Travel is one of the best gifts you can give your children. But there’s no way around it: Traveling as a single parent is tough. You’ve got your coffee in one hand and your tickets in the other. You’re lugging two suitcases, a shoulder bag and a backpack. And your kid is whining that he’s too tired to carry his jacket.

While we can’t give you an extra set of hands, we can give you the next best thing: help when you need it most. Travel insurance can make life easier for single parents in ways you might not expect, such as helping you track down lost luggage, managing medical crises, even reimbursing you for that airport ice cream when your flight’s delayed. Best of all, with the OneTrip Prime or OneTrip Premier plans, kids 17 and under are covered for free when traveling with a parent or grandparent (not available on policies issued to Pennsylvania residents).

Give yourself peace of mind: Get a quote for your next family vacation .

Why is travel insurance an absolute must for single-parent vacations?

1. Because kids get sick at inconvenient times.

The night before you’re set to fly to London, you hear a parent’s least favorite sentence: “My tummy hurts.” Oh no, you think. No no no.

An attack of the flu doesn’t have to ruin your carefully planned vacation. Trip cancellation benefits can reimburse you for your non-refundable trip payments if you have to cancel the trip for a reason such as a covered illness or injury that's disabling enough to make a reasonable person cancel their trip. These benefits apply whether you (the insured) or your traveling companion (e.g. your kid) suffers the covered illness or injury. 

2. Because as a single parent, you have to pack So. Much. Stuff.

You’ve retrieved your suitcases from the baggage claim… but your travel stroller never shows up. The airline promises to look for it, but you need the stroller ASAP. What are you going to do?

When your baggage is delayed for a certain amount of time (specified in your policy), travel insurance with baggage delay benefits can reimburse you for essential items you need until your baggage arrives, up to the maximum benefit shown in your policy. If the stroller is gone for good, then your baggage loss benefits may be able to reimburse you, as specified in your policy.

3. Because when you’re traveling with kids, delays are tough to deal with.

An ordinary cross-country flight is already hard for little ones to handle. When your flight’s delayed by six hours, it’s officially Meltdown Time.

Here again, travel insurance can help. Travel delay benefits can reimburse you for that unexpected lunch in the airport or that unplanned hotel stay during a covered travel delay. And here’s an even better way to make the headache of solo-parent travel go away: with the OneTrip Prime or OneTrip Premier plans, travel delay benefits can give you an inconvenience payment of $100 per day for a covered travel delay, if certain conditions are met.

4. Because emergencies can happen anywhere, anytime.

Every year, you and your daughters spend the holidays at your grandparents’ farm in Chile. It’s an idyllic place – until your youngest daughter falls out of a tree while playing with her cousins. You’re worried she might have a head injury, and the nearest hospital is hundreds of miles away.

That’s when your emergency medical and dental benefits and emergency transportation benefits can save the day. Call the Allianz Global Assistance emergency hotline, and our medical team can assess your daughter’s case and, if needed, arrange a medical evacuation to the nearest appropriate medical facility that can deliver care that’s up to U.S. standards. Your Allianz Global Assistance coordinator may also be able to pre-arrange payment for care for a covered illness or injury, serve as your interpreter when speaking with doctors, and monitor your child’s recovery.

5. Because your kids are depending on you — so you can depend on us. 

As a single parent, you’re resourceful and tough. When things go awry, you take care of business. But who will take care of you?

That’s what travel insurance is for. If you suffer a sudden, serious covered illness or injury while traveling with children, we not only can help manage your medical care, but we can help make sure your kids are OK, too. If you’ll be hospitalized for more than seven days during your trip, and your children (under 23) are traveling with you, emergency transportation benefits can arrange and pay (less any refunds for unused tickets) to transport them to your home, or to a U.S. location of your choice. Or, we can arrange and pay for round-trip transportation for a friend or family member to travel to your location.

Not only that, but the Allianz Global Assistance hotline team can help you with other kinds of travel mishaps, both large and small. Need to fill your kid’s allergy medication prescription? Or replace your child’s lost passport? Or find a store nearby that sells diapers — at midnight? You don’t have to figure out all this stuff alone — we can help.

If you’re an Allianz Global Assistance customer who needs help while traveling, you can call collect from anywhere in the world: 1-804-281-5700. Planning your family vacation? Find the travel insurance plan that’s right for you.

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