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Travel Health Insurance - Maybe Avoid Annual Policies

After comparing several different options, I have to say that the very popular Annual Travel Insurance policies from Allianz and others are really a poor value for most travelers.

Compare the "basic" plan for two travelers on Allianz with a 24-day term policy through Amex:
Allianz vs Amex:
Cost: $276 vs $64.
Medical: $20k vs $100k
Medical Transport: Same, and both are pretty limited. A specific medical transport policy is much more liberal.
Trip Cancellation: $0 vs $0.

The Allianz annual policy does give you some coverages that I declined when I worked up my Amex quote.
Lost/Damaged bags (you have statutory coverage already in addition to any credit card or other coverages you access)
Travel Delay: $200/d, max of $600. (again, you have this coverage already statutorily)
Rental Car: $45k. Sound great, but you may already have coverage through your credit card And if you're traveling in an excluded country like Italy or Ireland, you still will be required to purchase insurance... read the fine print to see if that required purchase doesn't void this coverage.

I did compare Apples to Apples with a term policy through Allianz. Again it was more expensive for less coverage. Their highest coverage was only $75k medical and cost $234 ($170 more than the same term Amex policy). Even their cheapest term policy was $94 for only $10k of medical coverage.

All I'm saying is to compare the cost of a multiple Term policies vs pushing the easy button on an Annual policy. You get more coverage at a cheaper price. It took less than five minutes to buy the Amex policy so it's not particularly heavy lifting to do it a couple times during your travel year.

Posted by
12088 posts

Chris,

We turned to annual coverage because of multiple trips in a year AND long trips at that which can be more difficult to cover. Add in pre-existing conditions, and the annual policy is the only way to go.

Posted by
1726 posts

Compare the "basic" plan for two travelers on Allianz with a 24-day term policy through Amex:

Your basic premise may be problematic - many want more than basic coverage. Why limit your analysis to just the Amex policy - and who is the actual underwriter? A $64 premium suggests a bare-bones policy.

Posted by
603 posts

Your basic premise may be problematic - many want more than basic coverage. Why limit your analysis to just the Amex policy - and who is the actual underwriter? A $64 premium suggests a bare-bones policy.

Maybe you didn't understand the original post. I'm sorry if I didn't explain it clearly enough...

That $64 Amex term policy offers 5x the medical coverage of the annual Allianz policy and 10x the coverage of the Allianz term policy.. I don't care about the other extraneous coverages that are covering things I already have or that I can add for a fraction of the cost of an annual policy.

The underwriter is AMEX ASSURANCE COMPANY. A.M. Best gives both Allianz and them A+ ratings

Posted by
603 posts

We turned to annual coverage because of multiple trips in a year AND long trips at that which can be more difficult to cover. Add in pre-existing conditions, and the annual policy is the only way to go.

For me, it was initially all about coverage limits. If you have a serious incident, that $20k limit in the annual policy is just not gonna cut it. Even if you move up the the PREMIER coverage at $485/yr your coverages are still less than half of buying separate term policies to cover your trips.

It's a fraction of the cost for much more robust health insurance.

Posted by
1726 posts

Trip Cancellation: $0 vs $1400. (that was the amoun I chose)

On the Amex configuration form, the premium for $1,400 cancellation coverage is $154 - separate from any health coverage. Maybe you could list the premium for each coverage separately - I see $32 as the premium just for medical.

Posted by
603 posts

Re Trip Cancellation
I went back and checked. Yes, I stand corrected. I see that I opted out of that coverage when I went to buy the policy. I'll correct the OP to show that both policies have zero trip cancellation coverage. The cost I was quoted was $110 but the difference you got might be based on how far into the future you bind that coverage

I thought I did a decent job of explaining this, but honestly couldn't care less about anything outside of Health Coverages. Medical is 100% of the reason I'm buying a travel policy. The other stuff is me trying to compare apples to apples as best I can, but trip cancellation and lost luggage and aren't personally necessary for various reasons.

Posted by
1726 posts

@Chris - I understand the preference for just medical and evacuation coverage.

Thank you for making us aware of the Amex travel insurance option - their rates appear to be quite competitive and I will look to them for a quote when planning my next trip.