The case for annual travel insurance - is it worth it?

One of the hottest destinations around this time of year - as Australians look to escape the increasingly chilly winter weather - are the sun-soaked shores of Europe.

And just in case the jamming of your Instagram feed with pic after pic of Positano isn’t quite enough evidence of how popular Europe is among Australian travellers, Tourism Australia released figures that reveal almost 1.5 million of us left for a European destination last year.

But it’s not just Europe we love. In a few months, our most idyllic destination might be somewhere closer to home, like the Pacific Islands and then once the new year ticks over, the statistics show that a host of us make the short trip across the ditch to survey New Zealand’s best mountains over autumn.

And what if you want to tick all of these destinations off your travel bucket list in under 12 months? We know what you’re thinking - that’s a fair few travel insurance policies. Okay maybe you weren’t, but when that question does arise, an answer worth exploring is an annual travel insurance policy that will cover you for 12 months at a time.

While the obvious benefit of an annual policy is that you don’t have to continually do the work to read up and research the perfect policy for your individual trips, you also want the higher upfront cost to make financial sense.

Which is cheaper?

So, single-trip versus annual travel insurance policies - which are cheaper?

If, like we’ve described, you’ve got a bunch of travel destinations you plan on visiting it is definitely worth comparing how one annual policy stacks up against multiple single-trip policies and the best news is you can do this using Mozo’s travel insurance comparison tool.

SCENARIO

Tom is an avid, 25-year old traveller leaving for Europe in a few weeks, the Pacific Islands in a few months and New Zealand early next year. Using our travel insurance calculator, Tom finds out he could snag an annual insurance policy that covers him for ocean cruising as well as snow sports for as little as $345.

Tom then toggles onto the single-trip calculator to crunch some numbers. He finds that he can expect to pay between $135 and $675 for a couple of months in Europe, alone and will have to stump up anywhere between $97 and $342 for a two-month stay in the Pacific, plus another $97 to $574 for a few months exploring NZ.

This comes out to a minimum cost of $329, and a staggering maximum of $1,591.

Weighing up your options

While Tom might save a few bucks by opting to take out three single-trip policies, it’s important to properly weigh up your options and shop around, not only for the best possible price, but also for the level of cover that you need whether that be on a multi-trip or single-trip policy.

This was a sentiment echoed by Mozo Director, Kirsty Lamont last year during Mozo’s annual travel insurance mystery shop that uncovered huge price discrepancies.

“Our analysis shows that big savings are on offer for travellers heading overseas this holiday season who are willing to do some research beforehand and compare travel insurance quotes online,” she said.

“But holidaymakers should do due diligence before taking out an insurance policy. Make sure that the coverage levels and policy features that are on offer best match your individual needs.”

To find out a helluva lot more about annual travel insurance policy check out our guide to multi-trip insurance, including the benefits and potential drawbacks and be sure to check out our travel insurance comparison tool to get an idea of what the price difference could look like depending on which you opt for.