Buying travel insurance is something that should definitely be on your to do list, before you leave on your trip. Its no good buying it at last minute, since many insurance policies take a little time to kick in and there is a risk that you will just completely forget with everything else that you need to get done before a big trip. There are a number of other reasons to buy your travel insurance early.
One very good argument for buying your travel insurance when you first book your trip is that if something should happen to prevent you from going and your tickets have to be canceled, you can recover the cost, which is often quite a bit more than the cost of trip insurance. There are plenty of reasons why you may need to cancel your travel plans. For example, a death in the family, weather (such as a hurricane right in the path of your cruise!), or a business emergency can all cause cancellations. With travel insurance, this just wont be a big deal.
Since you can buy both your plane or cruise tickets online as well as travel insurance, it is a pretty simple matter to purchase the travel insurance at the same time. This will give you the best coverage. But if you insist on buying offline, then you will want to talk to your insurance provider or travel agent about your options. They will help you get your travel insurance bought and activated before you are ready to leave on your trip. Keep in mind that waiting too long to do this could result in problems if you end up having to cancel your trip for any reason.
Another good reason to buy your travel insurance at the same time as booking the trip is that you will remember. Its a simple thing to cross that extra task off your list and make sure that you are relaxed, well, more relaxed, for the remaining time before your trip. There really is something to be said for the peace of mind that comes from taking care of all those niggling little details nice and early. Avoiding the stress of last minute trip planning is always a good idea and not just for travel insurance! Getting your packing and extra shopping for the trip done early will help you out, too. In fact, its a good idea to try and get those last couple of days to be free. Anything that is really last minute is open to mistakes, so try to finish up early.
Should you not be able to purchase travel insurance at the same time as you pay for your trip tickets, then be sure that you leave yourself plenty of time to do so. This is important. The stress of planning a trip or vacation can be drastically lessened by planning ahead and purchasing your travel insurance at least two weeks before you leave. That way, you wont accidentally forget in the hubbub of trying to pack and make arrangements. You might think that youll remember but with all the things going on that need to be done right before a trip, you could easily find yourself missing out on one of the most important parts of your trip planning!
Also, having your travel insurance done early is a great way to ease the stress of preparing for a vacation or business trip. Buying it early means you have one less thing to worry about and who couldnt use that?