The kids and I driving around Orlando in a 2017 Ford Escape.
Are you headed for road trip disaster?
Disclosure: “This post is sponsored by Allianz Global Assistance (AGA Service Company) and I have received financial compensation.”
Have you ever had a road trip that turned into a disaster? Unfortunately, I have more than once. Many people think of travel insurance as something you only get when you are flying somewhere, but it is important for road trips too.
It seems that no matter how much I prepare, a disaster is always lurking. There was the time I was headed out on a 900 mile road trip home after Christmas and I was rear ended by a police officer. And the time Noah, my son who was 4 at the time, threw up on my head while I was driving when I let him sleep above me in an RV. Both times I was lucky because these were minor incidents. I mean getting puked on is always gross, but not life threatening.
There are many ways to prepare for a road trip, including knowing safety tips for road trips. But sometimes no matter how much you prepare, stuff comes up.
When Disaster Strikes
For example, last year I was about to embark on a 1,000 mile road trip across Texas with my three children in a 2016 Toyota Avalon Hybrid. The plan was to go from Belton to Austin to San Antonio to Odessa, eventually ending up in Dallas.
On day one, my son had a seizure. What should have been a super fun day turned into the worst day of my life. He had no history of seizures and I had never seen a seizure. His siblings and I heard a loud crash from the bathroom at my friend’s house in Belton, Texas, and we knew something was wrong. My friend and I ended up having to break the door to get him.
When we got to him, I thought he was dead. He came out of it and then I thought maybe it was a stroke. We called the paramedics who took him by ambulance to the local children’s hospital. They ran many tests on him, more than I can remember. Four hours later they said it was probably a seizure and we were discharged.
I remember wondering how much all of this would cost, but at that point I didn’t really care. You hear stories of medical bills so bad it puts people into bankruptcy. Months later, I realized all the medical bills had been covered, because we had adequate insurance. I am so thankful for good health insurance.
How Travel Insurance Helps
There were other expenses that popped up, though. Those would have been covered if I also had purchased travel insurance for the trip. For example, I had to pay for extra nights in hotels because of the situation. And I lost money on tickets. I had purchased passes to a river float, but of course you do not take a kid who is having seizures floating the river! And then there were passes I bought in advance to do a wakeboarding thing. Again, you can see the issue.
If I had purchased Allianz travel insurance, I would have been protected. The insurance covers pre-paid, non-refundable expenses, such as flight, hotel, and event tickets. And Allianz provides assistance services when things go wrong. In this instance, I would have gotten back more than $400.
Allianz Annual Travel Insurance Products
Nowadays I make sure all my trips are covered with one product. Allianz has an annual policy that allows you to purchase one time and be covered for an entire year. The company has four different options for annual coverage: Basic, Deluxe, Executive and Premier. The Premier Family plan covers everyone in the same household and starts at $450.
The Annual Premier policy has several levels that increase the amount of trip cancellation and interruption benefits, but each policy offers the following:
- Emergency Medical and Dental
- Emergency Medical Transportation
- Baggage Delay
- Baggage Insurance
- Collision Loss Damage
- Travel Accident
- Travel Delay
- 24-hour Emergency Assistance
- Concierge
To learn even more about Allianz travel insurance join the #TMOM Summer Travel Planning Twitter Party sponsored by Allianz on June 12, 2017. Plus, you could with one of these prizes: (2) $50 Gift Cards and (1) Grand Prize $500 Gift Card! Mark your calendars!
Enter To Win
#TMOMAllianz Twitter Party Giveaway
#TMOMAllianz Twitter Party Giveaway
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