This is the most common travel insurance question I receive, and it typically arrives from a beach or an airport departure lounge: “I forgot to take out a policy – can I still do it now?” or “My journey home is delayed and my policy is about to expire – what now?” The two situations are different, both legally and in insurers' practice. One is taking out a new policy from abroad; the other is extending a policy that is still in force. As a broker, I see that mixing the two up is what creates uncovered days, and on an uncovered day the hospital bill is not the insurer's problem. Let us look at the rules, the practice under Hungarian policy conditions and what to do.
- Hungarian policy conditions typically allow a policy to be taken out only before departure and only from Hungary; where it is also possible from abroad, the rule is the insurer's prior consent and a delayed start of cover – a waiting period.
- Extending an expiring policy is a different matter: it can typically be requested before expiry, from the insurer's customer service or online; after expiry, only a new policy is an option, with the restrictions that apply to buying from abroad.
- An event that occurred before cover started – an illness that has already begun – is not an insured event (Hungarian Civil Code (Ptk.) Section 6:454), and concealing the fact that you are already abroad breaches the duty of disclosure (Ptk. Section 6:452).
Why do insurers dislike policies taken out from abroad?
Under the Hungarian Civil Code (Ptk.), the insurer's cover starts at the time specified in the contract or, failing that, when the contract is concluded (Ptk. Section 6:445), and if the insured event had already occurred before cover started, the contract or the relevant part of it terminates (Ptk. Section 6:454). If you take out a policy abroad when an illness has already begun, the insurer will not pay for it – not out of ill will, but because the event did not occur during the period of cover. Insurers therefore protect themselves: according to intermediaries' information notices, travel insurance can be taken out only before the trip begins and only in Hungary, and according to the information on several online platforms, the insured person must be in Hungary at the moment the policy is taken out. This is linked to the duty of disclosure (Ptk. Section 6:452): if, when buying online, you untruthfully tick the declaration “I am in Hungary”, the insurer may be released from paying by invoking a breach of the duty of disclosure – the burden of proof is on the insurer, but the risk is yours. When cover actually starts is explained in the article on the start of cover.
Where it is possible after all: consent and a waiting period
It varies from insurer to insurer, and the policy conditions decide. Under one Hungarian insurer's 2026 conditions, if the insured person is not in their country of residence when the policy is taken out, cover can start at the earliest at 0:00 on the day after the contract is concluded, and only if the insurer has given its prior consent to the purchase. Another insurer's conditions allow only a continuation policy to be taken out from abroad: only if a policy for the same product has been continuously in force since the first day of the trip, and with the prior written permission of the insurer's customer service, which must be requested at least two working days before the new start date. Some policy conditions do not allow it at all. The common denominator is three elements: prior consent, a waiting period and the exclusion of pre-existing illness. There is no cover during the waiting period – nobody makes up for that day or those days afterwards. When you request consent, the insurer typically checks whether there is an ongoing illness or treatment and how long you have been abroad; if the online platform does not ask such a question, that does not mean the rule does not apply – it means it will be checked when you make a claim. The same logic applies to annual multi-trip policies: once the number of days allowed per trip has been exceeded, the days spent abroad are uncovered, and an annual policy typically cannot be extended from abroad. For an overview of typical exclusions, see the exclusion map.
Extension: when and how?
An extension pushes back the end of a policy that is still in force, and Hungarian policy conditions typically allow this from abroad as well – but only before expiry. In practice, you need to call the insurer's customer service or assistance line, or make the request in your online account; one insurer accepts requests until 12 noon on the last working day before expiry, another allows an extension of no more than fifteen days, and some policy conditions automatically add one day if your journey home is prevented by a flight delay, a strike or the weather during the last two days of the policy period. With an annual multi-trip policy, the limit is not the expiry date but the number of days allowed per trip – this is covered in the article on single-trip or annual policies. Whichever route you choose, ask for written confirmation of the extended expiry date and save it on your phone. After expiry, an extension is legally a new contract and falls back under the rules in the previous section.
What happens on uncovered days?
In EU and EEA member states, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) entitles you to medically necessary state healthcare under the rules of the country concerned – with co-payments, and without private treatment or repatriation; this is set out in detail in the comparison of the EHIC and travel insurance. Outside the EU, an uncovered day is paid entirely out of your own pocket: the hospital abroad, the ambulance, the journey home. On such days there is no baggage, liability or trip interruption cover at all. If you are preparing for a longer stay abroad and the date of your return is uncertain, you need a different tool from the outset – the digital nomad article looks at this situation.
How to plan: in practice
- Take out the policy for the whole planned period, plus a buffer of one or two days in case your journey home is delayed – the premium for the extra days is typically a fraction of what an uncovered day puts at risk.
- If you are abroad and your policy is about to expire, call the insurer or request the extension online before it expires; do not regard it as settled without written confirmation.
- If you want to take out a new policy from abroad, read the “conclusion of the contract” and “start of cover” sections of the policy conditions, ask for the insurer's consent, and never make an untrue declaration about where you are staying – the duty of disclosure is yours and cannot be transferred.
- Allow for the waiting period: there is no cover for that day, and an illness that has already begun is not covered.
If you let me know before you leave, I check which policy conditions allow an extension from abroad, and it is worth timing the purchase so that the covered days follow on from one another without a break. If you are already stuck abroad, I help where I can – but without the insurer's consent and the rule in the policy conditions, nobody can create cover after the fact.
Have a question about your own trip? Request a quote – a free 20-minute consultation, no obligation. Book a time here →
Sources
- Hungarian Civil Code (Ptk.) Sections 6:445, 6:452 and 6:454 (Act V of 2013)
- Alfa Európa-Szerte travel insurance policy conditions (1 March 2026) – purchase from abroad, extension
- EUB travel insurance policy conditions EUB2026-03ONU (section 1.7, continuation policy)
- EUB frequently asked questions – purchase and extension from abroad
- Eurorisk FAQ – taking out and extending travel insurance
- CLB travel insurance FAQ – the insured person's location when the policy is taken out
- UNION travel insurance – extension until 12 noon on the last working day before expiry
- NEAK (National Health Insurance Fund of Hungary): European Health Insurance Card
