US in UK Travel Insurance

I'm currently in the UK on a visa - well not yet, I have to leave the country and re-enter because the consulate messed it up. Anyways, my boyfriend and I will be traveling out of country a week from tomorrow and it has been suggested that I get travel insurance. Where can I get this from? Am I able to get it from a UK provider, or do I have to get it from a US provider? Any suggestions would be very much appreciated!!!

i use to work in travel insurance. If you do not have legal residence here (as in a visa) and are not legally settled  you can not get travel insurance. there are no UK providers that will insure you

Almost all the ones I looked for required permanent residence (ILR). There's only a handful that will let you get insurance without ILR. I had some luck with Virgin Money, because they only required 6 months straight of living in the UK and not ILR.

I bought an annual plan with STA Travel, but they require you to have been in the country for 3 months, I believe.  They also have plans that US residents can buy online, but I am not sure if you would qualify for that since, technically, they would view your 'trip' as having already started, since you are outside of the US currently.  When I bought my plan, they used the day I left the country as the policy start date.   It might be worth looking into, at any rate--if you're just here on a study abroad program, I would think you would have been eligible to get coverage through them for the entire period you are abroad, which would have then covered any trips you took.  Perhaps if you contact them (the US branch), there would be a way they could begin coverage now, even though you've already left the country?

edited to add: sorry, I may be mixed up...if you are traveling back to the US, what I said would not apply. I assumed you meant that you were going somewhere in Europe, but realized that I may have assumed wrong.

I am actually going somewhere in Europe so that's what I need the insurance for. Just a four night trip - its nothing major but it has been suggested that I get the travel insurance, and I don't really know where to start looking!

you wont be able to get travel insurance anywhere.

1. you stated your current visa is "messed up" and you have to re-enter
and
2. youve only been in the UK for about 22 days.

because of those, you can not get insured

What happened with your visa? I thought it had been issued.

Almost all the ones I looked for required permanent residence (ILR). There's only a handful that will let you get insurance without ILR. I had some luck with Virgin Money, because they only required 6 months straight of living in the UK and not ILR.

actually you dont need an ILR. an FLR is fine,fiancee visas usually arent ok with a lot of companies.

also, just noticed the original poster has a student visa, she wont be eligible on that visa,you have to be a permanent resident to get travel insurance in the UK

I did get my visa, but the thing is, they put down the wrong valid date. It was supposed to be the 21st, and they made it the 25th.....but the expiration date is a 21st, so I assume it was a typo. I entered the country on the 22nd and they couldn't actually activate my visa then.....so right, that's why I'm going through all this to sort it out. I do get a lovely vacation out of it though....but I'm also wondering if I can get travel insurance through the U.S.

I did get my visa, but the thing is, they put down the wrong valid date. It was supposed to be the 21st, and they made it the 25th.....but the expiration date is a 21st, so I assume it was a typo. I entered the country on the 22nd and they couldn't actually activate my visa then.....so right, that's why I'm going through all this to sort it out.

That's too bad! For anyone else, you can get these types of errors fixed through the consulate. I'm guessing Alison didn't have enough time.

but I'm also wondering if I can get travel insurance through the U.S.

its unlikely. For travel insurance you have to depart and return from the country. So if you got insurance from the US, you have to depart from the US and then return to the US after your trip

I don't remember if I caught the error a few days before I left or just a day or two. I tried calling once I was in England but of course there was nothing I could do :/ Does anybody know if I'm able to get some sort of US travel insurance even though I'm over here at the moment?

unfortantley no.

Ive been asked this loads of times by customers when I was a travel insurance agent.

The reason being, (not saying you have done this) but they have this policy because people would leave on their holiday without insurance,thinking they dont need it, and once something does happen,they would call to get travel insurance. So because of that,there is a rule that you must be in the country before you get your insurance and must not have already travelled

And technically you have already travelled since you are not in the US anymore

also, just noticed the original poster has a student visa, she wont be eligible on that visa,you have to be a permanent resident to get travel insurance in the UK

Not necessarily - STA Travel specialises in student/young people's flights/insurance and simply requires that you have been resident in the UK for a minimum of 3 months and are under 35, so someone with a student visa could buy STA insurance once they had been in the UK for 3 months.