The itinerary has been set, your flights have been booked, but everything costs so much and your budget is looking pretty stretched already. At this point, purchasing comprehensive travel insurance may seem like an unnecessary burden. You can risk it just this once, right? Wrong! There are plenty of good reasons to invest in cover, even if you've left it until the last minute.

Changes in the Destination

Despite the diversity of options and the ease of obtaining comprehensive travel insurance, one of the chief reasons people ignore it remains confidence in their own planning. To some people, it seems like an accessory to the trip, and a mundane one at that! Yet the most experienced travellers recognise that even the most watertight itineraries can show leaks simply due to the nature of the destination. When you are a stranger in a foreign land you simply cannot exercise the same confidence and control you might have at home - and even at home you are aware of the need for various types of cover to manage the unforeseen. This should be enough incentive to invest in a plan: your choices are being confident you have a safety net in place against real risks of the unforeseeable, or accepting the fact that should a problem arise you will need to accept the full extent of the consequences. Seems a simple choice now doesn't it?

Changes in Expectations

It is not simply an itinerary that can suffer the vagaries of the unknown. Even the shortest trip can face changes, delays or cancellations. The benefit of comprehensive travel insurance is that you won’t have to suffer the financial consequences. Illness, lost items, cancelled tours, and accidents can and do happen because the expectations a travellers has do not fit the current realities of their destination. Accept that changes can and will occur and have a contingency.

It’s Affordable and Available

The above reasons outline why comprehensive travel insurance is a wise purchase, even if you've left it until the last moment. But purchasing cover at a late stage is also still realistic and there are reliable providers that can offer plans to meet your needs along with a quick online quote. The biggest plus is that these options are by and large affordable. You won't need to put a huge dent in your holiday budget in order to sign up for a last minute plan to protect you against accident, injury, loss, or unforeseen changes and their consequences. Internet quotes and tailored plans can be arranged as easily as booking a tour or a hotel.

Just because you've left it to the last minute doesn't mean you've left it too late!