Allianz - Travel
Travel Resources

7 Reasons You Need Family Travel Insurance

family travelling on vacation
Allianz - family travelling on vacation

Forty-eight packs of peanut butter crackers. Six bright yellow rain ponchos. Three disposable, underwater cameras. And one bottle of really expensive wine.

You packed all of these items into one duffle bag for the big family vacation. And now that Bobby broke his leg, the hotel you booked converted into a nursing home, and a virus has you grounded, you’re not going anywhere. If only you had purchased family travel insurance, then things would have been different, right?

Vacations and getaways are often on the brink of not happening when you’re planning for your party of five, six or seven. And you’re left with crackers, ponchos and cameras to take pictures of your aquarium with. Oh, and wine, for when you’re healthy.

Here are seven reasons why family travel insurance may be worth looking into before your fam pays for those non-refundable theme park tickets.

The Numbers are Working Against You

When you just have to worry about you, and maybe a significant other, the odds of getting packed, on the plane and to your destination seem to be in your favor, right? Weather, karma and distracted baggage handlers seem a whole lot less formidable during solo travel or even a couple’s retreat. However, when you have a gaggle of four or five travelers, including kids who play by their own rules and refuse to wash their hands, your vacation plans seem to be constantly hanging by a threat. It only takes one bout of walking pneumonia or a single tantrum during an already tight layover to send your trip spiraling out of your control. The good news is that family travel insurance can offer you some relief from travel plans gone awry.

The Cost of Family Travel is on the Rise

According to American Express, the typical travel budget for one summer traveler in 2013 was $1,145 per person.1 This adds up to more than $5,700 for a family of five. Of course, many popular family destinations, such as theme parks and beaches, may come with an even higher price tag. With such a level of investment to get the mom, dad and the kids from here to there, planning a big trip without family travel insurance may seem like more of a gamble than an opportunity to make memories together.

Time is Money. And Planning Takes a Long Time

The figure we shared above only takes into account airfare, hotel booking fees, tickets, meals, souvenirs, etc... But what about all the time it takes to plan the actual trip? From poring over travel blogs to comparison shopping hotel prices and leveraging your social network to weigh in on campgrounds, water parks and aquariums, the pay-off for such robust pre-planning is more fun and relaxation once you reach your destination. If some unforeseen circumstance causes you to cancel, pause or cut your trip short, then this is time and money down the drain. With family travel insurance, you may be able to reload your trip at a later date.

You Have More Bags than Hands – and Eyes

Herding children and all their backpacks, toys and special stuffed animals is an art form. If you can get all your stuff on a plane, to the hotel and back home again, you deserve a pat on the back – a light pat, a heating compress and some Advil. It’s not just Murphy’s Laws, lack of sleep and children’s small attention spans working against you when it comes to keeping track of all your bags at the airport and beyond. These days, thieves and miscreants are targeting passenger luggage with greater boldness. Take, for example, an alleged theft ring recently broken up by police at Los Angeles Airport.2 You already have to worry about one set of sticky fingers – your kids downing gooey treats without wiping off their hands – you don’t need to worry about another. Baggage loss protection can be a big boon for families on the go.

You Don’t Have to Make Tough Decisions about Staying or Going

If an accident or illness id impacting a trip in such a way that part of the family is thinking of shoving off while the rest of the family hangs out at home, it’s tough for everyone. You don’t want to split the family up. And neither parent wants to draw the short straw that he or she will play nurse while the other gets to surf and eat shrimp. But you may be compelled to “protect” the investment you made in a vacation and ensure at least one or some of the kids get to experience the destination they’ve been dreaming about for months. With family travel insurance, you may be able to cancel or pause your trip while recouping enough of the vacation budget to plan a new trip that everyone – knock on wood – can make without incident.

An Airport Terminal is Not Disney World

Getting stranded in an airport terminal by yourself can be boring and stressful. Getting stranded at a terminal, bus depot or train station with your kin – and knowing that you’re going to be there for a while – can be even more challenging. There are only so many times you can play I Spy or paper, scissors, rock. Family travel insurance can be a picker-upper for everyone, and may include benefits ranging from finding a hotel for you to crash at to rebooting your travel plans.

Allianz Global Assistance Makes it Easier

Family travel is a fluid, cash-eating, time-consuming beast. It always seems like you just finished a trip, are planning a new one, or making an expected excursion to Aunt Karen’s to help her – and her 11 cats – move from Gary, Indiana to Rochester, New York. With Allianz Global Assistance’s Annual Travel Protection plan, you can get one policy that covers your entire household for the year. It doesn’t matter how big your family is or how many trips you take. With benefits including 24/7 travel assistance, trip cancellation insurance and baggage loss/damage protection, it may be the right time for you to compare our travel insurance plans.3

Allianz - AZ_OPM_Insurance_Partner


Dec 12, 2014