Only one in three holidaymakers buy travel insurance as soon as they book their trip, according to a recent survey by Opinium for Multitrip.com. The findings highlight how waiting too long to arrange cover can leave travellers exposed to costly risks.
The survey revealed that 13% of people have travelled without insurance simply because they forgot to buy it. Another 17% only purchased insurance at the last minute. This delay can be risky, as one in five travel insurance claims are related to trip cancellations — which often happen before the departure date.
“Travel insurance is too important to be an afterthought. Always buy it as soon as you book your holiday,” said Christian Bennett from Multitrip.com.
Failing to arrange insurance early could mean travellers are not protected if they have to cancel their trip unexpectedly. Cancellations are not always due to personal illness; 32% of claims were because a travel companion became sick or injured, 13% were due to the death of a non-travelling relative, and 8% involved illness or injury of a non-travelling relative.
Personal finance expert Martin Lewis also weighed in on the topic on social media. He stressed that insurance must be active from the time of booking — not just the date of travel — to be effective.
He explained that for single-trip policies, coverage starts as soon as the policy is purchased. If something prevents the trip before the departure date, the traveller is still covered. For annual policies, the policy must already be active when the trip is booked. If the policy starts after the booking date and something happens in between, the traveller may not be protected.
“If you’ve already got annual cover, but your holiday is after it ends, get a new policy that begins as soon as the old one finishes,” Lewis advised. He also warned that not all policies automatically cover pre-booked holidays after a renewal, so it’s important to check the fine print.
Bennett added: “If you wait until closer to departure and then can’t travel—due to illness affecting you, your travel partner, or even a close relative—you may not be able to recover your costs. That’s why we urge people to sort out their insurance as soon as they’ve booked.”
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