Annual vs Single Trip Travel Insurance | Staysure™ (2024)

FAQs

Is it better to get single trip or annual travel insurance? ›

This will depend on your situation, but if you are certain you will only travel once in the next 12 months, you should get a single trip policy for that holiday. If you are unsure of how many trips you will take, an annual policy may be more expensive, but it will give you the peace of mind of knowing you are covered.

Instead, an annual travel insurance plan covers an entire year of trips. These plans can save you money even if you only travel two or three times a year. One of the major benefits is that you'll know you're covered — so it's one less thing to think about as you're planning your trip.

A single trip plan only covers one specific trip up to 180 days, whereas an annual travel trip plan will cover any trip made during the period of insurance, as long as one trip is less than 90 days.

What type of travel insurance do I need? There are two main types of travel insurance: trip protection plans and travel medical plans.

Cost: Travel insurance will add to the overall cost of your trip. Some may choose to forgo it to save money, especially on shorter or less expensive trips. Exclusions and Limitations: Policies may have various exclusions and limitations, so it's essential to read the fine print.

For example, SquareMouth recommends international travelers get around $50,000 in Emergency Medical coverage and $100,000 for cruises or travel to remote areas. Carefully review the full details of your travel insurance policy. To find a basic plan that's affordable, search SquareMouth now.

Travelling against medical advice or to get medical treatment. If your doctor says it's not safe for you to travel, then you won't be covered. Similarly, if you go abroad to get planned treatment, sometimes called 'medical tourism', a standard policy will not cover this – you'll need specialist insurance instead.

After researching and reviewing travel insurance companies nationwide, the MarketWatch Guides team found that Seven Corners and Trawick offer the best annual travel insurance plans. International Medical Group, Allianz and AIG Travel Guard also offer annual plans worth considering.

Do I Have to Insure My Entire Trip? The short answer is: no. The long answer is: Yes, if you want certain benefits. You may cherry-pick from your list of non-refundable, prepaid trip costs to create your travel insurance policy.

A single trip policy covers you for a one-off holiday to a destination (or destinations) of your choice and ends when you come home. It's worth taking out single trip cover as soon as you book your break, so there's a policy in place if you need to cancel your trip for one or more reasons covered by your policy.

When to take out annual travel insurance? ›

When to buy travel insurance can depend on the trip or trips you're taking and the kind of policy you choose to suit them. Usually, though, it's best to get cover in place for your holiday as soon as you've booked or made a financial commitment to it.

The average cost of travel insurance is about 3% to 5% of a trip's total value, according to quotes gathered by our research team across different travel insurance providers for various traveler profiles.

Conditions which may not be covered

Conditions like terminal illness, the need for oxygen, pending surgery, chronic lung disease, cardiovascular disease, specific types of cancer, congestive heart failure, and recurring pain are generally excluded from coverage.

Cancellation cover is a common inclusion with most standard travel insurance policies, but you can take it out separately if it doesn't offer enough cover. Alternatively, if you only want cancellation cover to protect you against cancelled flights rather than baggage protection, you can get it for that.

A comprehensive travel policy with at least $50,000 in medical coverage is recommended when traveling to Europe or any country where you don't have health insurance. Travel medical insurance will cover expenses related to an unexpected injury or illness.

The main perk of group travel insurance versus separate policies for each person is that it streamlines the purchasing process. You can buy one policy instead of multiple. Plus, it might be cheaper. But to make it work, your group needs to be organized.

Unlike other aspects of your travel experience like airfares or hotel-room rates, the price of travel insurance doesn't increase the closer you get to your travel date. There's no financial penalty if you wait to buy travel insurance (except for those bonus coverages, of course).

The average cost of travel insurance is about 3% to 5% of a trip's total value, according to quotes gathered by our research team across different travel insurance providers for various traveler profiles.

The key differences

These policies are often better value for money than buying single trip cover for each separate holiday you take. Multi-trip policies should allow you to take as many journeys a year as you like, but double-check for any restrictions before you buy.