Buying annual travel insurance policy, is it worth it? Pros and Cons? How realiable is Allianz insurance?

[terrydtx]

In the next twelve months we have 5 cruises booked with 47 days total sailing time and 23 days on land with some expensive airfare. My wife and I are both in our mid 70's and very fit and healthy. I have seen many fellow CC members recommend buying annual travel insurance policies and we had out TA look into this for us. She has recommended a policy with Allianz insurance that would provide the coverage we would need for a lot less in cost over buying individual policies for each trip. I am interested in experiences from this forum on both annual policies and with Allianz Insurance, or if any other insurance company is recommended. We have always purchased travel insurance from our TA and last year we had our first ever claim because of getting Covid at the end of our cruise in Italy.

 

Thank in advance for any help and opinions.

[GeezerCouple]

14 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

In the next twelve months we have 5 cruises booked with 47 days total sailing time and 23 days on land with some expensive airfare. My wife and I are both in our mid 70's and very fit and healthy. I have seen many fellow CC members recommend buying annual travel insurance policies and we had out TA look into this for us. She has recommended a policy with Allianz insurance that would provide the coverage we would need for a lot less in cost over buying individual policies for each trip. I am interested in experiences from this forum on both annual policies and with Allianz Insurance, or if any other insurance company is recommended. We have always purchased travel insurance from our TA and last year we had our first ever claim because of getting Covid at the end of our cruise in Italy.

 

Thank in advance for any help and opinions.

 

I would suggest looking further and perhaps contacting TripInsuranceStore.com

 

We were very interested in an annual policy, and they may work for some people.

For us, there were a couple of things that were non-starters.  One biggie was that we do want to include the cost of the trip itself, not only medical (but that, too, and *enough* medical coverage!).

One potential problem was something that wouldn't be known until it was "too late" if the situation arose.  The total trip cost coverage for the year was low.  So IF we used up that amount early in the year, we'd be without coverage for subsequent trips the rest of the year.

"Get another policy for those trips?" someone might say...?

We need pre-existing condition coverage, and some deadlines for other trips that year may have already passed by that time. So that ruled out that type of coverage right away.

 

There were other issues that made it not so good for us, but I'm forgetting some of those now.

We are very happy with our policies through Travel Insured (purchased with the help of TIS).  We've (unfortunately) had several claims, and there have been no difficulties with getting paid, including for a few large claims.

 

GC

[kydems]

We have used Allianz, both for individual trips and annual insurance. We had the annual cover for the year that Covid became a problem. We had taken one trip, but others planned for the year were cancelled without cost to us so no need to claim. Allianz refunded a portion of the insurance premium as we could not use it due to Australian travel restrictions. 

We have recently had to make a claim through Allianz for a disastrous 7-week trip to Europe. I was isolated for 5 days in cabin for Covid, my husband had a heart attack (not severe) when docked in Edinburgh and was in hospital for 7 days, we were able to reboard our ship after 9 days and continue our holiday and then we were robbed in Spain. Allianz covered all costs including refunding the cruise fare for the 9 days we were off the ship.  Allianz medical team were wonderful to work with and provided much needed support. They also liaised with the ship medical team to ensure they were happy for us to continue with our holiday.

[Jersey42]

I’m a little late here, but let me share some thoughts on annual travel insurance.   I have looked at annual comprehensive travel insurance plans from seven companies and I have not found one that works for us.  So I do not have one and can’t comment on the claims process.  I do carry an annual GeoBlue Trekker policy which is a good fit for us, but it only covers emergency medical and medical evacuation.

 

Before purchasing an annual plan, you need to understand your situation as it may affect insurance coverage.  You also need to understand an annual plan rarely offers the same coverage as multiple individual trip plans.  If you spend the time up front, you will know if an annual plan is a good choice for you.  Here are some things to consider:

 

Medical – This is the first thing I would look at.  If you already have good medical coverage outside of the country, then the likelihood an annual plan would work for you increases.  If not look at

• Maximum coverage.  It’s either per trip or per year. Most plans offer $50K per trip or less.
• Primary or secondary.  For some people such as Medicare with a supplement, primary is critical.  Primary also simplifies the claims process.
• Pre-existing conditions.  Lookback period.  Is there a waiver and what are the rules?  Even if you have no pre-existing condition, claims are often easier as the plan will not need to look at prior medical records.

 

Pre-existing conditions for cancelation/interruption – Same notes on medical.  In addition if do they apply to non traveling family members.

 

Cancelation/Interruption coverage – How much will they pay per year?  Is it enough for the types of trips you take. The maximum coverage I am aware of is $15K per year.  Most policies are a lot less.  If you hit the maximum on your first trip are you ok with no coverage for the rest? @GeezerCouple provided further insights above.

 

Maximum trip length – All plans cover a 30 day trip.  Some allow up to 45 or 90 day trips.

 

Where do you live? – These policies cannot be sold in certain states.  WA and NY are the most restrictive but I know KS, MO, MT, PA and OR restrict at least one annual policy.

________________________

If you take a lot of relatively inexpensive trips, have no pre-existing conditions and have good medical coverage outside of the US (even with a big annual deductible), you can find an annual travel insurance policy that will probably offer everything you need at a good value.  If not, then you need to weigh any negatives with your risk tolerance.

 

Many regular posters here recommend you contact a good insurance broker for help.  Unfortunately none of the brokers typically mentioned on this forum offer a comprehensive annual policy. They all have annual medical and medical evacuation policies.

Edited March 3, 2023 by Jersey42
typo

[rcrabb1513]

On 2/25/2023 at 10:03 AM, terrydtx said:

In the next twelve months we have 5 cruises booked with 47 days total sailing time and 23 days on land with some expensive airfare. My wife and I are both in our mid 70's and very fit and healthy. I have seen many fellow CC members recommend buying annual travel insurance policies and we had out TA look into this for us. She has recommended a policy with Allianz insurance that would provide the coverage we would need for a lot less in cost over buying individual policies for each trip. I am interested in experiences from this forum on both annual policies and with Allianz Insurance, or if any other insurance company is recommended. We have always purchased travel insurance from our TA and last year we had our first ever claim because of getting Covid at the end of our cruise in Italy.

 

Thank in advance for any help and opinions.

One consideration:  Our annual policy provides the benefits paid for the life of the policy, not per instance.  That is, if we use 75% of the lost luggage coverage on a trip, we have 25% left the rest of the policy life.

Edited March 20, 2023 by rcrabb1513
fixed grammar, I should proof read a little better

[0106]

@terrydtx Did you end up buying an annual policy?  If so, what did you purchase?