Annual (multitrip) Travel Insurance

You have to read all the fine print and look for disclaimers hidden within the policies. I’m 71 and have been researching this too. I thought I had it figured out with Allianz AllTrips Premier and Medjet Horizon but now am not so sure. I’m waiting for a clarification from Allianz about Level 4 Covid coverage. I’m also looking at GeoBlue for Medical but they do not cover trip cancellation or interruption. It’s a quandary. I feel like no matter what I buy, it will be wrong. Fortunately with annual polices i don’t need to buy them until a couple weeks before leaving for Europe on 8/31.
I had a claim with TravelGuard several years ago and will never use them again. The claim was for an unique situation but the experience was awful.

Just to be clear -- what type of insurance are you looking for? I assume you are looking for trip interruption and not medical since medicare does not cover us when abroad. Trip interruption can be expensive in the range of 5 to 10% of covered risk. Since we are retired and not on a fixed schedule we are flexible enough that we can handle most interruption. We don't purchase interruption insurance beyond what is provided by our credit card. Just not worth the cost. We do worry about a major medical problem and needing to return to the states quickly so we do carry a year around medical evacuation policy that will get us home if necessary. The policy covers us anytime we are more than 500 miles from home. We are similar age - 77 and 80. Covid has been routinely excluded from many policies so read the fine print carefully.

When you say ". . . should cover COVID. . . ", what exactly do you mean? Do you mean medical costs for treatment if you become ill, or do you mean cancellation of all or parts of your trip due to lockdowns or positive test results, or covering the costs of quarantine? Since COVID is now a known threat, cancellation of a trip on your part due to concerns is likely not to be treated differently than any other situation where you cancel.

It's insurance, they have a phalanx of lawyers who make sure they are covered every which way so they don't have to pay out when you have an issue ... and even if you do you can probably expect a battle ... I did have a yearlong Allianz policy before Covid when we went on a few big trips, fortunately we didn't have any issues (then or any other time we traveled) ... I read it through and it seemed like we were good for any of the major issues that would arise (evacuation being the main one we wanted just in case) ... haven't traveled since Covid but I imagine they all exclude anything Covid related unless you are willing to pay through the nose ... maybe if you have a friend who is an attorney he/she can take a quick look at any you feel might be a good fit for you and advise you.

It's insurance, they have a phalanx of lawyers who make sure they are covered every which way so they don't have to pay out when you have an issue ... and even if you do you can probably expect a battle

This generalization is unfair and inaccurate. Many situations are so clear-cut that an insurance company will pay out without any hassle. I've had two travel-related insurance claims and both were paid out promptly and without any trouble whatsoever.

Had one claim with TravelGuard for medical expenses incurred while out of the country. The documentation they required was not excessive or problematic at all. Received a check within a couple of weeks of filing the claim.

Horsewoofie, I also thought that I could wait until a couple of weeks before we left to buy insurance. Then the representative at Allianz pointed out that if I broke my leg between the time we bought our tickets and lodging and the time we made the trip insurance effective, of course would not be covered. We started coverage the next day!

There is a travel insurance question posted here almost every week, so a Search here could allow you to review previous , current discussions.
A relevant question is if your policy covers you if your country is on the CDC Level 4 "Do Not Travel" recommendation list. Almost all of Europe is currently included on this list.

I have USAA travel insurance and called and asked the question directly- yes, I am covered if the country is Level 4. No, I can't cancel because of that. USAA also issues a 'Confirmation of Covid Coverage", and considers Covid an illness, so Covid is covered under those sections.
Good luck!

This generalization is unfair and inaccurate. Many situations are so clear-cut that an insurance company will pay out without any hassle. I've had two travel-related insurance claims and both were paid out promptly and without any trouble whatsoever.

True, there are situations that are clear-cut and I am happy for you that your 2 incidents were paid without hassle. But if you think all those pages and pages of legalese are there just for grins, then I hope you never run into a situation where you thought you were covered but turns out you were not because of that one word in paragraph 25, subsection 5.d ... I've also had times when the claim was cut and dry so was paid very quick and without issue ... but also times when it has dragged out. Tried for 2 years to get my roof replaced through a major insurance company ... even after their own adjuster stated in writing it was hail damage and, per the contract, was eligible for full replacement ... still had to get a lawyer to fight their rejection and, when it came down to the wire before it would go to court, the insurance company said ok, here's your check ... and currently going through medical issues with my daughter, where you won't believe the hoops you have to jump through sometimes just to get a $25 claim paid. Maybe travel insurance companies are different but I doubt it.

Carol, thanks for the clarification and the head’s up. It is something that Chris will have to consider too. My goal for purchasing annual insurance is to cover both my September 2022 trip and June 2023 since annual medical and evac insurances will be cheaper than single trip insurance. It is a timing issue and risk tolerance. Since my horse went to horsey heaven two weeks ago, my risk of getting stepped on, kicked, bucked off is now nil, but I could step off the curb when walking and break my leg.

Lets not turn this into a rant against insurance companies. The bottom line is that many times people make assumptions about what is covered or not covered in the policy. Read the fine print at least three times. If you want something covered, get it in writing.

Followup - Allianz and many other insurance companies now cover Covid-related medical emergencies and cancellations. I spent many hours reading the fine print of insurance policies and was primarily interested in people's personal experiences with any of these companies, i.e., making a claim and recovering.