A multi-trip insurance plan might be a wise choice if you travel frequently and to several foreign countries. Plans for annual travel insurance are another name for them.
There are situations where it makes sense, even if a basic multi-trip travel insurance policy doesn’t offer coverage that is as extensive as a single-trip policy. A multi-trip package is probably worthwhile if you wish to decrease costs and simplify the logistics of your travel insurance.
How to determine if a multi-trip policy is appropriate for you is provided below.
What Is Travel Insurance for a Year?
Multiple trips within a certain time period can be covered by a multi-trip travel insurance policy. From the time your insurance goes into force, it offers protection for a full year.
According to Don Van Scyoc, a spokeswoman for GeoBlue, a company that offers international health policies, “the advantages of these plans vary, but the majority often cover medical bills, trip disruption, and medical evacuation fees.” For medical care and medical evacuation, certain insurance policies may even cover pre-existing diseases.
Trip cancellation insurance is typically not included in basic annual policies, however you can purchase more comprehensive annual plans that do.
These significant advantages are provided by a simple multi-trip travel strategy:
- Trip snarl: Expenses for meals, lodging, and transportation while you wait for your flight are covered by delay benefits if your vacation is postponed due to one of the reasons specified in your policy, such as bad weather.
- Medical costs: Pays for unexpected medical costs during your vacation, including hospital stays, doctor visits, X-rays, and medication.
- Medical evacuation: This service offers you emergency transportation to get you to a hospital right away.
A per-trip duration restriction applies to multi-trip programs. For each journey taken within the 364-day period, the maximum trip length typically ranges from 30 to 90 days. - The possibilities for multiple-trip itineraries vary. “While a yearly plan is the most typical for these travel insurance policies, there are some alternatives, such as a six-month term for students on a study abroad program, or policies that businesses might buy for personnel on prolonged overseas assignments,” adds Adamski.
How can one tell if they require annual travel insurance?
Your greatest option for travel insurance will typically depend on the types of excursions you’re planned.
The best situations for basic multi-trip travel insurance are:
- those who travel frequently in a single year.
- Those who are looking to cut costs, as multi-trip plans are typically less expensive than insuring many trips separately.
- travelers who are unconcerned about the benefits of trip cancellation.
- Those who travel on short notice and prefer the ease of an annual travel insurance policy.
- People frequently travel for business.
- Adamski advises purchasing a single-trip travel insurance policy for pricey, foreign travel or even high-value local vacations. That is mostly due to the travel cancellation benefit included with each travel itinerary.
- The annual plan “may be your best option” for less expensive vacations (brief domestic flights, or even road trips), where your major concern is catastrophic-based coverage—medical expenditure and evacuation, according to Adamski.
- It is possible to make several visits in a short period of time, but Adamski contends that single-trip policies are still preferable under these circumstances.
- He notes that one such situation entails a traveler making an extensive vacation to the U.K. and then using it as a base to take shorter trips to the European mainland. The capacity to lessen the loss from the potential cancellation of one of the side trips would be useful given the high cost of such a vacation.
What Is the Definition of Annual Travel Insurance?
A multi-trip travel insurance policy is one that covers multiple trips within a specific time frame. It provides coverage for a year from the policy’s effective date.
“The benefits of these plans vary, but most typically cover medical expenses, trip interruption, and medical evacuation costs,” says Don Van Scyoc, a GeoBlue spokesperson. “In some cases, pre-existing conditions may be covered for medical services and medical evacuation.”
In general, basic annual policies do not include trip cancellation insurance, though more comprehensive annual policies do.
A basic multi-trip travel plan provides the following important advantages:
- Trip delay benefits pay for meals, hotels, and transportation while you wait for your flight if your trip is delayed due to a reason listed on your policy, such as severe weather.
- Trip interruption: Covers expenses if you must cut your trip short and return home due to death, illness or injury, family emergencies, or other reasons specified in the policy.
- Medical expenses: Covers emergency medical-related expenses such as doctor’s visits, X-rays, hospitalization, and medicine during your trip.
- Medical evacuation: This service provides emergency transportation to get you to medical treatment as soon as possible.
- The duration of each trip in a multi-trip plan is limited. The maximum trip length for each trip taken during the 364-day period ranges from 30 to 90 days in general.
- There are several options for multi-trip plans. “While an annual plan is the most common for these travel insurance policies, there are some variations, such as a six-month term for study abroad students or policies that companies may purchase for employees on extended overseas assignments,” Adamski says.
How Do You Determine Whether You Need Annual Travel Insurance?
The types of trips you intend to take will generally determine whether a multi-trip travel insurance plan is a good fit for you.
Simple multi-trip travel insurance policies are ideal for:
- Travelers who take many trips in a year.
- Those looking to save money, because multi-trip plans are typically less expensive than insuring multiple trips separately.
- Those who are not concerned with trip cancellation benefits.
- People who travel on the spur of the moment and want the convenience of a year-long travel insurance policy.
- Travelers on business who travel frequently.
A single-trip travel insurance plan, according to Adamski, is likely a better option for expensive, international travel or even high-value domestic trips. This is primarily due to the trip cancellation benefit associated with per trip plans.
“The annual plan may be your best option for lower-cost trips (short domestic flights or even road trips) where your main concern is catastrophic-based benefits—medical expense and evacuation,” Adamski says.
There are scenarios in which you may have multiple trips in a short period of time and would still be better off with single-trip policies for each one, according to Adamski.
“For example, a traveler might take an extended trip to the United Kingdom and then use that as a home base from which to make shorter trips to the European mainland,” he explains. “Because of the high monetary value of such a trip, the ability to mitigate the loss from the potential cancellation of one of the side trips may be more important to you, making the per-trip insurance option a better plan.”
Furthermore, because it is possible to modify an existing annual policy to include additional trip costs, you can change your policy mid-trip to include these additional side trips.
Examples of Multi-Trip Travel Insurance Plans
There are numerous multi-trip travel plans available to serve frequent flyers and spontaneous jetsetters. If you want trip cancellation coverage, you will usually need to upgrade from a basic annual plan and purchase a more comprehensive travel policy.
For example, the basic AIG Annual Travel Insurance plan includes trip interruption, trip delay, and travel medical insurance. If you want to add cancellation benefits, you can upgrade to AIG’s Essential, Preferred, or Deluxe plans.
The Basic multi-trip plan from Allianz includes medical expenses and emergency evacuation, but you can upgrade to the Premier plan for more generous coverage, including trip cancellation reimbursement up to $15,000.
