Annual vs Single Policy

It’s no great revelation that every traveller is unique. Some of us are bound by a shoestring budget, while others can afford the luxury of living it up. Some travellers are inspired by the allure of international shores, others prefer to stay domestic and explore Australia’s huge backyard.

It's also from a planning perspective that peoples' trips can vary dramatically. The spontaneous backpacker will spot a cheap flight and hop on the next plane without a second thought. While for the professional jetsetter, travel plans may be carefully mapped out for years to come.

There are about as many types of travellers as there are holidays to set out on. So it’s lucky that the travel industry recognises that a one-size-fits-all approach to insurance just wouldn’t work.

See, not only can you get a traditional travel insurance policy that covers you for the length of one trip, but you can also select a policy that covers you for an entire year no matter how often you go away. Deciding which policy is best for you is simply a matter of taking a step back and looking at the type of traveller you are.

In essence, annual travel insurance is for people who travel a lot. This might include people who travel for business, have family living overseas, or who simply like to have lots of holidays (and can afford to actually do it). Basically, if you plan on making more than one international trip in a year it’s definitely worth looking into this type of insurance.

Annual travel insurance is generally pretty flexible. You can be travelling for business or pleasure and it doesn’t matter if you’re heading to domestic or international destinations, or both. It can also easily be extended to cover the whole family.

With annual travel insurance, you pay one fee to cover yourself for the whole year. This set-and-forget style of insurance means that you don’t have to organise a new policy every time you plan another holiday. Which takes some of the hassle out of trip preparation. As you’re essentially ‘buying in bulk’ you save money too, especially if you buy online where you’ll avoid the commissions that travel agents charge.

But of course we’re not all lucky enough to travel multiple times per year.

As its name suggests, single trip travel insurance is for people who just have the one holiday on their radar. If you’re planning your trip of a lifetime backpacking Europe, skiing Canada or driving through outback Australia, a single trip policy is probably for you.

Single trip insurance polices are also perfect for that spur of the moment departure as they can be bought right up until a day or so before you leave.

This type of insurance provides a cheaper option for the occasional traveller. Even if you plan on taking two trips in a year, it may offer the most affordable choice. Getting the best deal is simply a matter of pricing each trip you plan on taking with single trip insurance policies, then comparing that to a quote for an annual insurance policy to see which option costs less. It’ll only take you a few minutes to do this online with one of the major online travel insurance providers such as 1Cover.

Both annual and single trip insurance policies will provide you with the same level of cover, including medical, loss of valuables and a whole range of other benefits. So it’s worthwhile looking into both to see what’s going to work out cheapest for the type of traveller you are.