Here's a secret few travelers know: You can buy low-cost travel insurance if you skip coverage for trip cancellation.
It's called OneTrip Emergency Medical, and it's designed for travelers who don't need to insure the cost of their trip but do want to make sure they're covered in case of emergencies while they're traveling. It includes only the benefits that cover you after you depart—so we call it post-departure travel insurance. Is it the right choice for you? Here’s how to decide.
What is post-departure insurance?
First, let’s clear one thing up: Post-departure travel insurance does not mean a plan you buy after you leave on your trip. We define it as travel insurance that protects you during your trip, after you’ve left home.
Post-departure insurance defends you against the things that can go wrong when you’re traveling: medical emergencies, unexpected delays, lost or delayed baggage, travel accidents, and more. It’s also an affordable choice, because it doesn’t factor in the amount you spent on your trip.
So… can I purchase travel insurance after departure?
You can’t buy an Allianz Travel Insurance plan if you’ve already left. However, you can purchase the OneTrip Emergency Medical plan at the very last minute, even if you’re leaving on your trip later today.
Another option for same-day departure is AllTrips Basic. This is an annual travel insurance plan that protects all your trips for 365 days. It includes all the key post-departure benefits listed, plus rental car damage and theft coverage (available to residents of most states). It doesn’t include trip cancellation or trip interruption.
Are you leaving on your trip today? If so, then don’t waste any more time! Get a quick quote and buy your day-of travel insurance right now.
What does post-departure travel insurance include?
In short, it includes everything except trip cancellation, which reimburses you for your lost, prepaid, non-refundable trip costs if you have to cancel your trip for a covered reason. Post-departure benefits include:
- Emergency medical and dental benefits, which can reimburse you for the cost of care following a covered medical emergency and ensure you get the best available care. This is especially important if you’re headed overseas, where hospitals typically won’t accept your U.S. health insurance. Our Assistance team can monitor your condition and communicate updates to your family back home.
- Emergency transportation benefits, which can reimburse the costs of your medical evacuation after a covered injury or illness if local medical facilities can’t provide appropriate treatment. These benefits also can arrange and pay for transporting a friend or relative to come to your bedside, if you’ll be hospitalized for more than 48 hours during your trip. We can also arrange and pay for your transportation home once you’re able to travel.
- Travel delay, which can reimburse you for extra travel expenses—such as meals and hotel nights—and lost prepaid expenses if your trip is delayed for a covered reason. If a covered delay causes you to miss the departure of your cruise or tour, your travel delay benefits can pay reasonable transportation expenses to help you rejoin your cruise/tour, or to reach your destination another way.
- Baggage loss/damage, which can reimburse you if your belongings get stolen, misplaced, or damaged by a travel carrier.
- Baggage delay, which can reimburse you for essential items (up to the policy limit) if your checked bags are delayed for a specified amount of time.
- Travel accident coverage, which pays you if you have an accidental injury during your trip that results in a covered loss of life, sight, hands or feet.
- 24-hour hotline assistance, which gives you access to a multilingual assistance team to help you handle all kinds of travel emergencies. Assistance can help you find local medical and legal professionals, reschedule travel in an emergency, replace lost/stolen travel documents, and much more.
- Concierge services, which can provide a personalized guide to your destination and/or help you with restaurant reservations, tee times, tickets to events, and more.
Other post-departure benefits may be available with specific plans, including rental car damage and theft coverage, business equipment coverage (and rental coverage), change fee coverage, and loyalty program redeposit fee coverage.
Learn more: Post-Departure Travel Insurance Benefits Explained
Who should buy post-departure travel insurance?
In general, post-departure insurance is best for travelers who don't need or want to cover the cost of their pre-paid travel expenses. Here are a few examples.
- A travel agent living in Miami is taking a free, week-long Caribbean cruise, compliments of the cruise line. She has no pre-paid travel costs, but she knows that she still needs emergency medical and dental coverage on her trip. That’s because if she has a medical emergency on board, the cruise line will send her the bill.
- A doctor is attending a conference in Barcelona, and she's bringing her wife along on the trip. The doctor’s practice is paying for their flights and hotel room, but the couple still wants to protect their health and possessions while they're traveling.
- A budget traveler is embarking on a 10-day tour of Central America for cheap, thanks to frequent-flyer miles and hostel stays. He’s not worried about insuring his trip costs, but he wants medical-only travel insurance to protect himself from astronomical hospital bills if he becomes seriously ill or injured.
- A couple is flying to Jaipur to meet their grandchild for the very first time. They’ve purchased refundable flights, and they’re staying with their daughter (so they don’t need to insure the cost of the hotel). But they still want protection for trip delays, baggage delays, and more.
- A law student is flying to Dublin this evening to see an old friend. She’s been so busy studying for the LSATs, she completely forgot to insure her trip! Luckily, she hasn’t left yet, so she can still buy travel insurance that only includes post-departure benefits.
What if it’s too late to buy travel insurance because I’m already on my trip?
There’s not much you can do now… but we have one suggestion. If you’re a frequent traveler, buy an AllTrips annual travel insurance plan. One plan can protect all your trips for the next 365 days: long or short, business or pleasure, international or domestic. It’s perfect for procrastinators, because you’re automatically protected everywhere you go! Never again will you have to ask yourself: “Is it too late to buy travel insurance?”
It's easy to purchase post-departure travel insurance. Get a quote today!
Related Articles
Share this Page