Can I buy a travel insurance policy if I'm already overseas?

Yes! We think it’s a better idea to buy your travel insurance as soon as you make your travel arrangements, but yes, you can buy travel insurance even if you’ve already left home, whether traveling domestically or overseas.

U.S. residents can buy a World Nomads travel insurance policy online, from anywhere in the world, 24/7. We’ll send your policy documents via email.

You can buy a policy for as little as one day, up to a maximum of 180 days. To get a quote, simply put in your travel dates, counties you’re visiting and traveler ages, and we’ll give you an instant quote.

There are a few important things you should know if you wait until you leave home to buy your travel insurance:

  • If you buy your plan before you leave home, your coverage starts at 12:01 a.m. local time at your location, on your scheduled departure date. If you have already left home and then buy your plan, your coverage starts at 12:01 a.m. local time, the day after you purchase the policy. So if, for example, you’re already on your trip and want to buy a policy to cover you for a day of skiing or a weekend away, you need to buy it the day before your activities are scheduled.
  • Known events (for example, named hurricanes and pre-existing medical conditions) are not covered. So, if you’ve eaten a dodgy shrimp taco and think you have food poisoning, it is too late to purchase coverage for that event.

To re-cap, buying your travel insurance when you purchase your flights or other travel arrangements is a good idea. This gives pre-trip benefits like trip cancellation coverage and access other non-insurance assistance services like FootprintID, where you can store your medical info in case you need it in an emergency. But, if you forgot, or you ran out of time, you can still buy a travel insurance policy once you’ve left home.

Read your policy documents for full details about when cover starts and ends and all other terms, limits, conditions and exclusions of coverage. If you have any questions, please reach out – we’re happy to help.


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