People often buy travel insurance with a worst-case scenario in mind. Maybe they’re worried about losing their non-refundable trip costs if they call off the trip, so they get insurance with trip cancellation benefits. Or maybe they’re worried about falling deathly ill in a remote country, so they buy a plan with emergency medical benefits.

Travel insurance certainly can help in situations like these! But you don’t have to wait for a major crisis to use your benefits. Your plan can help you in all kinds of other ways — here’s how to make the most of it.

Find the best travel insurance plan for your next trip!

1. Download the Allyz® app.

The Allyz® app from Allianz Global Assistance is one of the best international travel apps — and it’s free! Not only do you get mobile access to your travel insurance plan, including coverage details and documents, but you can also use the app to:

• Contact customer service, if you need to make a change to your plan or ask a question
• See real-time flight status updates for an upcoming trip
• Get immediate access to local police, fire, and ambulance numbers in the country you’re visiting
• See a map of preferred hospitals nearby, as well as doctors, pharmacies, police stations and U.S. Embassies.
• Call 24-Hour Hotline Assistance for help with all kinds of travel challenges
  
  

2. Try our concierge services.

Google and TripAdvisor are indispensable when you’re traveling, but it’s easy to get lost in the morass of other people’s opinions. For trustworthy, personalized travel assistance, try the concierge benefit included in your travel insurance plan.

Call 24-Hour Hotline Assistance, and our multilingual experts can assist you with entertainment and event planning (such as dining reservations or concert tickets), transportation planning (such as figuring out the best way to get from point A to point B and making arrangements) or general travel assistance (such as making hotel reservations, or finding a place to board your dog). This concierge benefit is especially helpful in countries where you don’t speak the language or where Internet access is limited. Allianz Global Assistance customers receive the concierge benefit at no additional charge, although you will have to pay additional costs for things like ticket fees or deposits for reservations.

3. Get compensated for covered travel and baggage delays with SmartBenefits^SM.

Travel insurance plans that include SmartBenefits^SM make the claims process even easier by letting you file a no-receipts claim for covered travel delays and baggage delays. You can choose to receive a fixed-amount inconvenience payment of $100 per insured person, per day. All you need is proof of a covered delay.

To make things even easier, you also can opt to receive the $100 payment automatically, after Allianz Global Assistance confirms a covered delay on a monitored flight. When you purchase your travel insurance plan, submit your flight information on allianztravelinsurance.com, on the Allyz® app or your travel agent can submit it for you. We’ll monitor your flights, and if the airline announces a covered delay, then we’ll send you a notification if you’re eligible for an automatic payment.

4. Go annual to protect all your short getaways.

Instead of long trips, more people are planning micro-cations of four nights or less. In fact, one in three Americans planned multiple short vacations in the summer of 2021, rather than taking the traditional week-long or longer vacation, according to the 2021 Vacation Confidence Index. Generally, people don’t bother to insure short getaways, which leaves them vulnerable to financial losses if something goes wrong.

If you’re a frequent traveler for leisure or business (taking three or more trips per year), you can get the most for your money by purchasing annual travel insurance. Your plan can cover all those micro-cations, as well as your longer adventures.

5. Read your plan documents so you understand the full range of benefits.

We know that travel insurance plan documents aren’t exactly a gripping beach read. But if you take the time to look through them, you’ll discover some benefits that many travelers aren’t aware of. For instance, did you know…

• That the trip interruption benefit can reimburse you for additional accommodation and transportation expenses (up to the benefit limit) if a covered interruption causes you to stay at your destination longer than you’d planned?
• That the loyalty program redeposit fee benefit can reimburse you for any fee you’re charged (up to the benefit limit) to redeposit loyalty points/miles if your trip is canceled or interrupted for a covered reason?
• That the emergency medical transportation benefit can pay to bring a loved one to your bedside, if you’re hospitalized for a covered reason for more than 48 hours during your trip?

Benefits vary by plan, so read your documents closely and contact us with any questions.

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• The Comprehensive Guide to Travel Insurance Benefits
• 5 Reasons Why Travel Insurance is a Must
• Travel Insurance 101: How Travel Insurance Works