Reasons You’d Want To Amend Your Travel Insurance Policy
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It’s best to purchase a travel insurance policy at the time you book your trip. This gives you the most coverage length for your money.
There are cases where you may need to amend your travel insurance policy so your trip investment is fully protected, such as:
1. Information is inaccurate on the policy. It’s very important to review the details of your travel insurance policy thoroughly when you receive it. A good read-through can catch any errors.
“If information on your policy is inaccurate, like a name was misspelled or the trip dates are wrong, you’ll want to reach out to your insurer to make a correction,” says Lisa Cheng, a spokesperson with World Nomads, a travel insurance provider.
2.Your travel plans have changed. If you have changed your trip’s itinerary you will need to update the policy accordingly, says Cheng.
“Maybe you decided that you want to stay a few days in Iceland as a stopover on a longer trip to a different country,” she says. “Or you may want to prolong your trip and you need additional days of coverage.”
Cheng says it’s vital to be aware that travel insurance companies could have different rules about extensions. “You may have to purchase a second plan to cover the extra days,” she cautions.
3.The size of your travel party changes. Travel plans can change and family members may not be able to join you on a vacation due to circumstances like health, employment or other life events. A travel insurance amendment could be necessary if more travelers join your trip or if someone can’t go.
What Can Be Amended on a Travel Insurance Policy?
Rules vary among travel insurance policies regarding changes. But most providers will allow you to amend the trip cost, destinations, number of people on the policy, and trip dates up until the day prior to departure, says Cheng.
When Should You Absolutely Amend a Policy?
Cheng says you should always amend a policy if:
- The policy shows inaccurate personal information
- You’ve made a change in destinations or trip dates
- The number of people covered by the policy needs to be updated
- Your trip cost has changed
“The most important thing to emphasize here is to get coverage for your entire trip,” she says. You want to fully insure the money you could lose in pre-paid and nonrefundable deposits. To that end, amendments are crucial when you’re traveling longer than expected or when you’re exploring destinations that weren’t originally listed on the policy.
Deadlines for Changing a Policy
Changes to a travel insurance policy must usually happen at least one or two days prior to the departure date, says Jason Schreier, CEO of April Travel Protection.
In some cases, it may be too late to make certain changes. For example, adding “cancel for any reason” coverage must usually be done within two or three weeks after your first trip deposit. This add-on coverage let’s you make a cancellation claim no matter what your reason is and typically reimburses 50% to 75% of the trip cost.
Likewise, getting pre-existing medical conditions covered must be done soon after buying the policy.
If for some reason your policy hasn’t been amended to reflect corrections or changes to the trip, there could be monetary consequences. “Your claim can be denied,” says Schreier.
How to Change a Travel Insurance Policy
There shouldn’t be a penalty fee to change a travel insurance policy. The only expense you may incur is the difference in travel insurance cost because of the change—such as insuring a higher trip cost.
To make a change to an existing policy, call the customer service number of your travel insurance provider. Changes can also often be made online.
Always review and retain any follow-up emails to confirm the changes you made. (The emails may even be in your spam folder.) Be aware that it may take up to 48 hours to receive confirmation of the adjustments.
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