June 1, 2020
Due to travel restrictions, plans are only available with travel dates on or after
Due to travel restrictions, plans are only available with effective start dates on or after
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Why is it important to buy travel insurance? We could talk about this topic all day… but a better way to find out is to ask real travelers.
We surveyed Allianz Partners customers to discover their top reasons for purchasing travel insurance. Here’s what they said.*
(One quick note: Coverage varies by plan. Always review your plan carefully to make sure you understand benefits, exclusions, maximum benefit limits, and other important details.)
The basic concept of travel insurance is that you spend a little money (the cost of your plan) so that you don’t have to spend a lot of money for an unexpected travel mishap. There’s no better example than emergency medical benefits.
Why? In general, your U.S. health insurance will not be accepted by medical providers in other countries. Instead, providers often require payment up front. If you require emergency transportation by ambulance or medevac helicopter, you’ll have to pay for that as well (and that can get really, really expensive.).
An Allianz Travel Insurance plan with emergency medical benefits can provide reimbursement (or advance payment, in some situations) for covered emergency medical care and transportation. Not only that, but we can monitor your care, arrange and pay for your transportation home, and more.
The second most popular answer to “Why should you buy travel insurance?” is the peace of mind it provides. Even the most experienced travelers aren’t immune from travel stress and anxiety. You wonder: What if you get sick or injured in a remote place? What if your flight gets canceled and you miss your cruise ship departure? What if you lose your passport?
Take a deep breath. If you have travel insurance, you don’t have to deal with these situations all by yourself. We’re here to help.
One of the best things you can do for pre-travel peace of mind is download the free Allyz® app from Allianz Partners. This top-rated travel app gives you instant access to 24-hour assistance, as well as local emergency numbers, safety and security alerts, global doctor visits, and more.
Even the most carefully planned trips sometimes get ruined by factors you can’t control: a loved one’s illness, a job loss, a car accident on the way to the airport. You can’t always count on your travel supplier to give you a refund… but you can count on travel insurance to reimburse you for prepaid, non-refundable trip costs when you’re forced to cancel your trip for a covered reason.
The term “covered reason” is important, because a lot of people misunderstand it. Trip cancellation insurance can cover unexpected cancellations when they’re caused by a reason listed in your plan. If the reason’s not listed, the cancellation’s not covered.
Worried about having to cancel for a reason that’s not covered? Consider purchasing the Cancel Anytime upgrade, which can reimburse 80% of your lost non-refundable trip costs if you cancel your trip for almost any unforeseeable reason your plan does not already cover. (Available as an upgrade to the OneTrip Prime and OneTrip Premier plans.)
While trip cancellation applies before you’ve left on your trip, trip interruption benefits protect you after you’ve left. Say you’re on vacation in Indonesia when a massive earthquake jolts the region. Trip interruption benefits can help in multiple ways.
Just like trip cancellations, trip interruptions must be caused by a covered reason listed in your plan.
With about one in five U.S. flights getting delayed, on average, there’s a good chance you won’t make it to your destination on time.1 That’s why trip delay benefits are one of the top reasons people buy travel insurance.
Trip delay protection means you can get reimbursed for both your prepaid, nonrefundable trip expenses lost because of a covered delay and eligible expenses for meals, accommodation, transportation, and more during a covered delay. (Check your plan’s maximum dollar limit [per person and per day] for travel delay benefits, as well as the minimum required delay and the covered reasons for a travel delay.)
You pack for your long-awaited vacation with care… and then your suitcase shows up late. Or banged-up and half-empty. Or it never shows up at all. That’s when your baggage insurance can come to the rescue.
Baggage insurance can reimburse you for covered loss, theft or damage to your baggage and personal effects, as well as for items you need to purchase when your bags are delayed. Exclusions, delay length requirements, and maximum limits apply, and you must report all losses to the airline, airport, police or other relevant authority.
If your plan includes SmartBenefitsSM, you can choose to receive a fixed inconvenience payment of $100 per insured person, per day, for a covered baggage delay (up to the maximum no-receipts limit). You can get this payment for covered travel delays, too! No need to submit your receipts — just proof of a covered delay.
Assisting travelers is our primary mission. Contact 24-hour assistance anytime you face a problem during your trip, whether it’s major (like a medical emergency or a stolen passport) or minor (maybe you need an interpreter to help you negotiate with a rental car clerk).
Reach us via the free Allyz® app or by phone. In the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, call 1-800-654-1908. In all other locations, call collect 1-804-281-5700.
Several plans also include concierge services to assist you with trip planning (recommending hotels for your unique needs, or suggesting an itinerary); event planning (making dining reservations or getting concert tickets); and more.
The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted global travel on a scale rarely seen before—and it caused Allianz Partners to rethink how we could protect travelers during epidemics. We made changes to many of our travel insurance plans to include epidemic-related covered reasons, so that, for example:
Discover why 59 million American travelers each year trust travel insurance from Allianz Partners: Get a quote for trip protection now.
*Based on a post-trip survey of Allianz Partners U.S. B2C customers, May 1, 2025 - Apr 30, 2026.
View all of our travel insurance products
Terms, conditions, and exclusions apply. Please see your plan for full details. Benefits/Coverage may vary by state, and sublimits may apply.
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