Effective Date for a Travel Insurance Plan

Last updated on 03/28/2023

In the simplest terms: the start date for travel insurance coverage.

The day your policy goes into effect is what travel insurance companies (and us!) refer to as the Effective Date. This date will vary based on the dates of your insured trip and the type of plan you purchased.

Comprehensive Plan

These plans offer all inclusive coverage, from trip cancellation to medical evacuation. Because of this, the effective date of the plan will be one minute after midnight the day after you bought the plan.

If you purchased your travel insurance on April 26th at 4:13pm, your plan will go into effect on April 27th at 12:01am. This will allow you to utilize your trip cancellation coverage if needed.

The remaining benefits, or post-departure benefits, included in your plan will not be available for use until you actually leave on your trip.

Travel Medical, Medical Evacuation or Accidental Death Plan

None of these plans have trip cancellation coverage, therefore they will not go into effect until the day of departure for your trip. If you purchased a plan on April 26th for a trip beginning on May 15th , your coverage will commence on May 15th .

Multi-Trip Plans

The effective date for multi-trip insurance plans typically coincide with the departure date of the first scheduled trip the plan includes. This can vary by company, so we recommend clarifying this with the insurance company you choose.

Still a little confused? You can clarify this date one of two ways. First, you can double check with the insurance company you chose. Or, you can read the plan information that InsureMyTrip sends out post-purchase; it will be in that documentation.