Travel insurance is a must-have for any international trip, including Europe. Tourists often assume factors such as favorable political climates, and more extensive access to world-class medical facilities, meaning that travel insurance isn’t a necessity for sightseeing in Europe. But in a world of even greater unknowns, in the progress of opening up following a worldwide pandemic, travel insurance is a must. And there are a number of practical and logistical snags that can become nightmares without travel insurance, wherever you go internationally. Here is why you need travel insurance for your trip to Europe, and how Allianz Travel Insurance can help you remain headache free.

COVID-19

Say you and a group of friends booked a girls’ trip to Nerja Beach, Spain. Days before your flight to Malaga Airport, you come down with fever and chills, and subsequently confirm it’s COVID-19. If you are understandably concerned about money lost because it is too late to get a refund on your vacation, Allianz Travel Insurance plans with Trip Cancellation Benefits and the Epidemic Coverage Endorsement may reimburse you for certain nonrefundable, prepaid trip costs. And if you contract COVID-19 while on vacation, plans that include the Emergency Medical benefit and the Epidemic Coverage Endorsement can reimburse the cost of emergency medical services related to the virus, up to your plan’s maximum limit.

Baggage Loss

Your beautiful dress is packed in a checked bag for a destination wedding in Tuscany, Italy. But on arrival, you discover that your bag has been lost by the airline. You purchase a back-up dress a few days before the wedding, and while it’s not *the* dress, the nuptials are otherwise perfect.

Before you depart for the states, you check in with your airline to file a claim for the missing luggage. Unfortunately, you find out they will only reimburse half the cost of the wedding dress that never was. Airlines are not required to reimburse the total value of lost luggage. For international flights, the maximum liability for lost, damaged or delayed bags is about $1,780. The maximum baggage liability for domestic flights is $3,800. 

Travel insurance may make up the difference. If your baggage is lost or damaged, Allianz Travel Insurance can reimburse you for the actual price, cash value, repair or replacement of your luggage, – whichever is less, based on the limits of your policy.

Trip Interruptions

The bags are packed for your flight to London, a trip purposely timed for City Splash; an Afro-Caribbean music festival, expected to bring thousands to Brockwell Park, in South London. But you receive a call from your sister who has had a serious health emergency and lives a day’s drive away. You always come through for each other – London will have to wait. While you didn’t hesitate to come to your sibling’s aid, you are worried about the money that could be lost on airline tickets and reservations. Is it too late to cancel?

Allianz Global Assistance can reimburse your prepaid, non-refundable expenses if you cancel your trip due to a covered reason. And if your sister reached out to you after you checked into your hotel near The British Museum, we can reimburse non-refundable costs for the unused part of a trip cut short for a covered reason.

Medical Emergencies

Norway – known for its fjords, mountains and epic northern lights – has stunning natural beauty. Its capital city, Oslo, and other urban locales are known for being expensive, but the outdoors are free. So, you and your friends have decided to go backcountry camping and hiking in this northern nation’s forests. On a rocky trail, you snagged your foot and badly twisted your ankle. Your hiking buddies help you hobble out of the woods to your car, before driving to the closest hospital where a physician informs you that there is a broken bone in your ankle joint. Ahead of such incidents, the purchase of travel insurance with emergency medical benefits is essential. It’s important to know that many domestic health insurance policies will not cover you abroad.

When traveling abroad, travel insurance can help you fill gaps in your domestic health insurance. Allianz Global Assistance offers benefits for a range of budgets, some of which are critical in emergency situations. We provide medically necessary emergency transportation to the nearest healthcare facility, and emergency medical benefits for losses due to covered emergencies.

Our Allyz® TravelSmart mobile app can assist with health needs such as providing the locations of medical facilities and the best way to get to them. Don’t know 9-1-1 in Oslo? No worries, international emergency numbers are easily accessed in the app. The Allyz TravelSmart app also provides translations in 18 languages for popular prescriptions and first aid items, and 24/7 access to on-call travel experts who can help get emergency claims started. And with just a couple thumb swipes, you can file and check the status of claims.

Get a quote to find out how Allianz Travel Insurance can help make your European get-away blissfully stress free.

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