The Best Annual Travel Insurance (Updated April 2023)
Annual travel insurance covers several trips you take throughout the year.
Travelers buy annual travel insurance when they plan on taking two or more trips in a year. The main reason people buy annual travel insurance is for medical coverage. It also covers medical evacuation, delays, and baggage. Some even cover cancellation and interruption, but this is not typical.
Criteria for picking the best annual travel insurance
Further down this page there is a complete guide that covers everything you need to know about annual travel insurance. First, we’ll answer the simple question, “what is the best annual travel insurance plan?”.
Here are the criteria used to select the best plan:
- Must cover Covid-19 for emergency medical coverage
- Medical evacuation coverage $1,000,000 minimum
- Covers Pre-existing Conditions
- Trip Interruption coverage
- Travel Delay and Baggage coverage
- Options for deductible, limits, and extras like hazardous activity coverage
Best Annual Travel Insurance
Every annual plan is different, but the following plan from Seven Corners checks all the boxes above. This plan is an affordable way to get a lot of coverage. You can select from a few different trip lengths (30, 45, 60) which lets you adjust the cost depending on your travel plans. Deductible and coverage limits can be selected as well which can adjust your cost.
Seven Corners has been a leader in travel medical insurance since 1993. They are a reputable company, insure thousands of travelers every year, and even handle medical administration for some US federal agencies.
Wander Frequent Traveler Plus
- Covid-19 covered for medical treatment
- $1,000,000 Emergency Medical coverage up to 64
- $50,000 Emergency Medical for 65+
- $1,000,000 Medical Evacuation
- Deductible options, including $0
- Can select individual trip lengths of 30, 45, or 60 days
Example Quote: One year of coverage for a 40 year-old traveler is $400. This covers $1,000,000 each for both medical and evacuation, and has $0 deductible.
What is annual travel insurance?
Annual travel insurance (also called multi-trip insurance) covers several trips throughout the year. It covers medical emergencies, evacuation, travel delays, and baggage. Some plans cover costs for a trip cut short (trip interruption).
Annual plans cover each trip while you are traveling. It is not meant to be year-round insurance. It covers multiple trips, but there is a limit for how long any single trip can be. For example: You could be covered for every trip, but any single trip must be 30 days or less.
Annual plans don’t cover canceled trips. If you are taking a vacation and want to insure the cost of the trip, you need single-trip travel insurance. This type of plan covers cancellation, interruption, delays, baggage, and more. Read more about the best travel insurance plans here.
What does annual travel insurance cover?
The following coverage is typically found in an annual trip insurance plan.
Emergency Medical Expenses
Coverage for emergency medical and dental care, including hospital visits, surgery, prescription drugs, doctor and dentist office visits, and more.
Medical Evacuation
Emergency medical transportation so you can receive medical care for your illness or injury.
Travel Delays
Reimbursement for unexpected lodging, meals, and transportation costs if your travel is delayed a certain number of hours (usually 6-12).
Baggage Loss, Theft, or Damage
Reimbursement for lost, stolen, or destroyed baggage and personal effects (up to the policy limit) whether they are lost or destroyed by the airline, a taxi driver, a hotel employee, or anyone else.
Delayed Baggage
Reimbursement (up to the policy limit) for personal essentials if your baggage is delayed a certain number of hours (usually between 12 and 24 ).
Travel Assistance
The convenience of 24/7 travel assistance services for help with medical emergencies, travel emergencies, business emergencies, pre-trip planning, and more.
What is the difference between single trip and annual travel insurance?
The main difference between annual travel insurance and a single-trip plan is coverage for cancelled trips. Annual plans do not cover trip cancellation; single-trip travel insurance does cover trip cancellation.
If you’re planning a vacation and want to cover the costs of that trip, you are looking for single-trip insurance.
Annual plans are for people that take several trips in a year, and don’t want coverage for trip cancellation.
What makes worldwide annual travel insurance unique?
Many travelers like the convenience and savings of a worldwide annual trip insurance plan.
Same worldwide coverage for 12 full months
The reason many travelers like an annual trip insurance plan is the convenience of having the same coverage for all their travel plans all year long. Most plans have a long per-trip length limit (usually 30-70 days). One policy to read and understand; only one number to call for travel assistance services.
Comprehensive and economical
Annual plans are relatively cost-effective because the coverage for cancellation is not included (some plans offer limited trip cancellation coverage). Age is taken into account, but most annual plans run a few hundred dollars per year, per traveler.
Key difference is no (or little) trip cancellation coverage
As we talked about above, a main difference with an annual plan is the lack of trip cancellation coverage.
Insurance companies can’t include this because their risk exposure would vary so much. One travelers might have an annual trip cost of $5,000, while another traveler could spend $100,000 a year on travel. Single-trip travel insurance is priced based largely on trip cost. The insurance company can’t charge the same for the $5,000 traveler as the $100,000 traveler.
Who should buy annual travel insurance?
Travelers like these should purchase annual travel insurance:
Frequent travelers, such as business owners and academics
When much of your time is consumed by traveling for your work or study, it’s difficult to research travel insurance for each trip and much more economical to have one plan with consistent coverage you understand all year long.
Active, healthy, traveling retirees
You may have waited all your life for your retirement and want to put as many trips on the schedule as possible. Of course, you want the safety of travel insurance on each of those trips too.
Journalists and writers frequently sent on last-minute assignments
When you have to travel often at the last minute, there’s no time to understand, purchase, and review a single-trip policy. Plus, it’s useful to have the same coverage all year round so you know what to expect without having to sign up for new coverage every time.
How much does annual trip insurance cost?
Most full-featured annual multi-trip insurance plans will cost a traveler $200-$400, depending on these factors:
- The traveler’s age (primary factor)
- The estimated number of days for the longest trip of the year
- Medical limit ($50,000 is cheaper than $1,000,000)
- Deductible ($1,000 deductible is cheaper that $0)
- Options like Hazardous Activities coverage
Is it worth buying annual travel coverage?
It depends on the types of trips you’re planning. For lower-cost trips, like domestic trips or road trips where your primary concern is catastrophic needs like medical expenses and evacuations, an annual plan might be your best option.
Here’s how you know it’s worth getting annual travel coverage:
- If you’re taking a lot of trips within a year.
- If you’re not concerned about trip cancellation benefits.
- If you take last-minute trips and want the convenience of the same travel insurance all year long.
- If you’re a business traveler who frequently travels alone or on short notice.
Tip: Because an annual travel insurance plan covers all your trips in a year, it’s not necessary to know how many trips you’ll take ahead of time.
Where should you buy your annual travel insurance?
Use the link below to quote and purchase directly from Seven Corners.
Note: I am a licensed insurance agent. If you purchase using this link I will earn commission from the company. This does not cost you anything, it is paid by the company. Earning commission for insurance purchases is how this website if funded.
Wander Frequent Traveler Plus
- Covid-19 covered for medical treatment
- $1,000,000 Emergency Medical coverage up to 64
- $50,000 Emergency Medical for 65+
- $1,000,000 Medical Evacuation
- Deductible options, including $0
- Can select individual trip lengths of 30, 45, or 60 days
Summary
- Frequent travelers often like the convenience of a single plan for all their trips in a year
- Annual travel insurance is often quite economical as it limits trip cancellation coverage
- Annual plans cover multiple trips in a 12-month period with some limits to the length of each trip
Annual Travel Insurance FAQs
Annual plans are purchased to cover all trips within a 365 day period. You would choose when the coverage starts, and the insurance policy is active for the following year. There may be a limit on the length of any given trip within that year. Most companies allow you to renew after the first year is up.
Single-trip insurance is meant to cover one trip, such as a vacation or cruise, in case you need to cancel your trip. It also covers medical, evacuation, baggage, and delays. Annual travel insurance covers several trips throughout the year, but does not cover cancellation for any of them.
Because it runs for 365 days from purchase, you should buy annual travel insurance right before the first trip you want to insure. This will maximize the amount of time of coverage.
Annual travel insurance covers you for 365 days, and are often renewable.
Annual travel insurance is typically purchased in a single payment.
Annual travel insurance is available from Seven Corners, Trawick, GeoBlue, and Travel Guard. I recommend Seven Corners’ Wander plan.
You would consider annual travel insurance if you take several trips throughout the year, and want the medical and loss benefits of travel insurance for each one. This is simpler than buying a plan for each trip separately.
Damian
Damian Tysdal is the founder of CoverTrip, and is a licensed agent for travel insurance (MA 1883287). He believes travel insurance should be easier to understand, and started the first travel insurance blog in 2006.
Damian Tysdal is the founder of CoverTrip, and is a licensed agent for travel insurance (MA 1883287). He believes travel insurance should be easier to understand, and started the first travel insurance blog in 2006.