V-Flyer

Hi All

Thought I would check with the oracle that is V Flyer for help.

Mrs Derby Flyer and myself usually take out annual multi-trip travel insurance each year. This usually covers us for our one or two N. America jaunts each year plus a couple of short trips to Europe.

We normally take out the insurance early in January and do not normally have any flights booked. However this time, we already have a flight booked from LGW to MCO in March, when the last sale was on.

My query is, does our current insurance (expires 3rd January) cover us should anything cause a cancellation up to renewal, or do we need to have valid insurance for when the flight is due to depart.

Hopefully someone can put my mind at rest. Thanks in advance.

Pretty sure it's best to have cover for when any flights are booked

Derby Flyer wrote:Hi All

Thought I would check with the oracle that is V Flyer for help.

Mrs Derby Flyer and myself usually take out annual multi-trip travel insurance each year. This usually covers us for our one or two N. America jaunts each year plus a couple of short trips to Europe.

We normally take out the insurance early in January and do not normally have any flights booked. However this time, we already have a flight booked from LGW to MCO in March, when the last sale was on.

My query is, does our current insurance (expires 3rd January) cover us should anything cause a cancellation up to renewal, or do we need to have valid insurance for when the flight is due to depart.


Hopefully someone can put my mind at rest. Thanks in advance.

With all the problems around the world and the current medical scares - keep your insurance totally up to date. Sort out the renewal well before the other one expires, especially as some companies might close for the festive & new year period.

Your current policy will cover you whilst it is valid and a new policy from the date you start that one.

So if something happened say in early December that meant you had to cancel your flights (even though they are still months away) your existing policy should cover it - though it would depend on the exact circumstances of course.

My advice is to have continuous insurance and especially where you have flights booked in advance.

Cheers Tonty, that was in line with my thoughts.

We do normally automatically renew, but do also check alternative companies just in case we are paying over the odds. Our biggest concern is with the Ebola outbreak, and what insurance would cover IF things got worse and flights were cancelled if the FCO updated status.

Derby Flyer wrote:We do normally automatically renew, but do also check alternative companies just in case we are paying over the odds. Our biggest concern is with the Ebola outbreak, and what insurance would cover IF things got worse and flights were cancelled if the FCO updated status.

If you do intend to switch to an alternative provider, check (and obtain written confirmation) that they will provide cover for the pending trip.

I find ft.com useful for insurance comparisons.

I concur with the other replies - if you have a trip / flights booked, make sure your insurance remains valid. I've just had my renewal through for November - no trips booked (yet!) until May. I'll be renewing in November though (they even gave me 20% discount for renewing too).

If you let your current policy expire & then take out a new one to commence the day before your next trip - any unexpected medical problem in the "void" period could see you well out of pocket. I've also got "travel disruption" cover on my policy - that includes volcanic ash - given that people in the know are saying a proper eruption on Iceland is long overdue.

The way I look at it is when you are paying close on £500 for taxes/fees/charges on an UC miles redemption + £2k for accommodation in Florida, trying to save £20 or £30 quid by delaying the renewal of your travel insurance is not worth the risk.

NV43 wrote:
If you do intend to switch to an alternative provider, check (and obtain written confirmation) that they will provide cover for the pending trip.

I find ft.com useful for insurance comparisons.

Hi NV43

This has me a little confused. Why would you need to get written confirmation from an insurer that a pending trip is covered. I was , maybe mistakenly, under the impression that if you take out a annual policy, then all trips are covered, as long as you meet their pre-requisites (start and end dates in date, don't exceed maximum days, advise on all health issues etc). As stated earlier, our policy will be renewed or changed at least 2 months before we fly.

Just for info we had our flights and hotels booked last November for our October holiday and we changed our Travel insurance company on the 1st August this year. My husband has several pre-existing conditions but now has turned 60 the price has become prohibitive, so i shopped around and got a policy with Aviva through Topcashback which included all his conditions and an FCO clause that covered any problems for which the country you were in, would be included for repatriation if any troubles were consequently to arrive.

There was a small extra charge for this, but with me included as well as I was on a separate policy before, it came out at £100's cheaper than the other policy.

As with all these policies they are only any good if you claim but its peace of mind for most of us. Linda

Thanks for the info Mallin. We are also with Aviva, which we have found to be very good. I am diabetic., so have to make sure all pre-existing conditions are accepted.