I’ve been getting a lot of questions about whether or not to buy an annual travelers insurance policy?
The simple answer is, it can be economical if you are a frequent traveler. That answer is supplemented with know the terms, how to use it and compare, compare, compare before you buy.
An annual travelers insurance policy is valid for one year, covers every trip you take throughout that year and is usually more economical than an individual policy and certainly multiple individual policies. It typically covers the same things an individual policy will cover like, trip cancellation, trip delay and interruption, lost or delayed baggage and medical.
You will need to check the amount of coverage for those items, especially trip cancellation since you’re not purchasing a policy for an individual or specific trip, it may not cover the total cost of any your trips. For example; your annual policy may cover trip cancellation up to $3000, therefore if you have a trip that costs $4000, you’re left with $1000 that isn’t covered. It may also have lower reimbursement for interruption, delay and baggage delay or lost.
Another important factor to know is that if you use the insurance, the covered amount is diminished from the remainder of the policy. Meaning, if you use your insurance for one of your trips, the amount you were compensated or the element of the insurance you used is deducted from the balance of the policy. Therefore, you’ll need to replenish the policy for future trips during the same year.
If one of your trips exceeds the covered amount of the annual policy you should either supplement it or purchase an individual one specifically for that trip.
All in all, if you travel frequently on low or moderately priced trips, an annual policy makes sense and will save you money.
Ja’Vonne