Annual travel insurance is a single plan that covers you for multiple trips over a 12-month period. Commonly referred to as multi-trip insurance, these plans are ideal for frequent travelers looking for travel medical coverage and other popular travel insurance benefits.
While annual travel insurance policies are designed to cover multiple trips throughout the course of a year, single trip plans only cover one trip with defined departure and return home dates.
Single trip policies are more comprehensive, offering the option to cover 100% of your trip expenses through Trip Cancellation, but the costs can add up. Aside from cancellation benefits, when you compare multi-trip travel insurance plans to single trip plans, they include many of the same benefits for the most common traveler concerns, including medical emergencies, travel delays, and luggage.
Managing a single policy is more convenient than managing several single-trip policies.
Frequent travelers often find annual travel insurance is cheaper than buying several single-trip policies.
Annual travel insurance includes coverage for important travel scenarios: emergency medical treatment, medical evacuation, & travel delays.
Annual travel insurance is geared toward medical coverage and rarely includes coverage for trip cancellations or trip interruptions.
Annual-mult-trip plans typically have a maximum trip-length and are not intended to cover extended trips.
Some annual plans can exclude coverage for certain geographic locations, such as domestic travel.
When comparing annual travel insurance quotes, selecting the best policy for your upcoming year of travel will vary based on your travel plans and the amount of coverage you need. Consider one of the options below. These companies provide the best coverage on the market, and will have you covered for the next year.
Most Comprehensive Annual Travel Insurance: Trawick International - Safe Travels Annual Executive
Best Annual Medical Travel Insurance Coverage: GeoBlue - Trekker Choice excl US
Most Affordable Annual Travel Insurance: Trawick International - Safe Travels Annual Basic
Best Annual Plan for International Travel: GeoBlue - Trekker Essential excl US
In 2025, the average cost of an annual travel insurance policy is $308, based on Squaremouth sales data from the past 12 months. With coverage that lasts for exactly one-year, this means an annual plan costs less than $1 per day.
Annual travel insurance is typically cheaper than single-trip insurance if you take at least 4 trips per year.
Single-trip medical insurance policies cost an average of $83 per trip, which can quickly add up if you are a frequent traveler. The average cost of annual travel insurance is roughly $300. For travelers who take 4+ trips each year, a multi-trip plan can be considerably cheaper than buying multiple policies for each trip.
That said, it’s important to note that annual multi-trip plans often exclude comprehensive coverage for trip cancellations and interruptions. This is one reason they are cheaper than other types of travel insurance.
To see how much annual travel insurance will cost you, try our instant quote tool.
Annual travel insurance is ideal for frequent travelers such as digital nomads, business travelers, study abroad students, retirees, and families.
Leisure or business travelers and frequent fliers taking multiple short trips over the course of one year
Frequent international travelers, digital nomads, or study abroad students who need medical coverage while overseas
Families that travel regularly and need medical travel insurance during their trips
Travelers not concerned with Trip Cancellation or Trip Interruption coverage
People who travel only once or twice a year
Travelers going on extended trips that exceed 90 days
Those who have travel medical insurance through another source, such as a credit card
Annual policies are worth it for travelers who want basic trip protection for multiple trips across a 12-month period. These plans are a good idea for frequent travelers looking for a cost-effective alternative to buying a single trip policy each time they travel. If you’re traveling more than twice over the next year, this type of coverage may be worth the investment.
Annual plans are primarily built to provide basic medical protection. So if you want cancellation coverage or plan to participate in adventure sports, an annual policy may not be best-suited for you.
Only a select few annual plans cover cancellations, including Trawick’s Basic, Deluxe, and Executive plans. However, this is not the primary purpose, and cancellation coverage is limited to a fixed dollar amount per year, up to $10,000.
Yes, annual travel insurance can cover cruises you take throughout the year you are covered.
It depends on the policy. Some plans automatically include Pre-Existing Condition coverage, while others exclude them outright.
Yes you can. Annual plans can insure a maximum of 10 people within one policy, and all travelers are not required to travel together on every trip.
90 days is typically the longest trip that can be covered by an annual plan. However, this can vary by policy and provider.
Some providers have a maximum number of trips that can be covered throughout the year, so you will be asked to give an estimated number of trips you plan to take. However, you do not need to enter your destinations. Most multi-trip plans provide annual worldwide travel insurance coverage, meaning they can cover you across multiple destinations on each trip.
To renew your policy, contact your travel insurance company before your existing coverage expires. Typically, plans that offer renewals can be extended for 12-24 months.