2022: Best Travel Insurance For Your Family Vacation

When was the last you went on a vacation with your family? Family vacations have been proven to be good for your mental health as it helps you relax and be happier. Did you know since April 1st this year, Malaysia has transitioned to the endemic phase of Covid-19. All travel restrictions are now lifted and you have the freedom to go on vacations with your family. This is great news for Malaysians especially since the never-ending MCO (Movement Control Order) was in effect throughout the last 2 years. In this article, we will show you a list of travel insurance you can buy before you go on your next family vacation.

Travel insurance is a type of insurance protection. You can buy it to protect you and your family against financial losses such as missing your flight due to delay, losing your luggage at the airport and more. Besides that, travel insurance also compensates you for any medical expenses throughout your travel period. Travel insurance is a one time payment and you buy it only for the duration of your family vacation.

#1

Best Travel Insurance For Family

Buy Now at AXA Malaysia

When you are travelling with family, you need to be prepared for various situations. Here are among some of the reasons why travel insurance is important if you travel with your family.

1. Getting Sick:
   This is the most common risk you have to be prepared for. When travelling, especially abroad you and your family are at risk of falling sick. There are times when you visit countries where the climate and weather is different from your home country. You will be at risk of catching a cold or having fever from the change in temperature. For example, if you are travelling to Australia, you have to be prepared for cold temperatures. The temperature can go low up to -23 degrees when it’s snowing in July and August. If your body is not used to low temperatures, you will fall sick. Getting medical treatment in a different country can be very costly. For example, if you are in visiting Australia the currency exchange rate is 3 times higher than Malaysia. This is why it is important to have a high medical coverage when you buy travel insurance.

2. Cancellation Risk:
   Cancellation is important especially if you travel with your family. When you travel as a family, there are many people involved in a trip that can lead to cancellation of the trip. Especially if you travel with children, there is a higher chance of them or anyone else getting unexpectedly sick and not being able to go on the vacation. Therefore, it is important to choose a travel insurance which offers to pay if you decide to cancel on your family vacation. Without this, you will lose all your money if you decide to cancel on your vacation.

3. Covid Coverage:
   In the times of Covid-19, there is a very high chance that you will be infected with the virus during your vacation. If you fall sick and get any symptoms of Covid-19, you will need to get treatment in a hospital. As mentioned earlier, there may be countried where the currency exchange rate is very high and you will not be able to afford medical treatment. This is why it is important to have a travel insurance plan that has Covid-19 coverage.

Companies that you compare travel insurance for family:

We took a quick look at the prices for a sample trip of 7 nights to Australia for a family of 4 travelers (2 adults, 2 children). The screenshots below show the final prices with ‘stamp duty’ and rebate included.

Here are the results:

When it comes to buying anything, as a Malaysian we always want to know which is the cheapest. We do not want to pay more money if we can get something for a cheaper price. Below is a table showing the prices (lowest to highest) of travel insurance for a 7 day trip to Australia with 2 adults and 2 children.

Note: All plans have Covid-19 coverage included (either as add-on or inclusive)

As you can see, the cheapest is Tokio Marine priced at RM89.50 for a trip to Australia for 7 days with 2 adults and 2 children. The most expensive on the list is AIG priced at RM478. Comparing the cheapest and most expensive, you save RM388.50 when you buy from Tokio Marine. If you buy from AIG, you are paying more than 5 times higher compared to Tokio Marine.

The obvious answer is No. When it comes to insurance, the cheapest insurance is not always the Best Travel Insurance for your family. The better question to ask is “Which Travel Insurance is the BEST for my family?“. If we look at the cover for Medical Expenses and Cancellation Reimbursement, we immediately notice that Tokio Marine only covers Medical Expenses for RM 100,000 per person compared to AXA that includes Medical Expenses of up to RM 900,000 per family. That difference is huge! In addition, AXA also covers Cancellation Reimbursement up to RM60,000 while Tokio Marine does not offer this.

If price is not the right way to find the Best Travel Insurance, how do you find it? It actually depends on you and which selection criteria is important to you. Below, we will show a few selection criteria on how you can find which travel insurance is the BEST for your family.

1. High Medical Coverage
   It is always important to have the highest possible medical coverage. Why? Because falling sick while you are abroad is the most common risk you have to be prepared for, especially if you are travelling with children. Children usually are at higher risk of falling sick compared to adults. When a member in your family is sick, getting medical treatment in can be very costly, especially in a different country. For example, if you are in visiting Australia the currency exchange rate is more than 3 times higher than Malaysia. This is why it is important to have a high medical coverage when you buy travel insurance.
   Selection Criteria: Medical coverage must be RM 300,000 or higher.
2. High Cancellation Reimbursement
   It is extremely important to have a high cancellation reimbursement. When you travel as a family, there are many people involved in a trip that can lead to the cancellation of the trip. There is a higher chance of them or anyone else getting unexpectedly sick and not being able to go on the vacation. Therefore, it is important to choose a travel insurance which offers to pay a high amount if you decide to cancel on your family vacation. Without this, you will lose all your money if you decide to cancel on your vacation.
   Selection Criteria: Cancellation reimbursement must be RM 15,000 or higher.
3. Covid-19 Coverage
   It is mandatory to have Covid-19 coverage if you are travelling with your family, especially since the pandemic is still ongoing in many countries. In the times of Covid-19, there is a very high chance that any of your family members get infected with the virus during the vacation. If anyone falls sick and get any symptoms of Covid-19, you will need to get treatment in a hospital. As mentioned earlier, there may be countries where the currency exchange rate is very high and you will not be able to afford medical treatment if there is no Covid coverage. This is why it is important to have a travel insurance plan that has Covid-19 coverage.
   Selection Criteria: Covid-19 coverage must be included with the plan or available as an add-on.

The table below shows the top 3 companies for family travel insurance in 2022. In choosing the Top 3 Insurance companies, we made sure the plans satisfy our selection criteria:

1. Have a medical coverage of RM300,000 or higher
2. Have a cancellation reimbursement of RM15,000 or higher
3. Have Covid-19 coverage included or available as an add-on.

As you can see, the winner is AXA TravelOnline VIP which offers up to RM900,000 in medical coverage, up to RM60,000 for cancellation reimbursement and an option to have Covid-19 coverage as an add-on.

The second best travel insurance for family is Berjaya Sompo Travel Care Elite B which offers up to RM300,000 in medical coverage, up to RM15,000 for cancellation reimbursement and inclusive of the Covid-19 coverage.

The third best travel insurance for family is Etiqa Tripcare 360 Takaful (Gold) which offers up to RM300,000 in medical coverage, up to RM15,000 for cancellation reimbursement and an option to have Covid-19 coverage as an add-on.

#1

Best Travel Insurance For Family

Buy Now at AXA Malaysia

As you can see from the table above, these are the 4 companies which were DISQUALIFIED from the list of Top 3 Travel Insurance For Family.

The reasons are as below:

• AIG Travel Basic
  • Did not meet minimum price on selection criteria for medical coverage
  • Did not meet minimum price on selection criteria for cancellation reimbursement
• Tune Travel Care Covid Plus
  • Did not meet minimum price on selection criteria for cancellation reimbursement
• Allianz Travel Easy Plan A
  • Did not meet minimum price on selection criteria for medical coverage
  • Did not meet minimum price on selection criteria for cancellation reimbursement
  • No Covid-19 coverage available.
• Tokio Marine Explorer Basic P100
  • Did not meet minimum price on selection criteria for medical coverage
  • No cancellation reimbursement available

If you want the BEST travel insurance for your family, then get AXA TravelOnline VIP. As seen above, this is the best you can get to protect you and your family during a family vacation.