Getting the Most Out of Your Travel Insurance with SmartBenefits

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Travel doesn’t always go as planned. I know first-hand that traveling with a wheelchair can be frustrating, especially with unexpected long layovers, cancelled flights, and lost baggage. A great option to help reduce the frustration and provide some help is travel insurance, specifically with SmartBenefits^SM.

Working with Allianz Travel is great because their plans allow you to be paid with little to no effort if your flight or baggage is delayed. This is useful for everyone, but it is that much more useful for those traveling with a disability, as often our luggage holds important equipment and other items that are needed as soon as the plane lands.

I know navigating and choosing travel insurance can be complicated, so here is a complete guide to SmartBenefits^SM, including what travel insurance is, what SmartBenefits^SMare and how these travel insurance plans can offer useful and helpful travel insurance regarding flight and baggage delays, trip interruptions, and medical emergencies while you’re traveling.

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What is travel insurance?

Travel insurance functions a lot like any other insurance in that you pay a specific premium per year and in return, you are provided a list of benefits to help you get through any mishaps or incidents. Using travel insurance, specifically with SmartBenefits^SM, will help you through any delays, lost luggage, cancellations, or mishaps through your trip.

Travel insurance is a good idea if you travel frequently because many plans will offer compensation due to your inconvenience, like a delayed flight that leads to a missed connection. Understanding how your travel insurance plan works will help you travel with ease, knowing you’re protected and covered to ensure a more enjoyable travel experience.

Understanding SmartBenefits^SM

SmartBenefits^SM is a travel insurance benefit included in some travel insurance plans through the company Allianz Travel. SmartBenefits^SM are unique benefits that are applied to your trip automatically when a qualifying situation occurs, like a lengthy flight delay. These SmartBenefits^SM allow you to enjoy your trip knowing you are being taken care of, as opposed to traveling without benefits and having the delay impact the rest of your trip.

An example of SmartBenefits^SMis a flight delay. You’re at the airport and your flight has been delayed. If the flight is delayed long enough to qualify for a reimbursement, your SmartBenefits^SM will automatically send a payment to your account while you’re traveling. This feature works with several qualifying situations to help offset the impact of your trip. These qualifying situations are outlined in your travel insurance package and Allianz Travel offers several packages with SmartBenefits^SM.

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SmartBenefits^SMinclude:

Proactive Claim Payments for Flight Delays: a flight delay triggers a claim which sends you reimbursement funds while you’re traveling
No-Receipts Claim Payments for Covered Travel Delays: you can receive a fixed reimbursement amount, $100 per insured person per day, instead of submitting forms and receipts
No-Receipts Claims for Covered Baggage Delays: submit proof of a covered baggage delay to receive a payment, typically $100 per insured person per day

These SmartBenefits^SM are great because you don’t have to jump through hoops to begin the process for reimbursement, which makes it easier to travel and gives you less to worry about. These benefits help offset some irritated situations, especially the big three – flight delays, travel delays, and baggage delays. These situations happen frequently and can become a big problem with international travel. Having coverage in these areas can help you feel secure on your travel days and helps you know you’re supported if something happens.

How do these benefits work?

The greatest feature of SmartBenefits^SM are that they are almost automatic. By providing your flight information before you travel with the app, the system will automatically detect flight delays, which can begin processing your claim before you think about submitting your receipt or filing a form. If SmartBenefits^SM doesn’t detect a qualifying situation, you can easily submit your information for a claim quickly without receipts.

The automatic benefits are usually $100 per insured person per day, but if you had to spend more than this covered cost, please submit your proof, as you may qualify for more reimbursement depending on your protection plan. The best and fastest way to process claims is through the app, which makes it even easier for you to manage and monitor, both during travel and after your trip.

For more information on how benefits work and payments are processed consult the Guide to SmartBenefits^SM and Payment for Covered Travel Delays.

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Choosing a travel insurance package

Allianz Travel offers several travel insurance packages depending on how frequently you travel, who you travel with, and which areas of your travel you’d like covered. It can be tricky to pick the perfect plan, but they have a handy guide to help you find what’s best for you. There are five areas to consider when choosing a travel insurance package to help you pick the best coverage for your needs.

Consider the following when choosing a travel insurance package:

Where are you planning to travel? (overseas or within the United States)
Are you traveling with children? (children under age 17)
How many trips are you planning in the next 12 months? (Three or more)
Is traveling with peace of mind important?
Do you want protection against trip cancellations?

Considering these questions will help you find the best travel insurance package for your needs. Two of the best travel insurance packages Allianz Travel offers are the SmartBenefits^SMOneTrip Prime and the SmartBenefits^SMOneTrip Premier, both of which offer coverage in all five of these areas. These packages each have their own thresholds and maximums in terms of coverage, but offer a range of features to assist with your travel.

SmartBenefits^SMOneTrip Prime

OneTrip Prime is the most popular benefit package, with benefits covering trip disruption, trip cancellation, medical emergencies and emergency transportation. This package also has pre-existing medical condition coverage. A unique feature of this package is that children under the age of 17 are automatically covered when traveling with a covered parent or grandparent. This package is designed for trips of up to 180 days, with the added expense for each day over 30 days.

SmartBenefits^SM OneTrip Prime protects the following areas:

Trip cancellation up to $100,000
Trip interruption up to $150,000
Emergency medial up to $25,000
Emergency medical transportation up to $500,000
Baggage loss or damage up to $1,000
Baggage delay $300
Travel delay up to $800 with a daily limit of $200
SmartBenefits^SM$100 per insured person per day
Change fee coverage $500
24 hour hotline assistance and concierge

Optional upgrades include rental car coverage protector and a unique added benefit of Required to Work, meaning if you go on vacation and the trip is disrupted by a work emergency you can get trip cancellation or interruption coverage to cover your lost time. This is an available upgrade, which is very useful for those that are worried about work interfering with their time off.

The SmartBenefits^SM OneTrip Prime offers coverage in a wide variety of situations, which can help you feel protected and covered while you enjoy your trip. This is a great option for those that want to travel frequently, but are unsure of how to handle medical emergencies and added trip expenses. OneTrip Prime covers all the frequent travel issues as well as those unexpected circumstances.

SmartBenefits^SMOneTrip Premier

OneTrip Premier is for that bucket list vacation, that destination you’ve been waiting and saving for, or that big family vacation everyone is finally available to book. This package doubles most of the OneTrip Prime benefits and provides plenty of support for baggage delay or loss, medical needs, and travel delays. Kids under 17 are protected for free when a parent or grandparent is covered, which also makes this package great for families planning a long trip.

Another benefit of this package is that each area of coverage covers more reasons for a trip cancellation or trip interruption, which gives you more opportunity to be reimbursed when your trip doesn’t go as planned. This package is also designed for trips of up to 180 days with an additional charge for days over 30 days.

SmartBenefits^SM OneTrip Premier protects the following areas:

Trip cancellation up to $100,000
Trip interruption up to $150,000
Emergency medial up to $50,000
Emergency medical transportation up to $1,000,000
Baggage loss or damage up to $2,000
Baggage delay $600
Travel delay up to $1,600 with a daily limit of $200
SmartBenefits^SM$100 per insured person per day
Change fee coverage $500
24 hour hotline assistance and concierge

The SmartBenefits^SM OneTrip Premier offers coverage for the whole family and is great for those traveling with children or taking extended trips and would like more coverage. With the design of this package, you get more opportunities for reimbursement if your trip is delayed or interrupted, which is perfect for international travel or trips with many stops.

Practical application

Finally, to get the most out of your travel insurance consider what could go wrong on a trip. I know this feels a bit counterproductive, but by considering where things can go wrong, you can see how SmartBenefits^SM can help support your misfortune and fill in to help make your trip great. Something as simple as lost luggage or a flight delay is supported with these travel insurance packages, giving you some financial support to continue enjoying your trip.

If you’re on the fence about purchasing travel insurance, take a few minutes to think about your last trips and what could have gone wrong or what did go wrong. This will help you see where you could benefit from having travel insurance, especially if you’re booking an international trip where you aren’t visiting friends or family. Having the support of Allianz Travel with your SmartBenefits^SM package will give you someone to contact and work with to help you if your trip gets off course.

Allianz Travel wants you to feel supported and covered throughout your travels and with the SmartBenefits^SM OneTrip Prime and SmartBenefits^SM OneTrip Premier you will have that coverage through every leg of your trip. For more information about how to get started and the packages offered, visit their website.

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*Thanks to Allianz Travel Insurance for sponsoring this post and providing travel coverage for the unexpected. Curb Free with Cory Lee received financial compensation from Allianz Global Assistance (AGA Service Company), but all opinions are our own.

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