Everything You Need to Know about Protecting Your Travels

Produced by Virtuoso with Allianz Partners

With travel insurance, may your biggest travel headache be a busy airport. 

Getty Images

It is possible to prepare for the unexpected.

Working with a Virtuoso travel advisor to plan the perfect trip is exciting, but after debating hotels, restaurants, and tours with your picky in-laws, the last thing you may want to do is sort through complicated travel-insurance lingo. It’s an important step though – sometimes, a missing suitcase or a painful tumble down the Spanish Steps can ruin a vacation’s entire vibe.

Choosing the right travel insurance is like casting a personalized safety net over your journey – but how do you know which plan to pick? Virtuoso travel advisors can easily connect travelers to representatives at Allianz Global Assistance, who provide travelers with a variety of options to insure upcoming trips and help plan for the unexpected – everything from lost luggage to unforeseen medical emergencies and more. Allianz Global Assistance’s customer service team helps travelers sort through plan options and benefits so they can pack their bags with peace of mind. Various vacation scenarios call for different types of travel insurance – these examples might provide some insight. And when you’re ready to insure your next trip, your advisor can point you in the right direction.  

Seamless travels start with reliable protection.

Getty Images

I want to protect all of my travel costs. What travel insurance do I get?

While travel insurance doesn’t always cover every situation, plans such as Classic Cancel Anytime offer some of the most robust benefits available. When a Cancel Anytime coverage is purchased at the right time prior to a vacation, travelers are eligible to receive up to $100,000 in reimbursement for prepaid trip expenses if they have to cancel a trip for a covered reason, or partial reimbursement if they need to cancel for nearly any other unforeseeable reason. Classic Cancel Anytime also includes reimbursement for covered trip interruptions and travel delays of five hours or more. It provides benefits for lost, damaged, or stolen baggage, including reimbursement for essential items during covered delays. Health is also a priority with this plan, which offers emergency medical and dental* reimbursement benefits – and, for unforeseen circumstances, benefits for medically necessary transportation to return home in a covered emergency.

When Virtuoso travel advisor Nancy Yale’s client broke her leg during a cycling trip in northern Italy, Yale connected her with Allianz Global Assistance, who efficiently managed all her medical expenses, including a surgery in Italy she needed before flying home. Allianz Global Assistance even arranged for a nurse to travel with her to the U.S., providing assistance throughout the flight and escorting her from the hospital to her Chicago doorstep. Thanks to her Cancel Anytime plan, the client never saw a bill. 

Nothing should stand in the way of a dream honeymoon to the Maldives, especially a canceled flight. 

Getty Images

What if our flight gets canceled en route to our honeymoon in the Maldives? 

During the happiest time of your life, a flight cancellation shouldn’t get in the way. Travel Delay benefits include reimbursement for eligible meals and accommodations, providing up to $200 per person per day for additional travel or lost prepaid expenses if a flight delay extends for five or more hours due to a covered reason.

Yale recently assisted clients who missed a connecting flight between Lima and San Francisco, leaving them stranded in Miami without a hotel, with no flights available until the following day. Yale promptly booked hotel rooms in downtown Miami for her travelers, and Allianz Global Assistance reimbursed all their covered expenses, including lodging, meals, and transportation costs for the 24-hour delay. 

On the other end, for vacations cut short by a covered weather event or an emergency at home, Trip Interruption benefits reimburse unused, nonrefundable travel expenses and increased transportation costs.

According to Yale, many travelers don’t realize they could lose thousands of dollars by not insuring their trip. "They’ll say, ‘Oh, I’m going no matter what,’ but when I mention they might get COVID or fall and break their arm and will no longer be able to travel, they’ll realize they could lose a lot of money.” 

With travel insurance, you can safeguard your belongings wherever you wander.

Getty Images

What if I break my tooth while eating a pretzel at Oktoberfest in Munich?

Accidents happen, but Allianz Global Assistance’s Emergency Medical and Dental Care benefits can protect travelers from losses due to mishaps such as cracked teeth and other medical issues that take place outside the U.S., where a traveler’s typical health insurance plan might fall short. "Many unforeseen things can occur,” Yale says.

We're going to Saint Bart's, but a hurricane is predicted for next week – what can we do?

Allianz Trip Interruption and Travel Delay benefits help travelers account for lost travel expenses. If you need to cut your trip short for a covered reason, such as a family member's medical emergency back home, Trip Interruption can reimburse unused, nonrefundable expenses and increased transportation costs. And if a hurricane or other severe weather event causes covered delays, Travel Delay can reimburse eligible meals and accommodations. So keep your cool if the weather takes an unexpected turn, knowing you have benefits and assistance to help you through it.

Val's Travel awaits....

Schedule a call

I help passionate travelers plan food, wine, and active adventures to unique destinations across the globe.