Free Look Period in Travel Insurance

When you purchase travel insurance, you may not be sure if it’s going to be the best plan for your needs. Fortunately for these situations, travel insurance plans have what is called a “free look period,” in some plans it’s called a “money back guarantee.” Whether it’s called a free look period or a money back guarantee it is a short duration, typically 10 days in most plans, but can be up to 14 or 15 days in other plans. During this time period, you have plenty of time to review the coverage in the policy you have purchased to decide if it’s what you need.

During your free look period, keep in mind that while some travel insurance companies start counting the days of the free look period from the time of the purchase, others start the count from the time you receive the policy. As most travel insurance plans are sold online now, you will likely receive immediate delivery of policy documents via email; the policy documents delivered electronically are one and the same as policy documents delivered by post in most cases, so consider receipt of emailed policy documents as the first day of your free look period.

It is important to know that if you make a claim or depart on your trip during the free look period that the travel insurance coverage can no longer be cancelled and you should not expect to be refunded the premium paid.

Satisfaction and Assurance

By reading your policy details in the certificate wording during the free look period, you can set your expectations of what is covered and what isn’t. This could allow you to avoid any claims related confusion or issues later.

While you are reviewing your policy, you can review the benefits included in the coverage and exclusions to make sure that the travel insurance plan you have purchased meets your needs. You should also verify the details of your purchase to ensure accuracy, start by checking your trip dates, the initial trip deposit date, as well as the per-person trip cost, and other details such as name, birth date, and any other information that you added. Some travel insurance plans provide a variety of choices for deductible and medical policy maximum, so consider that too. By reviewing, you can make sure that the travel insurance plan you purchased is what you need.

When you are reviewing the benefits, check what is covered for trip cancellation, trip interruption, emergency medical, trip delay, baggage delay, loss of checked luggage, emergency medical evacuation, AD&D, and any optional benefits you selected.

For those that prefer to know what is covered in the travel insurance plan they are considering before they purchase, the complete certificate wording details are available on this website. People that review these details before they purchase will not need to change or cancel the insurance due to such reasons as mentioned above, as they have already made an educated decision upfront. However, if any unexpected circumstances arise for which you would like to cancel your travel insurance and get refund, a free look period can be useful.

Cancellation and Refund

If you must cancel the travel insurance during the free look period, you can log into MyAccount and request cancellation within the free look period to get a refund.

Some travel insurance companies charge a small administrative fee such as $5. No fees are charged by us.

Making Changes

If you need to make any corrections to your trip cost, travel dates, names, other demographic details, or you need to increase or decrease your trip cost, you can easily do that without cancelling the travel insurance plan. Of course, you would need to make any necessary changes before the original departure date and you must not have already filed a claim and you must not have departed on your trip.

Whether you are considering which plan is right for you before you purchase coverage, or you have already purchased coverage and you’re reviewing the policy during the free look period, we are here to help if you have any questions.