Maybe you’ve never used travel insurance before. Or maybe you’ve just purchased travel insurance and now you’re scrolling through your policy documents, wondering what it all means.
This guide explains the basics: how travel insurance works, how to choose a plan and how to get the most out of your coverage.
What Is Travel Insurance?
Travel insurance is a plan you purchase that protects you from certain financial risks and losses that can occur while traveling. These losses can be minor, like a delayed suitcase, or significant, like a last-minute trip cancellation or a medical emergency overseas.
In addition to financial protection, the other huge benefit of travel insurance is access to assistance services, wherever you are in the world. Allianz Global Assistance’s elite team of travel and medical experts can arrange medical treatment in an emergency, monitor your care, serve as interpreters, help you replace lost passports and so much more. Sometimes, they even save travelers’ lives.
A few things you should know about travel insurance:
- Benefits vary by plan. It’s important to choose a plan that fits your needs, your budget and your travel plans. Here are definitions of all available travel insurance benefits.
- Travel insurance can’t cover every possible situation. Allianz Global Assistance offers named perils travel insurance, which means it covers only the specific situations, events and losses included in your plan documents, and only under the conditions Allianz describes.
- Travel insurance is designed to cover unforeseeable events — not things you could easily see coming or things within your control. If, for example, you wait to buy insurance for your beach trip until after a named hurricane is hustling toward your destination, your losses won’t be covered.
How Does Travel Insurance Work?
In most scenarios, travel insurance reimburses you for your covered financial losses after you file a claim and the claim is approved. Filing a claim means submitting proof of your loss to Allianz Global Assistance so that they can verify what happened and reimburse you for your covered losses. You can file a claim online or do it on your phone with Allianz’s free TravelSmart app.
How does this work in real life? Let’s say you purchase the OneTrip Prime plan, which includes trip cancellation benefits, to protect your upcoming cruise to Cozumel. Two days before departure, you experience a high fever and chest pain. Your doctor diagnoses bacterial pneumonia and advises you to cancel the trip. When you notify the cruise line, they tell you it’s too late to receive a refund.
Without travel insurance, you’d lose the money you spent on your vacation. Fortunately, a serious, disabling illness can be considered a covered reason for trip cancellation, which means you can be reimbursed for your prepaid, nonrefundable trip costs.
Once you’re feeling better, you gather the required documents — such as your airfare and cruise line receipts and information about any refunds you did or did not receive — and you file a claim. You can even choose to receive your reimbursement via direct deposit, a deposit to your debit card or a check by mail.
Sometimes, this process works a little differently. Travel insurance may pay your expenses up front if you require emergency medical treatment or emergency transportation while traveling overseas. Or, with the OneTrip Premier plan, you may be eligible to receive a fixed payment of $100 per day for a covered travel delay or $100 for a covered baggage delay. No receipts for purchases are required; all you need is proof of your covered delay.
Many travelers are wondering: Can COVID-19 be considered a covered reason for trip cancellation? And can travel insurance help if you become seriously ill with COVID-19 while traveling? Some of Allianz’s most popular travel insurance plans include epidemic-related covered reasons (benefits vary by plan and are not available in all jurisdictions).
The Epidemic Coverage Endorsement adds covered reasons to select benefits for certain losses related to COVID-19 and any future epidemic. To see if your plan includes this endorsement and what it covers, please look for “Epidemic Coverage Endorsement” on your Declarations of Coverage or Letter of Confirmation. Terms, conditions and exclusions apply. Benefits may not cover the full cost of your loss. All benefits are subject to maximum limits of liability, which may in some cases be subject to sublimits and daily maximums.
How to Choose a Travel Insurance Plan
Allianz Global Assistance offers a range of travel insurance plans that include different benefits and benefit limits. So how do you know which is best for you? To begin, get a quote for your upcoming trip. When you enter your age, trip costs and trip dates, Allianz can recommend a few plans for you. Then you can compare the costs and benefits of each.
If you’re a budget-conscious traveler who’s traveling in the U.S., you may like the OneTrip Cancellation Plus plan. It includes trip cancellation, trip interruption and trip delay benefits.
If you want protection in case of medical emergencies overseas but you have few prepaid trip expenses, you may consider the OneTrip Emergency Medical Plan. This affordable plan includes emergency medical and emergency transportation benefits, as well as other post-departure benefits, but not trip cancellation/interruption.
If you want the reassurance of carrying substantial travel insurance benefits, the best fit may be the OneTrip Prime plan. This plan also covers kids 17 and under for free when traveling with a parent or grandparent.
If you’re planning several trips in the next 12 months, consider annual travel insurance — like the AllTrips Prime plan. It gives you affordable protection for a full year of travel, including benefits for trip cancellation and interruption, emergency medical care, lost/stolen or delayed baggage, and rental car theft and damage protection (available to residents of most states).
How to Get the Most from Your Travel Insurance Plan
Don’t wait too long to buy travel insurance. The best time to buy travel insurance is immediately after you’ve completed your travel arrangements. The earlier you buy insurance, the bigger your coverage window. Also, you must buy your plan within 14 days of making your initial trip deposit in order to be eligible for the preexisting medical condition benefit (not available on all plans).
Read your plan documents before you leave. If you’re not completely satisfied with your plan, you have 15 days (or more, depending on your state of residence) to request a refund, provided you haven’t started your trip or initiated a claim. Premiums are nonrefundable after this period.
This article originally appeared on the Allianz Travel website.
Terms, conditions, and exclusions apply. Benefits/Coverage may vary by state, and sublimits may apply. Please see your plan for full details. Plan(s) underwritten by BCS Insurance Company or Jefferson Insurance Company. AGA Service Company is the licensed producer and administrator of these plans. Plans include insurance benefits and assistance services. Contact AGA Service Company at 800-284-8300 or 9950 Mayland Drive, Richmond, VA 23233 or customerservice@allianzassistance.com.
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