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Annual Travel Insurance


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I am the type that always have travel insurance for all of my cruises.  I have collected on it a few times and think it is a good money spent for a peace of mind.  I am currently making up for missed Covid time and have 5 cruises booked in the next year.  I am retiring next November and plan on traveling a lot including 5 to 10 cruises a year.  I am looking for input from people that have / had annual travel insurance.

  1. Is an Annual Travel Insurance a good policy to replace purchasing it one cruise at a time?
  2. What travel insurance company would you recommend?
  3. Anything else I need to know to make my decision?
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Insurance is a personal choice because each of us is looking for different coverage to safeguard from different unknowns.

Some people place higher value in CFAR coverage (Cancel For Any Reason) which typically isn't part of annual policies by default.  For others they look for medical coverage as their primary concern.  Some people fly to cruise and seek coverage for lost luggage while others drive to cruise and aren't as concerned with lost luggage coverage.  That's just one example of the many things that might be coverage options.  Most importantly in the US insurance is regulated at the state level so what options individuals have can vary greatly depending on where you live.  

You really need to take the time to research what's important to you AND what is available for the state you reside in.  Be careful when considering insurance based on popular opinions of what other people do.  Their needs are not likely the same as yours.

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I recommend talking to your Travel Agent.  There is an annual cap to consider if you are unlucky enough to have significant claims on your first cruise of the premium period.  Our agent wasn't convinced it would work for us, but we were looking at 3 cruises, not 5-10.  I have read posts from members who have saved significantly by purchasing an annual premium.

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I have an annual Allianz policy. I cruise often so the price of insurance per cruise would be very high as opposed to having the annual. There are limits on the annual and I know should I ever make a claim, it’s likely I would need to purchase another policy. I do not have the Cancel For Any Reason coverage, but my covered reasons are pretty good. The medical treatment and evacuation coverages are important to me, as is the Covid Rider. 

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I also have an annual policy through Allianz. It covers any trip I take more than 100 miles from my home, door to door. It may not have as robust of a policy limit for trip delay/interruption as single trip policies do, but I would rather cover more trips. It has the medical coverage which is what could truly be financially devastating for the average cruiser.

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I have an annual policy through Trawick International.  I have had this policy for 4 years now, and have had one claim.  For me it is more economical than a per trip series of individual policies.

As is the case with all financial vehicles, the devil is in the details, just be sure you know what you are (or are not getting), I think an annual policy would be good for you.

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  • 4 weeks later...
On 7/28/2022 at 12:00 AM, Traveling Mike said:

I am the type that always have travel insurance for all of my cruises.  I have collected on it a few times and think ...

Can you give us examples of situations where you collected on it?  I'm picturing catastrophes like being airlifted etc.  By the way you said it, I assume there are less critical instances, I am guessing.

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For us it makes sense.  We try to cruise every quarter, and more if there's a pop-up opportunity, but we also travel outside cruising, to various vacation/family spots a few times/year (air, car, hotel etc).  Annual policies cover all travel over the covered period.     We used to purchase cruise line or travel agent offered plans, but found the an annual policy to provide wider coverage for far less premium than numerous single trips,  la carte line or travel agency policies.    Since we have to possibly deal with medical issues, it provides peace of mind.   You'll have to research the coverage options and weigh cost for your individual situation, but in our case it costs less for a  broader annual policy.

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2 hours ago, Larry Muster said:

Can you give us examples of situations where you collected on it?

Only time that I've collected on my annual travel insurance policy was not on a cruise. My flight home was canceled the night before the flight.  I was able to get rescheduled on a later flight, but the delay was more than 6 hours so travel insurance covered the extra rental car charge and meals that I had to pay for during the delay. If I wouldn't have been able to get on a flight that same day the insurance would have covered a hotel stay up to the per diem allowed per the policy plus food and incidentals.  Note, all this is reimbursed so you have to be able to front all the extra expenses.

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11 hours ago, Larry Muster said:

Can you give us examples of situations where you collected on it?  I'm picturing catastrophes like being airlifted etc.  By the way you said it, I assume there are less critical instances, I am guessing.

  1. My son got an ear infection while on the cruise.  Seen the ship doctor and he let us know what was going on and gave us medicine.  My health insurance paid part of it and my travel insurance paid the deductible.
  2. Norwegian Cruise Lines shorted my TA cruise from 14-day cruise to a 10-day cruise the week before we left.  My travel insurance paid me for trip interception and gave me $250 a day (for the 4 days) for hotel room in London.  I had the choice to do that, or they would have flown me home and paid for the ticket.
  3. Covid canceled my cruise, and I had a hotel room and outside excursion that was nonrefundable.  My travel insurance refunded me the amounts.
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13 hours ago, YOLO said:

@Traveling Mike  What did you end up doing?

I have been looking on multi-trip insurance for some time and am considering GeoBlue.  Anyone ever use them?

I am purchasing an annual policy in November of this year.  I had already purchased trip insurance for everything through my September cruise.  I have not decided on what company I am going with because all of them are so different in what they cover and how much.  I guess I am getting close enough that I have to make a decision soon.  I am sure I will be going with Travel Guard or Allianz.

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In general, the older you get, the higher the cost of travel insurance and the lower the cap on medical coverage. It gets to a point where single trip policies are exorbitantly expensive for capped medical coverage. I recommend factoring in your age when considering an annual v. per trip coverage. Equally important is dove-tailing your regular health insurance policy coverage with your annual trip insurance medical coverage. I have an annual policy with GeoBlue. I did a lot of research (as twangster suggests you do) to purchase an annual plan that met my specific needs. I have regular medical insurance that covers overseas travel (Medicare doesn't) so I can accept policies with less medical coverage, saving money in the process. Medical evac coverage is important - it's a low risk that it will be required but its going to cost at a minimum $250K if your evac is from anywhere outside North America.

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