Many of us have moved beyond the dreaming phase and are fully engaged in planning our next trips. With so many details to consider, it’s easy to overlook a step or two. Booking flights, accommodations, car rentals, tours, and restaurant reservations may feel like second nature, but in the excitement, purchasing travel insurance might slip through the cracks.
Travel insurance: when should you buy it?
As long as you haven’t left for your trip, you can purchase travel insurance at any time. Whether you’re planning on getting Single Trip or Multi Trip Annual coverage, travel insurance must be purchased before arriving at your destination. And although it’s not as thrilling as finally clicking the “buy” button for your next plane ticket, we recommend you read and understand your travel insurance policy beforehand. Not only will it help you decide when to buy travel insurance, but also why you should!
Don’t procrastinate with securing Emergency Medical Insurance
Emergency Medical Insurance protects travellers from sudden and unexpected situations. This typically includes accidents and unforeseen emergencies, which is why it’s wise to secure coverage before your trip planning gets too busy or overwhelming—it’s the last thing you’d want to forget taking with you!
Planning to visit Canada? Read about Visitors to Canada Insurance.
Medical Questionnaire
If you’re over 60 and want to buy an Emergency Medical plan, you’re required to fill out a simple Medical Questionnaire to determine your travel insurance premium. Remember, this will only help us determine your cost for insurance, and not your eligibility for coverage. If you’re not familiar with the process or are curious about the types of questions that might be asked, take a look at some FAQs about TuGo’s Medical Questionnaire.
Pre-existing medical conditions
If you have any pre-existing medical conditions, be sure you understand how pre-existing conditions can impact travel insurance claims. Stability periods for pre-existing conditions are important for travellers to factor in when trip planning and buying emergency medical travel insurance.
Here’s how pre-existing conditions may be covered under TuGo’s Traveller Emergency Medical Insurance:
- For travellers 59 years and under, there’s a 7-day stability period for trips 35 days and less, and a 90-day stability period for trips over 35 days.
- For travellers aged 60-74, there’s a 180-day stability period for all trip lengths.
- For travellers 75 years and over, there’s a 365–day stability period for all trip lengths.
Note: If you’re only travelling domestically within Canada and have a within Canada plan, there’s no stability requirement for pre-existing medical conditions—simply secure yourself with travel insurance and you can be off on your way!
Get Trip Cancellation & Trip Interruption Insurance sooner rather than later
While there’s no purchase window to buy Trip Cancellation & Trip Interruption Insurance, it’s best to secure this coverage once your trip is booked and any deposit is paid. Trip Cancellation protects you by covering unexpected things that can happen before your departure—illness or injury, travel visa denials, or even job loss. And because there are no financial benefits to waiting later to buy this type of insurance, it’s in your best interest to get it sooner rather than later to maximize your protection!
MyFlyt™ service
Now let’s say your flight’s delayed more than 2 hours, but your trip isn’t actually cancelled. Just by having a TuGo Travel Insurance policy, MyFlyt™ gives you instant access to an airport lounge pass or a cash payout, to make your experience a little better. MyFlyt is a convenient complimentary service you can take advantage of when you get travel insurance ahead of time.
TuGo Emotional Assistance
Sometimes travelling and leaving your home can be stressful. You might even experience emotional hardship while travelling, whether it’s due to work stress, family dynamics, or personal hardship.
TuGo is proud to offer TuGo Emotional Assistance, a 24/7 unlimited global service that connects you with a registered psychiatrist, psychologist, or counsellor confidentially over the phone. It’s available to travellers that are out-of-province, students, and visitors to Canda. Simply call the global toll-free number found in your policy declaration page to receive immediate emotional support.
TuGo’s Payment Plan
Designed for travellers looking for payment flexibility, TuGo’s Payment Plan allows travellers with premiums over $1000 to spread the cost of their policy over a longer period of time. Our Payment Plan gives you the flexibility to pay your premium in two installments: 25% is paid at the time you purchase your policy, and the remaining balance is automatically charged to the credit card on file 7 days before your policy’s effective date.
Travellers are given the flexibility to pay for their remaining balance via myTuGo* at any time before their payment due date.
*Note: Some policies can’t be accessed from myTuGo
Travel insurance is often an afterthought for most travellers. We get it—it might not be the most exciting part of your journey, but it is one of the most crucial. So even if you could technically wait until the last minute to buy travel insurance, why would you? You wouldn’t leave accommodation bookings until the day before you fly out. We recommend protecting yourself with the options listed above and enjoying some peace-of-mind early on in your journey, so you can focus on all the little details about your trip that we all miss. After all, it’s about time we all put the fun back in travel!
Safe travels,
Suki
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in June 2021 and has been updated for freshness and/or accuracy.