Allianz Travel Insurance

Allianz Travel Insurance is the name on the travel plans Allianz Partners sells to people who live in the United States, and the plans are sold to US residents only. Anyone who bought trip cover here before 2012 may remember the same products as Access America. Richmond BizSense reported that year that Henrico-based Mondial Assistance USA was rebranding as Allianz Global Assistance, and that "Access America® travel insurance products will be renamed Allianz Travel Insurance."

The structure behind the brand is spelled out on the site. AGA Service Company, at 9950 Mayland Drive in Richmond, Virginia, distributes the plans and is described as "the licensed producer and administrator of these plans." The insurance is underwritten by one of two carriers: BCS Insurance Company, rated A (Excellent) by A.M. Best, or Jefferson Insurance Company, rated A+ (Superior). AGA Service Company is an affiliate of Jefferson, and Allianz SE is named as the parent company.

What makes the brand easy to shop is how cleanly its single-trip range steps up. There are 5 OneTrip trip plans plus a standalone rental car policy, and every plan page prints its limits in a plain table.

OneTrip Prime, the middle of the ladder

Allianz calls Prime "our most popular choice for vacations," and the limits explain why it sits in the middle. Trip cancellation reimburses up to $100,000 and trip interruption up to $150,000. After departure you get $50,000 of emergency medical cover, $500,000 for emergency medical transportation, $1,000 for lost or damaged baggage, $300 for delayed baggage, and $800 of travel delay cover at up to $200 a day. A Trip Change Protector benefit of up to $500 pays carrier or supplier fees when a covered reason forces you to cancel or change an airline, rail, cruise or tour itinerary. The 24-hour hotline and a concierge service are both included.

The detail families repeat is the free cover for children. On Prime, kids 17 and under are covered free when they travel with a parent or grandparent. The exception sits right beside it: the perk is not available on policies issued to Pennsylvania residents.

OneTrip Premier, for the expensive trip

Premier keeps the same shape and, in the site's own words, doubles "nearly all the post-departure benefit limits." The tables bear that out with one exception. Emergency medical transportation goes from $500,000 to $1,000,000, baggage from $1,000 to $2,000, baggage delay from $300 to $600, travel delay from $800 to $1,600, and the Trip Change Protector from $500 to $1,000. Emergency medical itself rises from $50,000 to $75,000, so the headline medical figure grows by half instead of doubling. Before departure, cancellation goes up to $200,000 and interruption to $300,000.

Premier also carries a clause that matters to anyone booking in storm season. Allianz says it is "the only plan from Allianz Partners that includes a NOAA hurricane warning as a covered reason for trip cancellation." Kids 17 and under travel free on Premier too, with the same Pennsylvania exception, and the plan page offers primary collision and loss damage cover for a rental car as an add-on at $13 per calendar day.

The rest of the single-trip range

OneTrip Basic is the budget entry. It pays up to $10,000 each for cancellation and interruption, $10,000 for emergency medical, $50,000 for medical transportation, $500 for baggage, $200 for baggage delay and $300 of travel delay at $150 a day.

OneTrip Emergency Medical drops cancellation altogether and keeps only post-departure benefits: up to $50,000 for emergency medical, $250,000 for transportation, $2,000 for baggage, $600 for baggage delay, $1,000 for travel delay and a $10,000 travel accident benefit, with concierge included. It's the plan in the lineup closest to pure travel medical cover.

OneTrip Cancellation Plus goes the other way. The site calls it the most economical plan and pitches it at domestic travelers who want cancellation and interruption benefits but no post-departure package. OneTrip Rental Car Protector stands alone: primary cover for collision, loss and damage up to $75,000, "for only $13 per calendar day," and the site notes it is primary "in most states."

Pre-existing conditions and the 14-day window

Pre-existing medical conditions are excluded unless 4 conditions are met, and the Prime page lists them in full. You have to buy within 14 days of your first trip payment or deposit. On the purchase date you have to insure the full non-refundable cost of the trip, and anything non-refundable you add later has to be insured within 14 days of buying it. You must be a US resident, and you must be medically able to travel on the day you buy. Basic and Emergency Medical both list pre-existing condition cover as available, with the same 14-day purchase rule.

Prime and Premier also add epidemic-related covered reasons across trip cancellation and interruption, travel delay, emergency medical care and emergency transportation.

SmartBenefits and Cancel Anytime

SmartBenefits is Allianz's answer to the envelope of receipts. For a covered travel delay or baggage delay, you can opt for a fixed inconvenience payment of $100 per insured person per day instead of itemizing costs. No receipts are needed, only proof of a covered delay, up to a no-receipts maximum. The site adds that the payment may arrive automatically when the delay happens on a flight Allianz Partners monitors.

Cancel Anytime is an optional upgrade on Prime and Premier. It reimburses 80% of lost non-refundable trip costs if you cancel "for almost any unforeseeable reason," which is the closest the range comes to a change-of-heart policy.

AllTrips, the annual plans

Frequent travelers get the AllTrips range. AllTrips Prime offers "a full 365 days of travel" with $3,000 per insured per year for cancellation and for interruption, $20,000 of emergency medical and $100,000 of medical transportation per trip, plus $45,000 of rental car damage and theft cover. Trips longer than 45 days are excluded.

AllTrips Premier lets you pick a cancellation limit of $2,000, $5,000, $10,000 or $15,000, raises emergency medical to $50,000 and transportation to $500,000, and stretches the trip length limit to 90 days. One plan can cover a household traveling separately or together, and the site tells buyers to list everyone in the household to get the most out of it. AllTrips Executive adds higher cancellation and interruption limits and business equipment rental benefits. AllTrips Basic is built for travelers who don't need cancellation cover but want protection for a medical emergency abroad.

The Allyz app and assistance

Much of the service runs through the Allyz app. You can file a claim from your phone by photographing documents, check its status, view coverage details and reach customer care in a couple of taps. The travel side organizes itineraries, finds a hospital, translates common medical terms and sends destination-specific safety alerts. A doctor search filters by location and specialty, with virtual or in-person visits, and the app page mentions direct billing for up to 3 Air Doctor telehealth sessions per person per trip.

Behind the app sits what the homepage calls "award-winning 24/7 assistance and a worldwide network of prescreened hospitals." Claim updates arrive by email from Allianz Partners, and the claims team may ask for extra documents along the way. The claims pages don't publish a payment timeframe.

What it costs

Prices for the trip plans aren't printed on the plan pages, so you get a figure through the online quote. The FAQ says the price depends on the traveler's age, the trip cost and the level of coverage, and that it "is not affected by your destination or your prior medical or claims history." If you change your mind, you can cancel within 15 days of purchase for a full refund, depending on your state, provided you haven't filed a claim or left on the trip.

A few caveats

The medical limits on the single-trip plans are modest next to the transportation limits: $50,000 of emergency medical on Prime against $500,000 for getting you to care or home. The plan pages and FAQ don't say if the emergency medical benefit pays before or after your own health insurance, so ask when you quote. The site also can't settle on its own size. The homepage says Allianz Partners helps "more than 55 million people" every year, while the About page says "nearly 59 million travelers" trust it. And as the small print says, benefits can vary by state and sublimits may apply.

Who it suits

Prime is the obvious pick for a family vacation, because free cover for kids 17 and under changes the arithmetic on a family booking. Premier suits expensive bookings and anyone flying into hurricane season, thanks to the NOAA warning clause. Travelers who leave home several times a year can buy once with AllTrips and stop thinking about it. With named A and A+ rated underwriters, limits printed on every page and an app that handles claims from a phone, Allianz Travel Insurance is a well-organized shelf to shop from.