If you ask us, we believe that travel insurance is a travel hack on its own. It can help get you from Point A to Point B, protect your travel investment, and pack you the peace of mind that if something goes awry, you’re never alone.

But can you hack the hack? In other words, are there tips to get travel insurance to work even harder for you?

Yes and yes.

In this article, we detailed travel insurance shortcuts, manifold conveniences, and cost-savings tricks to help you get more out of your Allianz Travel Insurance plan.

The Annual Plan Insurance Hack

When you opt to get a travel insurance plan, there are a number of options to consider, from specific benefits to coverage levels. But before you make decisions around these variables, you should first ask yourself if you’ll be embarking on one trip or multiple trips in the following year. If the answer is multiple trips, choosing an annual travel insurance plan may sometimes save you time and money. Here’s the main reason: the potential cost savings. When you look at the pricing of Allianz Travel Insurance plans — for example, the single-trip OneTrip Basic plan vs. the multi-trip AllTrips Basic plan — you can reach a break even point on the multi-trip plan after just two or three trips. Yes, there are a lot of variables to take into account here, but this hack essentially means that if you’re going on at least two or three trips in a given year, you should at least consider an annual or multi-trip plan for cost-saving purposes.¹

The Concierge Hack

Do you ever wish you were “that traveler” — you know, the savvy jetsetter who’s connected and always one call away from finding the answer to any travel quandary? With Allianz Global Assistance, you can be that traveler. That’s because by purchasing a travel insurance plan with concierge benefits, you can receive help from our team of concierge specialists. Snag a dining reservation, find the best (and closest) spot to exchange dollars for the local currency, and see if there’s a bike tour they can recommend for your multi-generational family. Knowing you’re always a call away from good help can eliminate some of the planning and stress that comes with getting away.²

The Allyz® TravelSmart App Hack

How many apps on your smartphone actually make your life easier — and more specifically, your travel? Here’s the rare app that can make life, travel, and even travel insurance more convenient: the Allyz® TravelSmart app. The app’s primary function is to provide an intuitive means of accessing and reviewing your plan so you can check benefits or limit amounts on the go. A few touchscreen swipes when you’re connecting flights is much faster and easier than finding and poring over your travel insurance plan documents. But this isn’t the only user-friendly feature that Allyz TravelSmart brings to the tray table. You can also check in on a claim, access the 24/7 hotline for travel assistance, monitor your flight status, and access local emergency phone numbers (i.e., police, ambulance and fire) with a click. Best of all, Allyz TravelSmart has something else in common with the savviest travel hacks: it’s free.³

The SmartBenefits Travel Hacks

Some travel hacks require a lot of legwork. Take the travel rewards chasers who spend countless hours researching and organizing the points and miles needed for this first class upgrade or that comped breakfast. It’s nice to get something for free, but it requires discipline and an investment of time.

Then there is the SmartBenefits program, a hack that requires so little of travelers that you can execute it while waiting for a delayed flight’s new departure time from a comfy stool at a terminal café. A service provided by Allianz Global Assistance, SmartBenefits provides travelers enrolled with the program automatic payments for covered travel delays – as outlined in your travel insurance plan.

Behind the scenes there is a truly dynamic process at work: after the traveler submits their flight information, Allianz Global Assistance monitors their flight for any delays. If the travel insurance plan’s minimum for covered travel delay is met, a fixed payment is sent to the traveler’s payment method of choice (if payment method is not selected, a check is sent in the mail).

Without any receipts or flight monitoring, the traveler can still receive a fixed reimbursement if they provide proof of a covered travel or baggage delay. With receipts and proof of a covered travel or baggage delay, the traveler may receive a larger reimbursement after they file all appropriate documents for their claim. If approved, they will receive payment to their method of choice.

Just imagine kicking back in the lounge, catching up on spreadsheets or a good book during your delayed layover, and knowing that you’ll be receiving $100 on your debit card in the next few days. That $35 for a salmon niçoise salad and glass of Sauvignon Blanc doesn’t seem so pricey anymore, does it?

Of course, this is just one possible upshot. Different payment methods and the decision to go “receipt-less” vs. uploading documents can impact payment amounts and turnaround times. But any way you look at it, this is a travel insurance hack that asks very little of the traveler.⁴

It doesn’t matter if you’re a first-time travel insurance purchaser or you never leave your home state without packing your annual travel insurance plan. Either way, you can hack it thanks to these proven tips and tricks to bolster your bottom line, put time on your side and help you sleep even better at night.

Related Articles

• Four Insider Tips for Filing a Travel Insurance Claim
• 7 Receipts You May Need to File a Travel Insurance Claim
• [Infographic] How SmartBenefits℠ Can Speed Up Claim Payments