You’re a smart traveler. You know you need travel insurance to protect all your adventures. But do you know what not to do when buying insurance or filing a claim? These are the most common errors we see people make.

1. Assuming something’s covered… then finding out it’s not

Your dog gets sick. Your grandchild is graduating from college. It’s going to rain all week at the beach. These all may be compelling reasons to cancel your trip, but insurance won’t cover the trip cancellation.

Travel insurance offers “named perils” coverage. That means it can cover the specific situations and circumstances named in the plan (these are called “covered reasons”). If something’s not named, it’s not covered. The one exception is the Cancel Anytime plan upgrade, which can reimburse 80% of your unused, pre-paid, non-refundable trip costs if you cancel your trip for almost any unforeseeable reason your plan does not already cover.

2. Assuming something’s not covered… then finding out it is!

Your Allianz Travel Insurance plan may include all kinds of benefits you might not be aware of. For example, did you know that if you’re hospitalized for a covered reason during your trip, your emergency medical transportation benefits can arrange and pay for round-trip transportation for a friend or family member to come and stay with you? In the same situation, if you’re hospitalized while traveling with dependents, we can pay to have them sent home so someone can take care of them.

Long story short, you should always contact 24-hour assistance in a travel emergency. Our expert assistance team will advise you on the services travel insurance can offer. We can help with interpretation, sending messages home, connecting you with medical providers, and much more. 

3. Waiting too long to buy travel insurance

The best time to purchase travel insurance is as soon as you make the first payment on your trip. Why?

If you get your plan after 14 days have passed since that first payment or deposit, then existing medical conditions won’t be covered. (Additional requirements apply: learn more here.)

And if you get insurance after something happens to disrupt your travel plans, it’s too late for us to help with that situation. Travel insurance can only protect you in case of unforeseen events.

Read more: When’s the Best Time to Buy Travel Insurance?

4. Buying cheap travel insurance just because of the price

No one wants to spend a ton of money on travel insurance. But opting for super-cheap coverage from a company you don’t know can cause you big problems down the line.

The most common problems with cheap travel insurance plans:

• Low benefit limits that don’t cover all your losses
• A short list of covered reasons, so they can deny your claim if your situation doesn’t appear on the list
• An extra-long list of exclusions, which are the situations the plan won’t cover
• Not enough protection for medical emergencies. The #1 biggest financial risk when you’re traveling? Experiencing a medical emergency overseas. If your travel insurance plan doesn’t include generous coverage for emergency medical bills, emergency medical transportation, and repatriation (getting you back home), you could be in trouble.

Read more: Is Cheap Travel Insurance Worth It?

5. Spending too much on travel insurance

When you’re buying travel protection, you don’t necessarily need the top-of-the-line plan with the highest benefit limits. It might be way more coverage than you need. Get the plan that fits the trip you’re taking!

• If you’re traveling within the United States and your regular health insurance covers you in all 50 states, you may not need emergency medical benefits. (One exception: If you’re planning activities in remote areas, you may want travel insurance with emergency medical transportation.)
• If you’re going overseas but you’re sticking to urban areas in countries with good medical facilities, you may not need high levels of emergency medical coverage. A good travel insurance choice may be OneTrip Basic, which has up to $10,000 in emergency medical/dental and up to $50,000 in emergency medical transportation.
• If you’re visiting remote parts of less developed countries, you need more insurance. OneTrip Premier includes up to $50,000 in emergency medical benefits and up to $1 million in emergency medical transportation.
• If you don’t have a lot of pre-paid, non-refundable trip costs, then you may not need trip cancellation benefits. Say your mom bought you a plane ticket to Bogotá, where you’re staying at your aunt’s apartment. OneTrip Emergency Medical would fit your needs just fine.
• If you’re taking two or more trips in a year, you may be able to save money (and make your life easier) by purchasing annual travel insurance.

6. Not reading the exclusions in your travel insurance plan

You and your wife plan your dream vacation: a scuba diving trip to Belize. On day two, however, she gets decompression sickness (a serious condition in which nitrogen bubbles form in the blood and tissues) and must be evacuated to a hospital. The medical bills are huge—and your travel insurance company says “Sorry, we don’t cover anything related to scuba diving.”

This is why you always, always have to read the fine print!  If you know you’ll be diving on your trip (or skiing, or running a marathon, or any other activity that could be considered a risk), check to see if it’s excluded or restricted. For example, Allianz Travel Insurance plans can cover losses related to scuba diving, but not if you’re diving at a depth greater than 60 feet or without a dive master.

7. Trusting your credit card travel protection to cover everything

Does your credit card include free travel protection benefits? Sounds like a deal too good to pass up. The coverage offered to credit card holders is usually pretty limited, however.¹ It may cover minor mishaps like lost luggage and trip delays, but won’t help you if you experience a really expensive travel disaster, such as a medical emergency overseas. Especially for international trips, it’s essential to have a good travel insurance plan that can cover the high costs of trip cancellations and medical emergencies.

Read more: Credit Card Travel Insurance vs. Allianz Travel Insurance

8. Forgetting to keep the receipts

When you file a travel insurance claim, you’ll typically need to submit documents as evidence of what happened. These could include travel itineraries, invoices, ticket confirmations, receipts for expenses, and more. If you don’t have these items, it’s going to be a lot harder to file a claim.

To avoid being in this situation, do two things. One, keep all digital records related to your trip. Two, take a quick photo of every receipt immediately after a purchase. If you need to file a claim, you can then upload these images using the Allyz® TravelSmart app. Keep the paper copies as backup.

Read more: 7 Receipts You May Need to File a Travel Insurance Claim

9. Not downloading the Allyz® TravelSmart app

It’s one of the best travel companions you can have on your phone—and it’s free! The Allyz® TravelSmart app helps you get more out of your travel protection plan. See coverage details, file a claim, and contact customer care. Plus, get helpful info for your destination, such as a list of high-quality medical providers nearby and safety and security alerts.

Don’t have travel insurance yet? Now’s the time to protect your next trip. See all your plan options from Allianz Travel Insurance.

Related Articles

• How Does Travel Insurance Cover Your Travel Companion?
• Does Travel Insurance Cover Stolen or Lost Passports?
• Will Travel Insurance Cover a Missed Flight?