Are you making plans to travel soon? Sometimes we need a vacation from all the planning! Hotel accommodations, rental cars, flights or other transportation, packing all the luggage, getting everyone ready and then the checking in, everywhere it seems, and whew! You need a break.
Whether traveling solo or with family or friends, it’s easy to see how things can get forgotten or overlooked. And costs can easily escalate before you know it.
One thing that is important not to overlook is travel insurance. This can help you with any unexpected delays or hiccups.
Searching for the right insurance to accommodate your itinerary is the key to being free from stress.
If you are one of the thousands of people who have an AAA membership, you know they have some great deals when it comes to travel and insurance. They also have travel agents who can help plan your next vacation and even provide you with many discounts for hotels, flights and other expenses. But the question is: Do they have the type of travel medical insurance to meet all your individual needs?
Does AAA Have Travel Insurance?
AAA offers four travel insurance plans through their partnership with Allianz. With varying degrees of coverage, the plans are Premiere, Classic, Basic and Essential.
We entered a 45 year old female traveling to the Virgin Islands for a one week stay. Starting with the most affordable option, here is what each plan offers.
The Essential Plan - $87.00
- Travel Delay: $150
The Basic Plan - $117.00
- Travel Delay: $300
- Baggage Coverage: $500
- Emergency Transportation: $50,000
- Emergency Medical/DentalCoverage: $10,000
The Classic Plan - $168.00
- Change Fee Coverage: $500
- Loyalty Program Redeposit Fee Coverage: $500
- Travel/Trip Delay $800
- Baggage Coverage: $1,000
- Baggage Delay Coverage: $300
- Emergency Transportation: $500,000
- Emergency Medical/Dental Coverage: $50,000
The Classic Plan has another version with RTW for an additional $36 bringing it to $204, with the benefits the same except the Emergency Medical/Dental Coverage is lower at $25,000.
The Premier Plan - $279.00
- Change Fee Coverage: $500
- Loyalty Program Redeposit Fee Coverage: $500
- Travel/Trip Delay $1,600
- Baggage Coverage: $2,000
- Baggage Delay Coverage: $600
- Emergency Transportation: $1,000,000
- Emergency Medical/Dental Coverage: $50,000
The question you have to ask yourself is if this is enough coverage for your needs? These figures are also based on where you depart from within the United States so each state may have different options and prices. There also doesn’t seem to be coverage for trip cancellation or interruption, nor any coverage for flight delays or baggage loss.
The Basic plan may be a good plan for those planning a weekend trip. For domestic travel, $10k may be enough for emergency medical and dental services if you carry health insurance privately or through an employer. However, out-of-state or international costs could add up significantly. And should you need emergency medical transportation, $50k may not be enough to cover international flight and crew costs.
The Premier Plan does offer more for transportation, but it would also be beneficial to have higher medical coverage benefits. $100k in travel medical coverage is preferable since hospital care, at an average of $4k per day, can quickly cut into that $50k should you have a serious injury.
The Classic Plan is one step below the Premier Plan, however the question we had was why pay $36 more for $25k less in benefits?
The VisitorsCoverage Advantage
At VisitorsCoverage, our goal is to offer options that make sense for not only your basic travel expenses but for your individual medical needs as well. It’s easy to say ‘nothing will happen to me, I’m healthy’, but sometimes the unexpected happens. It’s good to be prepared. You may have pre-existing conditions that we may have solutions for, as well as medical coverage to satisfy any country you are intending on visiting. There are still COVID requirements for each country that needs to be adhered to for entry. We can help get you the right coverage for your entire trip.
VisitorsCoverage is Here for You
As you get ready for your next trip, all of us at VisitorsCoverage want to make the planning process as easy as possible. If you have any questions, our licensed travel insurance experts are available to help. We’ll send you on to your trip as hassle-free as possible.
