Annual Travel Insurance

I have not see annual policies, but I have purchased travel insurance that includes medical expenses and evacuation, as well as trip cancellation insurance from AmEx.

It's inconceivable that anyone would sell unlimited cacellation insurance. Evacuation, yes.

Never thought about an annual policy for trip cancellations as we've always done it on a trip by trip basis. But it definitely something to consider. Hopefully your question will start an enlightening discussion.

The meager research I've done just by googling indicates there may be policies like that for medical needs, but maybe not for cancellations. Just haven't delved into the nitty gritty details enough to know for sure. Perhaps we can all do some research and pool the knowledge we find.

Most travel policies have medical evacuation coverage. But they USUALLY will only evacuate you to the nearest hospital than can treat you. There is a company named "Med Jet Assist" that has a number of different membership plans. It in NOT medical insurance -- just med evacuation coverage. As long as you are more than 150 miles from home, they will, if medically necessary, fly you back to your home hospital in a medical jet with medical personnel.

It would be nice to find one company that will cover it all (cancellations, medical needs, evacuation to home, trip interruption, baggage loss, and etc.) on an annual basis for a reasonable cost.

I did get an annual policy once from TravelGuard. I was traveling for 2 months on one trip and several smaller trips that same year so it made sense $$ wise. It included medical and evacuation but not trip cancellation which I didn't feel the need to pay extra for - my airfare had separate cancellation insurance and hotels were all refundable if cancelled before scheduled date of arrival. I can't remember exact cost but it was very very reasonable. I never had to use it so can't speak for how well their claim process worked.

I do not see how an annual policy could possibly cover trip cancellation. That coverage is based on the pre-paid, non-refundable cost of the trip, which can vary widely. The more expensive your trip, the more expensive the cancellation coverage. How an insurance company could price that over a whole year I cannot imagine.

But as noted above, you can get annual policies for evacuation, and probably for medical as well (although I do not know of one).

It looks like Travel Guard still offers an annual plan for medical and/or evacuation. It does cover trip interruption to a very very limited degree. Do some research on different insurance companies.

My only issue with the medical/evacuation plans is that they get to decide if you need to be evacuated based on the level of service that is available where you are. They only evacuate you to the closest medical facility that can treat you. Medjet Assist will fly you and one other person home. I purchased an annual Medjet Assist plan and will get medical/cancelllation insurance separately. We are going to Australia this year and a medical evacuation back home would cost over $100,000. You can find a lot of options at insuremytrip.com.

EDIT: I found this article on travel insurance that may be of interest. The author is an ambassador of Allianz, so take it FWIW. http://www.johnnyjet.com/travel-insurance-policy-company-use/

Some American Express cards (fee may apply but I negate this by collecting reward points and using airport lounges) offer full year round 5* travel insurance.

I took out an annual Allianz Policy and added an annual Medjet assist policy as well. The total cost for both annual plans was less than what Travel Guard wanted for a two month policy. (I have used Travel Guard in the past and like them but thought the Allianz policy was a better deal.)

I know someone is going to ask: If I get medical evacuation with Allianz why take out a separate policy with Medjet Assist. It was stated earlier in the thread. Medjet Assist will pay to fly me to a hospital near my home, Allianz may not. Plus if I get into a situation where I need to be evacuated for almost any reason, Medjet Assist will help me.