military travel insurance

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Military travel insurance.

If you or a loved one is a member of the military and planning to travel, it’s important to consider the benefits of military travel insurance. This type of insurance is specifically designed to meet the unique needs of military personnel and their families when traveling.

What is military travel insurance?

Military travel insurance is a type of insurance that provides coverage for military personnel and their families when traveling. This insurance can provide protection from a variety of risks, including trip cancellations, lost or stolen luggage, medical emergencies, and more.

Who can purchase military travel insurance?

Typically, military travel insurance is available to active-duty personnel, reservists, retirees, and their families. Some policies may also be available to veterans and their families. It’s important to check with your insurance provider to see if you are eligible for coverage.

What does military travel insurance cover?

Military travel insurance typically covers a variety of risks, including trip cancellations, lost or stolen luggage, medical emergencies, and more. Some policies may also provide coverage for emergency medical evacuation, hazardous sports and activities, and terrorist attacks. It’s important to read your policy carefully to understand what is and isn’t covered.

Why is military travel insurance important?

When traveling, military personnel and their families may face unique risks that aren’t covered by standard travel insurance policies. Military travel insurance provides coverage for these risks and can help ensure that you and your loved ones are protected in the event of an emergency.

How do I purchase military travel insurance?

There are many insurance providers that offer military travel insurance. You can purchase coverage through your travel agent or directly from the insurance provider. It’s important to compare policies and prices to ensure that you are getting the best coverage for your needs.

What should I look for in a military travel insurance policy?

When shopping for military travel insurance, it’s important to look for a policy that provides coverage for the specific risks that you may face when traveling. You should also look for a policy that offers adequate coverage limits and a high level of customer service.

How much does military travel insurance cost?

The cost of military travel insurance varies depending on the level of coverage you choose, your destination, and other factors. It’s important to compare policies and prices to find the coverage that best meets your needs and budget.

What should I do if I need to make a claim?

If you need to make a claim on your military travel insurance policy, contact your insurance provider as soon as possible. They will provide you with instructions on how to file a claim and what documentation you will need to provide. It’s important to follow these instructions carefully to ensure that your claim is processed quickly and efficiently.

In summary, military travel insurance is an important investment for any military personnel or their families who are planning to travel. It provides coverage for a variety of risks and can help ensure that you and your loved ones are protected in the event of an emergency. When shopping for military travel insurance, be sure to compare policies and prices to find the coverage that best meets your needs and budget.

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Travel Insurance

There are several types of travel insurance coverage available to protect against unforeseen complications that could affect your trip. Coverage options include missed flights, lost baggage, and severe illness or death. It is important to decide what you want to protect, and to what extent, so that you can relax and enjoy your trip, worry-free.

Military & Veterans Discounts

Before purchasing be sure to ask about military, veteran, DOD, or government discounts.

Purchasing Options for Travel Insurance

Insure My Trip: Get quotes and a comparison of travel insurance offerings for top providers in the industry so that you can find the best plan available. Providers include AIG, GeoBlue, Allianz, CSA, Nationwide, Travelex, and more. Book online, read the FAQ’s, or call 800-487-4722.
Squaremouth : Compare travel insurance policies from several major providers and read third-party customer reviews to help research various insurance products. Book online, read the FAQ’s, or call 800-487-4722.

Additional Resources

Allianz Global Assistance offers insurance underwritten by the BCS Insurance Company or the Jefferson Insurance Company with AGA Service Company as the licensed administrator.Get reimbursed up to 100% if you have to cancel plans due to reasons like covered illness, injury, job layoff, or more. Coverage for travel and baggage delay are up to $150 each and come with 24-hour emergency hotline assistance. Pricing depends on your total reservation cost and service fees. Consumers may be responsible for charges incurred from outside vendors for assistance or concierge services. Contact AGA Service Company at 800-284-8300 or [email protected] .
Find out what insurance you already have. Call your credit card company to enquire about existing coverage. Homeowner’s policies may include baggage protection.
Read all terms and conditions regarding travel insurers’ options, compare coverage and rates, and call companies directly to inquire about cancellation policies.
Those affiliated with the military should discuss trip cancellations due to war and what meets the definition of “war” with regards to combat zone deployment, TDY, or leave revocation, as well as terrorism insurance coverage and limitations.
Reservations or itinerary changes made after purchasing insurance may impact coverage or be considered exempt.
Longer trips to multiple destinations have a higher chance of unexpected events that would benefit from some form of insurance coverage.
Those who travel often should compare multi-trip or annual coverage packages to the cost of purchasing policies separately.
For additional information visit the US Travel Insurance Association website.

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Real Travel Insurance Help for Military Families

Because the orders always change, amiright?

There’s a bucket-list vacation you and your spouse want to take. You’ve been squirreling away money. You’ve got an “Amah-zing Vacation” board on Pinterest. You’ve been Googling, and planning and dreaming. Lots and lots of dreaming. Dreaming about that vacation is what’s getting you through allergy season and the end of the school year right now.

Or maybe that’s just me.

But you’re afraid to start buying plane tickets and booking hotels because you don’t want to lose your deposits, or worse — the full payments — if and when your spouse’s orders change and leave gets revoked. And if you don’t purchase soon, that incredible fare or deal you found will be as gone as that pint of Ben & Jerry’s you thought you’d carefully hidden in the back of the freezer.

Good news, fearful travelers! There are two ways to book that dream trip and still be protected, and one of them is probably not what you think.

First things first, the obvious one: Buy travel insurance.

But there’s a catch. Buying travel insurance is great advice — for civilian families. Travel insurance policies cover most of the things that could happen — to civilians — that would prevent them from being able to take dream trips.

“With my military family clients, I make it a point to reiterate that they make sure to read the fine print very carefully. Many travel insurance policies only allow military to cancel their trips if called to duty for a natural disaster, not a combat zone deployment or simple TDY or leave revocation,” Casey Coté told me. She’s a military spouse herself and a travel agent , so she knows exactly where we’re coming from with these fears.

I called a certain travel insurance company to ask about that leave-gets-revoked scenario. (I’m not going to name-check that company here because it turns out their policy is pretty standard and other companies impose the same limitations):

Me: Your policy says it covers military who have to cancel because they are called to war. How do you define “war”?

Representative: We cover it if they have to go to war or if they are called up to respond to a national disaster.

Me: Yes, but how do you define “war”?

Representative: What do you mean? We define it as “war."

Me: But what if my husband got sent to a place that isn’t officially a “war zone." Like, what if he got sent to Syria? We’re not technically at war there. Would that be covered? Or what about a humanitarian mission?

Representative: I have no idea. We would have to review that on a case-by-case basis after it happened.

Me: You mean after we’ve purchased this expensive trip and this expensive travel insurance policy, you would decide later if the insurance policy would actually cover us? That doesn’t really sound like insurance to me.

Representative: I’m sorry, Ma’am. I wish I had a better answer for you. We do cover illness and death in the family.

Me: Okay, so what about non-war orders? What if my husband doesn’t get sent anywhere to fight but something comes up and his orders are changed? Would that be covered?

Representative: Again, I really don’t know. We’d have to have a letter from the commander explaining the situation and then we’d consider it on a case-by-case basis.

Me: Again, that doesn’t really sound like insurance.

Coté says this case-by-case basis thing is really common with travel insurance companies.

“When you start peeling away the layers of jargon on these policies and ask in-depth questions, agents freeze up and have no clue what to tell you,” she said.

Coté also said that many travel insurance policies have a "cancel for work reasons" clause that should cover military duty — emphasis on the “should” — but sometimes doesn’t.

“I've run into some travel insurance companies who give me the runaround when I mention that scenario, because the word ‘military’ seems to change everything,” Coté said.

TravelGuard is the travel insurance company Coté said she most often recommends to both military and non-military clients. She said TravelGuard's “cancel for any reason” clause seems more cut and dry than most, the coverage limitations are clearly defined and the staff in the call center are typically able to answer coverage questions.

Section 2 of TravelGuard’s Gold Plan benefits explanation states that TravelGuard will reimburse the full cost of the trip if, among other things, “the Insured or Traveling Companion is called to active military service or military leave is revoked or reassigned.”

But even with that clearly spelled out, you can never be too careful, Coté said.

“As I recommend to all my clients, if you are unsure of any part of the policy or do not fully understand any of the certificate jargon, call the insurance company before purchasing your policy and sort those questions out, and be as specific as possible when describing your travel and military needs. Only they can shed light on specific terms as they relate to your travel needs. If you need to buy a more comprehensive plan to cover your needs, then do so. It may come at a higher cost, but that cost will likely outweigh the risk of traveling without having all possible travel snafus covered,” she said.

There’s one other option for travel coverage that you may not have thought of: Your credit card.

Useful for more than just running up debt and jimmying the lock when your toddler locks himself in his bedroom, your credit card might — emphasis on the “might” — offer you some travel protection.

I stumbled across this tidbit of information when planning a trip recently and called my credit card company to ask. No dice. Mine offered some travel protection, but not the kind that would cover our military concerns.

So I started digging and discovered Chase’s Sapphire card was mentioned on several travel websites as the best card to have when traveling, for a number of reasons.

There may be other cards that offer the same, similar or even better travel benefits, I’m certainly not saying Chase is the only one. Also, it’s worth noting that I’m specifically talking about the Chase Sapphire card. Other Chase cards do not feature the same travel protection.

Here’s why I like the Chase Sapphire card: The insurance on the Chase Sapphire card specifically covers any change in military orders. And they cover it for both the card holder and a traveling companion, not just an immediate family member. The Chase Sapphire card also covers multiple people in a family — so if the service member has to cancel, the entire family can recoup the costs. It covers cancellations and interruptions for other reasons, too. And, yes, I called Chase, spoke to several representatives, and confirmed all of this, right before I applied for the card.

The representatives did tell me that the amounts can change from cardholder to cardholder and that there’s a cap on the amount it will cover. For the card I got, that cap is $10,000 per person with a maximum of $20,000 for a family — which is more than enough to cover any trips we plan on taking.

In any case, before you buy travel insurance or make any big purchases on a credit card that offers travel protection, take 15 minutes to call to talk to the representatives, and then get them to email you the information they report so that you’ll have it in writing. Hopefully you’ll never need it, but you’ll sure be glad to have it if you do.

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