Written by Ashley Sue
Have you booked your flight and wonder if it’s absolutely necessary to buy travel insurance?
Well, we’re here to help! Of course, most of your travels will go as planned without a glitch, but we all know that even a well-planned trip can be ruined by unexpected things. Moreover, as if it isn’t bad enough that your plans are ruined, you’ll also end up paying a lot for the misfortunes. So, to avoid paying way too much for things you cannot control. Let’s compare the top 5 travel insurance and we’ll leave it up to you to choose what’s best for your travelling needs!
Firstly, we’ve got to look at what is being offered out there:
Allianz Travel Insurance
AmGeneral Travel Insurance
AXA Affin Travel Insurance
Berjaya Sompo Travel Insurance
Chubb Travel Insurance
Tune Protect Travel Insurance
Zurich Travel Insurance
So, how much should it usually cost? Well, many would think that travel insurance is expensive and is only needed to be purchased when we’re travelling far. But the truth is the price for travel insurance isn’t as expensive as we often think it would. Plus, it also depends on factors such as the coverage amount, duration and destination. There are also options for individuals and families. Malaysia has myriad of travel insurance policies that cater to different types of travellers and thus there is a huge range for the premiums. It ranges from as low as RM18.00 (Allianz Travel Care) for individual travel insurance and higher for family travel insurance, from RM80.00 (Zurich TravelPAC Gold).
Getting travel insurance is like having a safety net to make sure that you’re covered financially if something goes wrong. If it does, you’ll receive compensation to help you with things such as new flight tickets and even medical care overseas. Additionally, it also offers substantial benefits that will outweigh the premiums you pay. For more on the benefits that travel insurance gives, here’s a helpful article for you! Surprising Travel Insurance Benefits You Might Not Know About
So, what do you pick and where do you begin, you ask? Here’s a helpful list:
So now let’s look at the top travel insurance providers in Malaysian and what they offer:
Allianz Travel Insurance
The Allianz Travel Insurance specialises in cases of a personal accident. They offer a simple yet holistic plan for travellers and keep them protected from minor mishaps like baggage or flight delays to major ones like accidental death or permanent disablement due to accident. Additionally, they also offer coverage of high-risk sports and unique reimbursement schemes when it comes to luggage delays where travellers can be compensated based on the reasonable essential items such as toiletries and clothing. A basic plan covers the following:
⦁ Accidental Death & Permanent Disablement Due to Accident
⦁ Medical Expenses
⦁ Emergency Medical Evacuation and Repatriation
⦁ Reimbursement of Deposit or Trip Cancellation
⦁ Loss or Damage to Personal Luggage or Personal Effects
⦁ Loss or Damage to Travel Documents
⦁ Luggage & Travel Delays
2. AmGeneral Travel Insurance
Kurnia offers a wide range of travel insurance policies that are ideal for family vacations and at an affordable rate! You can insure your family with plans like Kurnia Travel Supreme Plan A or Plan B [what is A and B?]. It’ll also you keep you protected against common travelling related accidents and emergencies such as accidental death and permanent disablement, flight delays, missed flights, loss of travel deposits, baggage delays and more. Kurnia also offers coverage for elderly travellers of up to 80 years old. So now you can bring your favourite grandparent to the vacation of their dreams!
3. AIG Travel Insurance
AIG Travel Insurance have custom-made options for everyone, thus there are 4 main plans to choose from Deluxe, Standard, Basic, and Domestic. All four plans contain medical benefits, personal accident benefits, and 24/7 Worldwide Travel Assistance.
One plus point of AIG travel insurance is the ability to customise your plan for your duration up to a full year. You can do this when choosing the insurance plan online.
4. AXA Affin Travel Insurance
This insurer has always been associated with travel insurance. They’re well known for their AXA Affin SmartTravel insurance plan as the policies are designed to deliver an all-round great travel protection. Their coverage includes travel delay, emergency medical expenses, baggage delay, trip cancellation, unlimited emergency medical transportation, car rental excess cover-up and more. Benefits of AXA SmartTravel plan include the following:
⦁ Travel Delay (6 hours or more)
⦁ Emergency Medical Expenses (up to RM300,000)
⦁ Baggage Damage or Delay (up to RM800)
⦁ Trip Cancellation (up to RM20,000)
⦁ Unlimited Emergency Medical Transportation
⦁ Rental Car Excess Cover (up to RM1,000)
This plan is also a whole lot cheaper than AIG’s. For example, a SmartTraveller VIP plan that compares to AIG’s Standard plan is just RM39 whereas the AIG plan costs RM45. That’s a big difference and with even more benefits! [the difference is only RM6 not sure if that’s a great difference]
5. Berjaya Sompo Travel Insurance
This provider is known to be a cheaper option, offering policies for travellers on a budget. Their Travel Plus Basic is as low as RM18 and covers the essentials such as accidental death or permanent total disablement, medical expenses, child care benefit, and emergency medical evacuations. [maybe you want to talk about – if someone is looking for a cheaper alternative, Berjaya sompo is known for x,y,z and it’s perfect for a,b,c]
6. Chubb Travel Insurance
This travel company specialises in providing you with a simple solution to your travel coverage. They also provide 3 types of travel plans for you to choose from: Chubb First, Chubb Executive, and Chubb Premium. They’re a little more expensive but proves to be of value with benefits such as:
⦁ Follow-up Medical Expenses (after your trip)
⦁ Alternative Treatment
⦁ Child Guard (coverage for your child dependent)
⦁ Claim for Golf Hole-In-One (Rm1,000)
⦁ Home Inconvenience Allowance
⦁ Pet Care
7. Tune Protect Travel Insurance
Tune Protect is designed specifically to suit the needs of all travellers. They offer all-inclusive travel insurance with their Travel Easy Plan which is equipped with major benefits such as medical emergencies, loss of personal belongings, travel inconvenience and 24/7 Worldwide Travel Assistance. There are also some newer additions today such as alternative medicine, mortal remains repatriation, home care benefit, child care benefit and more.
8. Zurich Travel Insurance
This provider offers a comprehensive plan for business travellers, ensuring all liabilities will be covered at home and also overseas! Their Travel Safe plan is also Shariah-compliant and provides travel coverage for overseas trips.
9. Etiqa Travel 360
Its speciality lies in the Trip 360 and Trip 360 Takaful plans. Both similar in terms of coverage amount (except Takaful), you get thorough insurance protection when on the move. It covers the most essential unforeseen circumstances such as baggage delay, medical expenses, loss of valuables, loss of travel documents, and death & permanent disability.
However, it also gives you real-time compensation. Moreover, it also offers RM100 for a 2-hour flight delay even without submitting a claim. Travel 360 is also has a cashless plan for medical care when travelling. You can also add on adventurous activities to the list and the topping on the cake? They also offer an additional 25% rebate when you apply online.
Wondering how to apply? Here are a few ways:
1. Online: Just search and compare what’s best for you. When you’ve chosen, just go to the provider’s site and enter your particulars to get a quote.
2. In-person: Head to any branch of the travel insurance company of your choice and get them in person
3. From a licensed insurance agent: This can be a more expensive choice but it’s also more customisable and offers more support than buying directly from their website.
4. Air miles credit cards: Many people don’t know that certain credit cards also offer basic travel protection. While they’re not very comprehensive, cards such as Ambank Visa Signature can offer up to RM1 million in insurance coverage.
Ultimately, there is no one-best-plan that works for everyone. It depends on what you want and how much you’re willing to pay. Whatever your choice is, you can’t go wrong with any of these options. So pack your bags, book your flight, and get your travel insurance!
Also do not forget to book your travel Wifi with Roaming Man.
