Annual Travel Insurance – The Pros and Cons

Nils Kraus - Mar 30, 2015
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If you travel frequently, then annual travel insurance will prove to be a cheap and easy way to ensure that you are protected against accidents and sicknesses wherever you happen to be on this planet. Although annual travel insurance plan is easy and needs to be purchased just once in the year, do you know what it really takes to buy the best plan? Will your plan really account for all the things that can go wrong while you are on your holiday?

In fact, when buying this kind of insurance you need to exercise the same care as when buying any other kind of insurance plan. Before investing in an annual travel insurance plan, be sure to consider the pros and cons.

The Good Side

One thing that makes buying the annual travel insurance plan a good idea is that it provides you with coverage no matter what part of the world you happen to be in. This can save you a lot of money! There is no sense in buying different policies for different destinations because the annual plan covers you for every eventuality. This means that this kind of policy will suit the frequent traveler the most and it is also beneficial to those who travel on business or who travel more than thrice in a year.

The good part is that such cover is straightforward and you will realize the benefits of buying a single plan instead of separate plans for each trip. The nice thing is that certain annual plans even provide benefits when you are traveling in your native country! The benefits include delayed trips, cancellation of a trip, loss of baggage, and medical benefits.

The Bad Side

A key downside to opting for the annual travel insurance plan is that the coverage for each trip may be limited to a certain period of time. It is normal for these kinds of plans to stipulate that you are only covered if your trip does not last for more than 90 days. So, if you are planning on taking an extended trip that lasts for longer than ninety days, this kind of insurance may not be very beneficial or useful. In such an instance, you may be forced into buying long-term travel medical policies.


Although you may be under the impression that an annual travel insurance plan covers you each time you take a trip away from home, the plain truth is that these plans also have stipulations regarding the distance you need to be away from your home before the plan kicks in. Take for instance the well-loved annual travel insurance plan offered by Travel Guard. This plan only offers coverage if you are at least one hundred miles away from your home. Also, though most such plans cover you for most international travel, if you are traveling to Canada or Mexico then you may not be covered because you may not be traveling more than one hundred miles from your home.

Other shortcomings include the fact that the plan may not have enough benefits like being covered for sporting and dangerous activities including skiing. The plan may also not have Cancel for Any Reason or Cancel for Work Reason benefits. So, before investing in the annual travel insurance plan, make sure that you understand the pros and cons and then make an informed decision.

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