Annual versus Single Trip Policies

[donaldsc]

I know that this has been covered before but I am still confused.  I am trying to compare the Allianz All Trips Premier policy with any of the several quotes I have gotten for single trip policies.  At the moment we have 2 trips booked for next year - one for a total cost for the 2 of us of ~$ 20,000 and a 2nd for a total costs of ~ $8000.  In the past we have had an Alianz policy and when I had to cancel a trip because of medical reasons they treated me well. 

 

I am not looking to getting 100% of my money back if I have a problem as I can self insure for the small stuff.  I just need insurance to cover the big stuff.  I also understand the difference between single trip and multi-trip coverage.  Single single trip coverage will repay me for all my covered losses for just one trip and I have to write a policy for each trip that I take.  Multi-trip insurance only covers up to the amount for the entire year and if I have a total coverage of say $15000 and I have a loss of say $10000 for my first trip of the year I have only $5000 for the rest of the year.  I can live with this as my odds of having 2 catastrophes in a year.  Also if I did exhaust the $10,000 on my first trip of the year and had to cancel a later trip which would not be full covered I could afford it and it would not have a significant impact on my life style.

 

That said, I can get a yearly policy from Allianz for the 2 of us for $1500 with the following per person coverages

Trip cancellation- $15,000

Trip interruption - $15,000

Emergency medical - $50,000

Emergency transportation - $500,000

Also a bunch of other stuff that is not important.

 

The quotes I have been getting for single trip policies for my first $20,000 trip with about the same coverage range from $2000 to $3400.  Given my comments in paragraph 2, I must be missing something.  What is it?

 

Thanks

 

DON

Edited July 16, 2022 by donaldsc

[GeezerCouple]

First, we wouldn't consider the $50k limit for foreign medical costs to be sufficient "just in case" something really bad happened.  Is that the same with the other policy?

 

Also, are there differences between the coverages, such as whether/how pre-existing conditions are defined or excluded, etc.?

Other differences?

 

It's hard to determine simply by price alone.

 

GC

 

[donaldsc]

10 minutes ago, GeezerCouple said:

First, we wouldn't consider the $50k limit for foreign medical costs to be sufficient "just in case" something really bad happened.  Is that the same with the other policy?

 

Also, are there differences between the coverages, such as whether/how pre-existing conditions are defined or excluded, etc.?

Other differences?

 

It's hard to determine simply by price alone.

 

GC

 

 

Would adding an annual MedJet policy make sense?

 

DON

[GeezerCouple]

9 minutes ago, donaldsc said:

 

Would adding an annual MedJet policy make sense?

 

DON

 

 

I think adding MedJetAssist could make sense (we always carry it, except when we are homebound by, er, pandemics! 😞 ) but that is a different type of coverage.  It doesn't include any of the actual medical/hospital costs.

But the option for US to decide to get medevac'd to a hospital of OUR choice, if warranted (and if stable enough), is the big appeal.  And if we aren't stable enough for a full medevac with medical professional(s?) on board, then we probably would have other concerns, unfortunately.

 

At least some other inclusive travel insurance policies will include some sort of evacuation or transfer.  However (!) that would be to something like "the nearest suitable facility".  What the beancounters consider "suitable" may not be at all what we consider suitable.  Further, even if it's a "good" facility, if there's any sort of extended stay, then spouse is at a hotel rather than the comfort of home, which can affect the comfort of both of us, etc.

MJA only kicks in if one has already been ADMITTED (not ER/etc.) to a hospital, so again, it's not a substitute for most of the other coverages.

 

I did discuss annual coverage with Steve some years ago.  It was clear that given what we spend on trips, it wasn't going to work.  Also, IF we topped out the annual limit, it could be too late to get the type of coverage we'd want for any single trip.  Finally, I'm not sure about pre-existing conditions... that may have been a consideration, too, but I'm not sure.

 

You might want to call TripInsuranceStore.com and speak to Steve or one of his associates to compare the coverages you are asking about, and then also ask about what MJA "adds" that isn't already included.  (To us, MJA is really different, and doesn't overlap much at all.  We also keep the annual policy, as it covers any trip more than 150 miles from home, so that could be business trips or trips to visit friends/family.)

 

GC

[Babr]

Forgive me, but I’m not following the math. If you have to cancel the first trip for a covered reason, wouldn’t the policy pay the maximum scheduled amount of $15,000? In that case you are already out $5,000. If a last minute event caused you to cancel the second, that goes to $13,000. 
 

If you are OK with losing that much money, why not just spend the money to buy two single trip policies that would provide full coverage and maximum dollar limits for medical and evacuation? You’d be out a lot less than the potential loss the other way with better coverage thrown in.

Edited July 16, 2022 by Babr

[Jersey42]

Don:  You are asking some good questions and without knowing many of your details, the numbers you are seeing may indeed be correct.  I am not a fan of any comprehensive annual plan that I have seen for us. As @GeezerCouple point out, I believe the $50K medical limit is too low.  This is one potential unexpected expense that I want good coverage for.  It is also secondary coverage, and in my situation  (Medicare with a supplement) I want primary coverage. Even though the Allianz plan you are considering is better than most, these two items would be a deal breaker for us.  One good thing - it offers a pre-existing conditions waiver (if you purchase within 14 days of the initial trip deposit)!!

 

We actually use a mixed approach that covers us for big ticket items, covers us for most of the small stuff and may or may not cover some of the stuff in the middle.  For us it is a good balance of premiums and risk.   But our approach will not work for lots of travelers, depending on their situation.  

 

Here are some of the questions that could be helpful in figuring out a good solution.  If you want to post some answers, you may get some useful advice.  Or just call tripinsurance store. They can give you some good advice on trip specific plans and although he will not sell you one, Steve can give you some of the pros and cons of the comprehensive annual plans.

 

1. Does your home medical plan cover foreign travel?  Are you aware of deductibles, cost shares and other limitations.  Will your plan be satisfactory? 
2. Are you on Medicare?  If so, do you have a supplement with foreign travel coverage?  Or, do you have a Medicare Advantage plan?  Or a different retiree plan?
3. Do you need primary medical coverage or is secondary ok?  The answers to 1 and 2 will go a long way to answering this.
4. Do you potentially have what insurers consider pre-existing conditions?  How about your traveling companion and non traveling family members such as kids and parents?  Be sure to read the definition of pre-existing conditions.  It is often similar among different policies, but the lookback period varies and some plans consider non-traveling family members.
5. Is it just the two trips you mentioned, or might you take more?  How long are the known trips in days?  When did you make your first deposit for each trip?  Are you willing to forgo cancelation insurance for any cheaper trips?

 

The answer to each of these questions would affect my approach.  Unfortunately the answers sometimes generate more questions.  Unfortunately this is much more complicated than it should be. 

 

 

[GeezerCouple]

We have regular EmployEE health insurance still (despite our ages, DH still likes his work), and we'll then have good Retiree coverage.

 

HOWEVER.... !??!!

When we had a small claim from a foreign ER ($1-2k total), we submitted to our regular carrier.  That was silly but I am SO glad that we did so that we never, ever rely upon it again.

They kept losing our documents.  They acknowledged receipt, then "lost them".  Rinse and repeat.  Several times.  We had come to know the VP/Head of Benefits and turned to her.  She submitted for us, yet again and got the SAME NONSENSE.  Received.  Lost.  Still working on it.  Lost again.  And they ran out our clock for our travel insurance.  At which point, since our healthcare plan is self insured, I remain convinced that the VP simply ordered the administrators to PAY IT!  Sheeesh.

She told me, "I don't think they deal with too many foreign health care bills...." 

Uh, no kidding!??

Given that almost all of our losses have been for cancellation or interruption (some big claims) and the medical bills have been non-existent or tiny, we're going to ignore that coverage.  (They do pay plenty for us with our regular health care, so we aren't really complaining.  Sort of...!)

 

We'll stick with TIS and plans we purchase through them with Travel Insured.

We KNOW that they pay, they pay in full, and they pay promptly.

(But they do need receipts!  The claim for a taxi tip was the only thing that was ever denied.  Silly, but... I didn't get a receipt, and I'm definitely not complaining.  I was supposed to have a receipt and I didn't.  Full stop.  Not worth one minute of arguing, for a tip on a modest taxi fare!)

 

We are slightly ahead in our claims vs. all of our premiums, and we'd love to have that reverse.  We'd much rather have the coverage and NOT use it, for sure.

 

So we've got the reverse:  Unhelpful regular insurance, but terrific travel insurance.  And now we know...

 

GC

[iamtrustworthy]

1 hour ago, donaldsc said:

 

Would adding an annual MedJet policy make sense?

 

DON

Hi Don,

 

It depends on your current ages. You must be under age 75 for basic membership. At 75 and older, the price and eligibility changes.

 

Steve Dasseos

[GeezerCouple]

4 hours ago, donaldsc said:

 

Would adding an annual MedJet policy make sense?

 

DON

 

2 hours ago, iamtrustworthy said:

Hi Don,

 

It depends on your current ages. You must be under age 75 for basic membership. At 75 and older, the price and eligibility changes.

 

Steve Dasseos

 

Just a comment about MJA after age 75:

 

We were much more concerned about the eligibility than the increased price.

We haven't had a claim from MJA, but DH did get a policy after age 75 in 2019.

 

We were quite worried about what the approval process would entail, and whether he'd "be accepted".  We were hoping that MJA wouldn't exclude "seniors" because they had conditions such as controlled blood pressure or took meds for cholesterol, and a few other "conditions", etc.  We figured that if those were exclusions, they'd probably reject most of the "seniors", so why would they bother to waste their own time/effort to vet the applications.

 

In any event, the application wasn't as tedious as we had feared.  A short form from DH, and something not much more involved from his physician.  And they gave the approval in just a few days.

 

That was quite a relief, as we were about to embark on the most distant trip ever, a cruise from Auckland to Sydney.

GC