My Family Travels 15 Weeks a Year, and Travel Insurance Is Worth the Cost

Because my husband and I are self-employed and our children attend a school that offers a modified, year-round calendar, we are able to travel around 10 to 15 weeks per year and sometimes more. This means we always have a few trips on the calendar and several more in the works, and that we are constantly searching for flight deals, cheap vacation packages, and new ways to use travel rewards to save some cash.

But, there’s one thing I don’t skimp on when it comes to travel: the annual travel insurance policy we buy from Allianz Travel Insurance. We always renew the same plan each year, which is called AllTrips Premier, in order to have essential protections and the peace of mind that comes with knowing we’re covered no matter what.

Here’s why I just renewed this coverage again for 2025, and why you might want to consider an annual travel insurance plan if you travel fairly often.

We need international medical coverage

While my family has traditional health insurance through Anthem that works in the United States, most of our trips are to international destinations where our health plan won’t apply. This means that, without travel insurance, we would be vulnerable to huge medical expenses if one of us became severely sick or injured during a trip.

Since our annual travel insurance plan offers $50,000 in medical expense coverage per traveler and per trip, I rarely worry about this risk. This is especially true since our plan also offers $500,000 in coverage per traveler and per trip for emergency medical evacuation, which can apply if we need to be transferred to a hospital or back to the United States for emergency medical care.

Other coverages are a ‘bonus’

While I care most about the medical coverage my annual travel insurance policy has, other travel insurance benefits make my plan an even better value. For example, my annual plan comes with coverage for trip cancellations and interruptions, $2,000 in baggage loss and damage insurance, travel delay coverage worth up to $1,500, rental car insurance, concierge services and 24-hour travel assistance, among other benefits.

I haven’t used most of these coverages and hope I never need to, but I know I’ll be glad I have them if my luggage is ever lost or stolen or I get stranded in some far-flung destination for several days.

Annual coverage is more convenient

While you can buy travel insurance for every trip you take, or for multiple trips, having an annual travel insurance plan with coverage that applies to all trips you take is the ultimate convenience. If I didn’t have an annual plan, I would be pricing out individual travel insurance coverage for anywhere from 10 to 15 trips each year, and this would be a considerable investment of time and energy.

With annual travel insurance, you enter your information once, pay for one annual premium upfront, and enjoy coverage that applies for every trip you take.

Costs can be exceptionally low

Finally, most people don’t realize how affordable the cost of travel insurance can be. I was initially shocked when I purchased my plan several years ago, especially since I buy coverage for myself, my husband and our two teenage daughters (now ages 13 and 15).

How much will annual travel insurance set you back? That depends on the company you purchase from, the ages of travelers you’re buying for, and the specific plan you choose. For my family of four (ages 45, 45, 15, and 13), however, the AllTrips Premier plan cost us $485 this year. That works out to less than $125 per traveler and less than $50 per trip if we take 10 trips this year. If we wind up going on 15 trips in 2025, that works out to a per-trip cost of around $33.

Just like with anything else, however, the key to making the most of annual policies is reading over the fine print and knowing the limitations. For example, our plan only applies to trips that are more than 100 miles away from home, and coverage limits apply for every loss. Also, trips longer than 90 days are excluded from this coverage, which hasn’t been a problem for us since our trips are a few weeks long at most.

Getting $50,000 in coverage per traveler, per trip for emergency medical expenses, $500,000 in coverage per traveler, per trip for emergency medical evacuation, and all the other benefits our plan offers is an absolute steal for less than $500 per year.