Update: November 16, 2023
The Allianz Annual Policy coverage extends to all trips taken during the policy period regardless of when the trip was purchased, except:
Cancellation secondary to bankruptcy of business (tour operator, airline, cruise line, etc.) is only covered for trips purchased during the policy period. Cancellation for any other reason is covered regardless of the purchase date.
Trip Interruption secondary to bankruptcy of a business (tour operator, airline, cruise line, etc.) is only covered for trips purchased during the policy period. Cancellation for any other reason is covered regardless of the purchase date.
You have 14 days from the initial deposit on a trip to make the payment on your annual policy to be covered for pre-existing medical conditions. Otherwise, pre-existing medical conditions will not be covered for trips purchased when the policy is not active.
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While nearly everyone has encountered the optional trip travel insurance as an addon before booking, not as many are familiar with the option to get an annual travel insurance plan. For those who have multiple expensive trips a year, the annual policy will save you money. However, the yearly plans do not include coverage to cancel for any reason, which a few single-trip policies have. Most allow cancellation reimbursement for covered reasons, such as unforeseen medical issues. While the per-trip plans may let you cancel for any reason, this perk often comes at a trade-off with low medical coverage, and the reimbursement might be a trip credit instead of reimbursement.
First, decide if an annual plan is the right option for you. I can't recall a trip insurance quote under $300. The most recent cruise for my family of four quoted $722 for the add-on insurance with the cruise line. An extensive annual plan for a family of 4 runs around $1000 annually. If you take four moderate vacations or two luxury trips, you're already better off with an annual plan. For the rewards travelers, you don't get reimbursement for purchases with points on any plan. However, most airlines will deposit the points back into your airline rewards account if you ask nicely and have a reasonable explanation to the customer service representative. Some airlines charge a fee to put the miles back, and only one annual plan reimburses for this - Allianz Executive (the most expensive). No per-trip insurance will compensate for this fee, but not every airline has the fee.
If you've decided an annual travel plan is right for you, which one should you pick? Few people will likely take the time to read all the fine print and compare plans. I decided to do my annual plan trip shopping as a blog post—some background. We reside in Illinois—two adults in our 40s and two kids ages 4 & 2. I set the yearly policies to start on November 1, 2023. I wanted a comprehensive policy, which means one that covers travel reimbursement and medical costs while traveling. As Travel Guard by AIG only provides one plan for around $ 1,000, I picked plans around this amount from the other carriers. In addition, I felt $ 1,000 was the most I'd like to spend a year on travel insurance. Not all coverage-related details were clear on the website or the policy details. I contacted each company for clarification on points I found confusing by email and phone.
While I intended to include more carriers, I excluded many early on from consideration. Below, I will go over the carries and why I didn't consider a plan with them before delving into the two that made the cut.
Seven Corners
Seven Corners does not cover travel in the United States for US citizens or those with dual citizenship in the US. If you get medical treatment in the US after you return, you have 10% coinsurance on the first $5000 before full coverage ($500). In addition, the coverage amounts drop significantly at age 65. No one aged 75 or over can get a plan.
GeoBlue
GeoBlue doesn't offer comprehensive trip insurance. Only medical coverage outside of the US is included. There is no coverage for trip cancelation or interruption, etc.
Trawick
To match the $10,000 coverage for trip interruption, I had to choose the Safe Travels Executive Plan. This plan charges a flat rate per person of $743 a person. An annual plan for a family of four is a whopping $2972! In addition, it limits coverage to 10 trips per year and 30 days duration.
World Nomads
World Nomads has no annual plan option. You can insure for one long trip, but not multiple trips for the year.
IMG
IMG searches only result in medical plans without other travel-related coverage. This was the case even after I checked the box stating I wanted trip cancelation and interruption and gave the trip purchase date as the current date. The moderate plan started around $1400 annually for a family of 4.
Travelex
Travelex does not offer annual travel insurance. They offer coverage for long trips but never multiple trips over a year.
This left me with two contenders: Allianz and Travel Guard by AIG. These are the two companies I hear about the most and likely for the reasons I chose them from the rest. Below is a table with a side-by-side comparison of Allianz and Travel Guard by AIG (TG). I love seeing the data in front of me in a spreadsheet or table to help me make decisions.
The first significant difference between Allianz and Travel Gaurd by AIG is that TG does not offer any reimbursement for cancellation before the trip starts, regardless of the reason. Allianz provides reimbursement for a trip canceled before travel starts if it is canceled for a covered reason. The list of covered reasons is reasonable, but it has to be reasonably unforeseeable. For example, if you are suffering from a medical condition that a reasonable person would expect to cause the trip to be canceled, that would not be covered. However, I will note that Travel Guard by AIG was prompt in answering all my questions even when they knew the answer was not what I wanted to hear.
Another difference between the top 2 travel companies was regarding rental car insurance. Allianz provides $45,000 in rental car coverage, and Travel Guard includes none. This may or may not matter to you as you might have coverage with your regular car insurance or with a credit card if you use it to charge the rental car bill. I like knowing this extra perk is there despite having good coverage with charge cards like the American Express Platinum Card.
If you look at the coverage amounts for each category, you need to note if the maximum coverage amount is per year, per person for the policy year, or per person for each trip. If the coverage is per year, it is the maximum payout you can get from the policy for all people covered combined. If the benefit is per person per year, the maximum payout is limited for the policy year for each individual. If the benefit is per person per trip, each individual is covered up to the maximum for every trip. The Allianz plan reigns supreme as Allianz provides more coverage, matching Travel Guard on the per year coverage and beating Travel Guard with the per person per trip coverage. Travel Guard limits are per person per year, so once that amount is met for a single trip, no coverage remains for the rest of the year.
Pre-existing medical conditions are excluded from most travel insurance policies. This is true for Travel Gaurd with AIG. The exception is Allianz. The Allianz Premier Plan for $10k offers a waiver. It includes cancellation and trip interruption for pre-existing medical conditions up to the policy maximum, as long as the problem is unpredictable. If your problem were not optimized or stable, you wouldn't likely get coverage, as this would be seen as foreseeable. If the preexisting condition were optimized, you would get the maximum coverage for the acute exacerbation or change in severity of illness. Note: The Allianz pre-existing medical coverage for the annual plan only covers trips purchased when the policy was effective. You have 14 days from the initial deposit on the trip to pay for your annual plan to be covered for pre-existing conditions.
Another point to consider in the post-pandemic world is whether the travel plan covers COVID-19. TG provides coverage when travelers are sick with COVID-19 relating to trip interruption or medical. However, they do not cover travel mandates or government requirements related to COVID-19. Allianz recently added the Epidemic Coverage Endorsement, which is related to COVID-19. While most of this COVID-19 coverage is similar to TG, Allianz also covers issues related to suspected COVID-19 for travelers. You will be compensated if ordered to quarantine or denied plane boarding related to suspected COVID-19. TG only provides coverage with a formal medical diagnosis and physician orders, which must be performed in a medical facility. Home testing is excluded, and there is no coverage for issues related to suspected COVID-19.
Travel Guard by AIG includes separate coverage up to $100,000 per traveler annually for Security Evacation. What is considered security evacuation? AIG lists the following: an advisory is issued secondary to political and military events, a natural disaster severe enough for the government to declare it a disaster area, the insured is assaulted or threatened with assault (must be documented), or the insured is expelled from a country. When I called Allianz to inquire about similar coverage, the representative noted that the only coverage included would be under the trip interruption of $10,000 for all travelers per year. She stated that political or military advisories would be excluded. A new terrorist event would be covered, but only for a lower amount. A natural disaster or civil disorder that results in missing at least 50% of your trip would also be covered for the lower amount.
High-risk sports or activities are excluded from coverage for annual and trip-based plans on most carriers. This includes skydiving, BASE jumping, hang gliding, parachuting, bungee jumping, caving, rappelling, spelunking, high altitude activities, personal combat fighting, racing, free diving, and scuba diving without a dive master. You get the picture. If you're a thrill seeker, you might want to look at Seven Corners, which offers an extreme sports add-on option, or World Nomads plans. I don't see this as an issue for my family with young kids.
The final point I wanted to investigate was the cost of adding additional family members, such as grandparents between ages 70-75. The price of the Allianz plan did not change when I added two 74-year-olds. I even changed one to 80 years old, and the annual plan cost remained unchanged. My excitement was short-lived as a call to Allianz clarified that only family living in the same household can be on a plan together. The annual plan with Travel Guard by AIG increased to $1554 when adding 6 people without asking their ages—an additional $518 for the year. I called Travel Guard to clarify who can be on a policy together, and the agent stated anyone living in the same state. They don't even need to be family.
| Allianz | Travel Guard by AIG |
Plans | Executive Premier Basic | One Plan |
Quoted | Premier with coverage increased to $10k | Annual |
Cost | $1050 year | $1036 year |
Trip Cancelation | $10,000 per year | No coverage |
Trip Interruption | $10,000 per year | $10,000 per year $2,500 per person per year |
Trip Delay | $2,000 per person per trip $300 per day must be delayed 6 hours | $1,500 per person per year $150 per day must be delayed 5 hours |
Missed Connection | No coverage outside of trip delay or interruption. | $500 per person per year must have at least: 1 hour layover for domestic 2 hours for international |
Baggage Coverage | $2,000 per person per trip | $2,500 per person per year |
Baggage Delay | $2,000 per person per trip | $1,000 per person per year |
Medical Expense | $50,000 per person per trip | $50,000 per person per year |
Dental | $750 per person per trip | $500 per person per year |
Emergency Transportation | $500,000 per person per trip | $500,000 per person up to twice per year |
Nonflight Accidental Death & Dismemberment | $50,000 per person per trip | $50,000 per person per year |
Security Evacuation | Not covered outside of trip interruption | $100,000 per person per year |
Rental Car Damage & Theft | $45,000 per trip | No coverage |
Both Allianz and Travel Guard by AIG have excellent policies. Overall, I wouldn't hesitate to get either plan. I chose Allianz for my family because Allianz offers coverage for trip cancelation and rental cars and limits an individual's coverage by trip, not year. After deciding on Allianz, I registered to sell their travel insurance. If you want to get a quote for Allianz from us, click here. You won't pay more by getting the plan with Adventures by Mama Doc. Please consider using our affiliate links if you'd prefer to purchase a policy from Travel Guard by AIG. Again, the price will be the same. These are the only 2 companies we endorse. You may find getting a quote for an annual policy on a website tricky, as most websites are set up for per-trip policies. To get an annual quote for AIG, follow the link. Click "Our Plans" in the menu on the top right. A submenu will appear. Click on "Our Plans" again. Scroll down until you see Annual Plans, and click "Get a quote for the Annual Travel Plan."
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