Annual Travel Insurance

Like a package plan, a worldwide annual travel insurance plan delivers comprehensive protection for all the trips you take ‒ all year long.  Some annual trip insurance plans are renewable.

What makes worldwide annual travel insurance unique?

Many travelers like the convenience and economy of a worldwide annual trip insurance plan, which is similar to a package plan but covers the traveler for a full year.

Same worldwide coverage for 12 full months

The reason many travelers like an annual trip insurance plan is the convenience of having the same coverage for all their travel plans all year long. Most plans have a long per-trip length requirement (usually 70-90 days). One policy to read and understand; only one number to call for travel assistance services.

Comprehensive and economical

Annual plans are relatively cost-effective because the coverage for cancellation is low or not included (some plans offer optional trip cancellation coverage on a per-trip basis for an extra fee). Age is taken into account, but most annual plans run a couple hundred dollars per year, per traveler.

Key difference is little to no trip cancellation

The amount of trip cancellation and interruption coverage needed is determined by the total pre-paid non refundable travel costs at risk for a particular trip. With an annual plan, however, each trip during the year will have a different trip cost and the traveler won’t likely know all those costs when they purchase their annual plan.

This is why trip cancellation and interruption coverage is very limited in annual plans and may only be available for a flat trip cost amount (such as $1,000) and it may only apply to a single trip during the annual coverage period.

Why would you need Annual trip insurance?

The following explains why certain travelers need an annual travel insurance plan.

• You are taking multiple worldwide trips in the coming year and you don’t want to have to research and purchase travel protection for each individual trip.
• You have a medical emergency and seek care in a foreign country.
• You have a serious accident and need to be evacuated to a medical facility.
• A hurricane shuts down travel and you don’t want to sleep on the airport floor.
• Your checked luggage has been badly mangled by the handlers and you need replacement clothing.
• Your checked bags went one way while you traveled another and you need some essential items until they catch up to you.
• You want to be sure your dependent children are safely returned home if you are hospitalized and leave them unattended.
• You want the comfort of knowing that a loved one can visit you if you are hospitalized on your trip.
• You want term life protection to care for your family in case a flight accident occurs on one of your trips.
• You want travel assistance experts to help when you have a travel emergency or need concierge services.

What coverage is included in Annual trip insurance?

The following coverage is typically found in an annual trip insurance plan.

• Coverage for emergency medical and dental care, including hospital visits, surgery, prescription drugs, doctor and dentist office visits, and more.
• Emergency medical transportation so you can receive medical care for your illness or injury.
• Reimbursement for unexpected lodging, meals, and transportation costs if your travel is delayed a certain number of hours (usually 6-12).
• Reimbursement for lost, stolen, or destroyed baggage and personal effects (up to the policy limit) whether they are lost or destroyed by the airline, a taxi driver, a hotel employee, or anyone else.
• Reimbursement (up to the policy limit) for personal essentials if your baggage is delayed a certain number of hours (usually between 12 and 24 ).
• The comfort of knowing your dependent children will be flown home (with a chaperone, if necessary) if you are hospitalized an unable to care for them. Arrangements must be made through the insurance provider’s travel assistance services.
• A bedside visit benefit if you are hospitalized or in critical condition on your trip. Arrangements must be made through the insurance provider’s travel assistance services.
• Some flight accident insurance as a term life benefit to your beneficiaries if you are killed in a flight accident on one of your trips.
• The convenience of 24/7 travel assistance services for help with medical emergencies, travel emergencies, business emergencies, pre-trip planning, and more.

And some annual plans include:

• Car rental collision coverage
• Trip cancellation coverage
• Trip interruption coverage
• Pre-existing medical condition coverage

Who should buy Annual travel insurance?

Travelers like these should purchase annual travel insurance:

• Frequent travelers, such as business owners and academics. When much of your time is consumed by traveling for your work or study, it’s difficult to research travel insurance for each trip and much more economical to have one plan with consistent coverage you understand all year long.
• Active, healthy, traveling retirees. You may have waited all your life for your retirement and want to put as many trips on the schedule as possible. Of course, you want the safety of travel insurance on each of those trips too.
• Journalists and writers frequently sent on last-minute assignments. When you have to travel often at the last minute, there’s no time to understand, purchase, and review a single-trip policy. Plus, it’s useful to have the same coverage all year round so you know what to expect without having to sign up for new coverage every time.

How much does Annual trip insurance cost?

Most full-featured annual multi-trip insurance plans will cost a traveler around $200, depending on these factors:

• The estimated number of trips
• The estimated number of days for the longest trip of the year
• The traveler’s age
• The options chosen with the plan

See 4 Steps to 100% confidence in your travel insurance plan for information about how to be sure you the the right travel insurance plan.

Where should you buy your Annual travel insurance?

You have two options for buying travel insurance – the best option is to compare plans from all companies, get quotes, and purchase your travel insurance plan online:

1. Compare plans from all companies: Compare travel insurance plans from all companies, get quotes, and buy online.
2. Quote and buy direct: Review the travel insurance companies and plans and purchase directly from the company.

All travel insurance companies include a free look period with a refund that lets you review the plan documentation. If you decide you need something a little different, you can make changes to your policy or cancel it for a refund (minus a small fee).

Which companies offer Annual travel insurance?

Summary

• Frequent travelers often like the convenience of a single plan for all their trips in a year
• Annual travel insurance is often quite economical as it limits trip cancellation coverage
• Annual plans cover multiple trips in a 12-month period with some limits to the length of each trip
• Compare annual travel insurance plans with our travel insurance comparison tool