Save Time and Money with an Annual Travel Insurance Policy

September 30, 2008 By Leave a Comment

annual-travel-insuranceAnnual Travel Insurance

If you take several trips on an annual basis, it might be smart to purchase an annual trip travel  insurance policy, made specifically for frequent travelers. Travel insurance companies design these plans to cover you throughout the year, regardless of how many trips you take.

This means that you can take a trip every month of the year, and have a single annual travel insurance policy cover you (although there are usually limits on the total number of days traveling, or the length of any individual trip, depending on the policy certificate).

Many of these plans are made for frequent business travelers that include special “business-related” coverage, but there are several focused on non-business, “everyday” travelers.You can save both time and money if you purchase one plan for your entire year of travels.

Annual travel insurance is primarily for medical purposes, but many plans provide additional benefits
Most people buy an annual plan for coverage like medical emergencies, emergency evacuations, interrupted trips, and emergency assistance. Many companies, however, offer additional benefits that make buying an annual plan a great choice for all of your year’s trips.

Annual plans are generally divided into two categories; Multi-Trip Travel Medical plans or Annual Trip Insurance plans. The multi-trip travel medical plans focus on medical emergencies/evacuations and similar coverage.

Annual trip insurance plans will provide coverage for trip cancellation/interruption, baggage, trip delays, flight accidents, and even rental car damage as with the Annual Deluxe plan from Mondial Travel Insurance. Other benefits of an annual trip insurance policy include the “services”, such as concierge, 24/7 assistance, and even entertainment suggestions.

For example: Travelex Travel Insurance offers an annual travel insurance plan called Annual Multi-Trip, and it includes their Worldwide Assistance & Concierge service.

Since every trip has varying non-refundable pre-paid costs (this is the amount of trip cancellation that you would buy), annual trip insurance plans usually have a set amount. For example: you might have an annual plan with a $1,000 per year limit on trip cancellation coverage.

Since there is a trip cancellation component, as well as some additional coverages, annual trip insurance is usually more expensive, but can still be had for a few hundred dollars a year.

Annual travel insurance is not just for international travelers
Many travelers link annual plans are just for jet-set international travelers, but this is not always true. A multi-trip travel medical plan is usually used for international travelers who are not covered by their home country health insurance. If you are going overseas, you need to make sure you have medical coverage, and most health insurance providers do no cover you outside your home country. This is why you would need travel medical insurance.

A domestic traveler, however, should have health insurance that follows them around their home country. For this type of traveler, an annual trip travel insurance policy would be a good choice to provide the additional benefits. It would also provide secondary medical coverage in the event your personal health insurance did not provide enough.

Travelers who take several trips in their home country would benefit from an annual trip insurance plan in several ways. Many companies, such as Access America Travel Insurance, offer plans like Annual Travel Protection that are very comprehensive:

  • Trip Cancellation
  • Trip Interruption
  • Baggage Coverage
  • Baggage Delay Coverage
  • Travel/Trip Delay Coverage
  • Rental Car Damage (this alone could be worth it!)
  • Emergency Assistance….and more

Consider annual trip travel insurance if you travel more than 3-4 times per year
How many trips make it worthwhile to purchase an annual plan? It depends on the traveler, but if you travel 3+ times a year and purchase a policy each time, it’s worth getting a quote for an annual policy. Again, there are difference between a single-trip policy and an annual policy, but it might be the right choice for you.

Lost luggage complaints are highest in over a decade, discover what you can do about it

February 2, 2007 By 4 Comments

Worst year for lost, delayed, and damaged luggage since 1991

According to the DOT (Dept. of Transportation), complaints about lost, delayed and damaged luggage are at an all time high. In fact, figures released recently by the DOT indicate that 2006 is on course to be the worst year for lost and mishandled baggage since 1991.

Travelers blame airline restrictions for increase in baggage problems

After 9/11 it was small fingernail clippers and razors, and in the past year we have added liquids and gels to the list. These carry-on restrictions force travelers to check more bags than they have in the past, and this increase in checked bags has resulted in more problems.

Travel insurance plans include coverage for lost, stolen, damaged, or delayed baggage

The most popular type of travel insurance is called a package plan, or sometimes a comprehensive plan. This type of travel insurance is perfect for most travelers because it provides a wide variety of benefits, including baggage coverage.

(see How to Compare Quotes with a Travel Insurance Comparison Site)

How to make sure you’re covered while skiing

January 29, 2007 By 1 Comment

Most package plans will cover recreational skiing

If your winter vacation includes some skiing, you probably want some insurance to cover potential injuries. Luckily, most general package plans include coverage for recreational activities such as skiing. These comprehensive plans, also called package plans, generally include coverage for trip cancellation, lost baggage, medical emergencies, and medical evacuation.

screenshot_3.pngMedical expense and emergency evacuation coverage is important

Even though the other benefits are important while taking a trip, the really important coverage is the medical expense and evacuation. These are the costs that can get very high, and paying out-of-pocket could be catastrophic. Medical expenses can run in the 10′s of thousands, and e required evacuation could easily cost over $100,000. Without the right insurance coverage, you could be required to pay this yourself.

Check the policy certificate for any exclusions

The important thing os to check your coverage carefully. Read the certificate and check the “exclusions” section to see if they have ruled out skiing accidents. In general, as long you are not taking part in professional skiing or racing, winter activities are covered.

If you have further questions, ask a professional

If you are not sure about a certain policy, the best thing to do is ask a professional. The easiest way to do this is using a comparison site, because they can answer questions about several companies’ policies at the same time, instead of making you call around and deal with each company.

Here’s what to do:

  1. Go to a comparison site (see How to Compare Quotes with a Travel Insurance Comparison Site)
  2. Enter your trip details and get instant policy quotes
  3. Read a little about each policy to find out if skiing is covered
  4. Call the comparison site’s toll-free number, they can answer questions about all products

Are you prepared for the worst-case scenerio?

December 4, 2006 By Leave a Comment

This story from The Electric New Paper Singapore details an horrific set of circumstances.

A young woman traveling with a group slipped and fell down some stairs at a train station. Since she was towards the rear of the group, it was not discovered until they were on the train and realized she was not with them.

The group was able to exit the train in time and find their friend. She was taken to a hospital for treatment, where she remained for two months.

Her distraught family flew to Japan to take care of her, where she remained unstable in a coma. After two months, the family paid $90,000 for a medical evacuation flight to take her home for further care.

After two additional months of care, she died last Wednesday. She had just turned 33 years old.

Even though money is of no importance to the family after such a tragedy, there is also no need for the additional stress. Their thoughts should be with each other in this difficult time. In the end, that is what is important.

This story truly illustrates that anything can happen.

Expats living abroad have different insurance needs

October 25, 2006 By 1 Comment

istock_000001804351small.jpgSo you have decided to live and work abroad as an expatriot. The lure of life in a new and exciting country has finally pushed you into it.

There are special insurance plans designed for expats living abroad. You have a different set of needs. Insurance products designed for short term travelers aren’t the best for you. Let’s take a look at all the angles:

First of all, package plans are out because you do not need cancellation coverage

As an expat living abroad, you would not need the trip cancellation coverage that is included in package plans. In fact, most package plans are only available for shorter periods of time (30 days for example).

This is a good thing, since much of the cost of a package plan results from the cancellation coverage. Travel medical plan premiums are lower that package plan premiums.

As an expat, you need international medical insurance to cover you in a foreign country

InsureMyTrip.com compares several travel medical insurance plans. These plans are for trips of a week or less, and up to a few years, depending on the insurance company. They often include emergency medical, emergency dental, and medical evacuation.

These plans also include some variables, such as deductible amount, hazardous sports coverage, or home country coverage.

Some companies offer even longer term plans with US style health benefits available worldwide 

Specialty Risk International (see disclosure on about page) offers Reside and Reside Prime plans. These policies include comprehensive worldwide coverage, a choice of deductibles, coverage for families and individuals, and up to $5,000,000 in lifetime benefits.

You can buy multi-trip insurance for year round coverage

September 21, 2006 By Leave a Comment

Many travelers are away from home several times a year, and travel insurance companies have designed annual coverage plans for them.

Companies like HTH Worldwide, Travelex, International Medical Group, and Travelguard all offer a variety of annual coverage, multi-trip insurance plans. These plans offer many of the standard benefits such as medical/dental coverage, accidental death, and emergency medical evacuation.

These annual travel insurance plans usually limit the length of individual trips, from 30-70 days per trip. Longer trips allow for more risk to the insured, so they do need to add these individual trip limits.