What’s the best plan for your budget?
Let’s compare them. You might be surprised.
Single-trip travel insurance
As it says on the tin, this type of policy is for one trip. Single-trip plans tend to offer a variety of options, which can include multiple levels of coverage for baggage, medical expenses, and trip cancellation. Extras may include coverage for skiing equipment or a sports package. Coverage lasts for the set duration of the trip.
This type of plan is terrific for tailoring insurance to the specific location, duration, and planned activities of a single trip, whether it’s for skint-but-sporty travellers to Trip of a Lifetime types.
Budget angle: If you take just one or two trips a year, this may be the most cost-effective option.
Annual multi-trip travel insurance
While annual multi-trip plans usually offer less customisation, the convenience of having the same coverage for every trip takes the squint work out of reading the fine print of multiple policies. Plans may offer sport add-ons or cover specifically for business travellers. Coverage is available for 365 days from the start date.
Budget angle: If you take multiple trips a year, an annual plan is almost always cheaper.
Benefits of an annual travel insurance policy
You can save money. Depending on how much you travel, a multi-trip annual plan can be cheaper than the sum of individual single-trip plans, added up over a year.
Less searching, more exploring. Once you’ve signed up with an annual plan, you don’t have to waste time mining the internet for travel insurance deals every time you get itchy feet.
Set it and forget it. Choose your baggage limits, maximum trip duration (options are usually between 30-90 days) Sprinkle in a sport package if you like. Your preferences get saved in a single policy.
One source for important contact info. Hopefully you won’t need them! With an annual plan, if you need help from customer service, an emergency hotline or to file a claim, that info stays the same.
FYI: multi-trip plans
Annual coverage doesn’t mean 365 days on the road. Coverage is usually available for a trip duration of about 30 days (often with an option to upgrade to 90) This means you have to go home after a set limit of days. If you plan to spend 8 months backpacking around the world, this isn’t the plan for you.
The max coverage for baggage is often limited to a set amount. Maybe not the best choice if you regularly travel with extremely expensive kit (cameras, bicycles, a rainbow of Jimmy Choos)
So, which is the cheapest option?
Travel insurance rates have a lot of moving parts! Prices vary, depending on trip location, duration, activities, the age of the traveller and more. Why not compare single-trip and annual multi-trip prices by plugging in details of your biggest/fanciest/longest holiday? If the annual plan is similar in price, go for it! That’s just motivation to squeeze in a spontaneous holiday. The gravy? You’re already covered.
