution Services are also available for a full 180 days starting on the scheduled departure date.
When should I buy travel protection that can cover a storm?
If you buy travel protection after a storm is named, your plan will not provide coverage for storm-related claims. See our Storm Coverage Alerts for more information.
We suggest you insure your trip when you make your first trip payment, like airfare or a cruise. That way you have a long coverage period in case you need to cancel your trip, and if you need to file a claim related to a storm, you will have bought the plan well before the storm was forecasted.
We hope this post helps you better understand when to buy travel insurance, but you can always contact Generali to be sure you're on the right track. No surprise, the best time to buy travel insurance is usually as early as possible, just in case you need to cancel your trip. But, no matter when you decide to help protect your trip, travelers should remember to consider travel insurance from a reputable provider such as Generali Global Assistance.
* All coverages will be extended if your entire trip is covered by the plan and your return is delayed by unavoidable circumstances beyond your control. If coverage is extended, coverage will end either on the date you reach your originally scheduled return destination or seven days after your scheduled return date, whichever comes first.
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