Review of Allianz Travel Insurance UK 2019

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Their levels of cover may not be as high as with some other insurers, but their good customer service can only make them more attractive for travellers, especially those on a budget.

Allianz History

Allianz is a European financial services company whose headquarters are located in Munich, Germany. It is the 3rd largest insurance company in the world, after AXA and Berkshire Hathaway, and the 34th largest company in the world, ranked by revenue.

The company was founded in 1890 when it was initially a transport and accident insurer. It now spans 70 countries and has 147,000 employees. It has more than 85 million customers worldwide.

Allianz first came to the UK in 1893, but it was in 1986 when they started making real strides in the UK marketplace when they acquired Cornhill Insurance, which they renamed Allianz Cornhill, finally changing the name to Allianz Insurance in 2000. They now also own many other high street insurance brands such as Petplan UK, Home and Legacy and have stakes in Liverpool Victoria. You can find out more about the fascinating history of Allianz on their company history page.


Allianz Travel Insurance Reviews

Allianz is one of the biggest insurers we have reviewed here on Selectra, and bigger doesn’t always necessarily mean better - especially in the case of large financial companies.

So, how exactly do Allianz fare in comparison to some of their smaller competitors?

beach with sunbed and palm tree

Firstly, the sign-up process with Allianz is easy to use with the different types of cover divided into section so it’s easy to see exactly which kind of protection you need and how much it will cost. Policy documents are also clear, making it obvious which things are included and not included.

Most importantly, it also appears that the claims process is quick and straightforward. Unlike with many other smaller insurers, customers have commented that what they liked about Allianz was that the process was made as simple as possible and that the documents required weren’t excessive. Claims were also settled very quickly, sometimes over the phone.

Of the customers who were ill overseas, we have found that Allianz dealt with the hospitals quickly and with minimum fuss, allowing them to be treated promptly, especially in emergency situations.

Overall, at least for the UK services, the majority of customers seem happy with both the sign-up and claims process with Allianz and although their levels of cover may not be as high as with some other insurers, their low prices can only make them more attractive for travellers.

Area of performance
Star rating
Price
Coverage
Customer service
Simplicity
Ease of making a claim
Overall Selectra score

Don’t just Take our word for it!

Allianz has some pretty mixed reviews. On Trustpilot, which is infamous for being on the negative side, the company has a stunning 97% positive rating with 87% of customers rating it as “excellent.”

The reviews offer a mix of people commenting on the policy buying process but also on their claims experiences, which again seem to be overwhelmingly positive. Only 6% of people rated them badly, the majority claiming that Allianz hadn’t paid out much after flight delays and cancellations.

Likewise on Feefo, another independent review platform they scored a high 4.6 out of five stars with customers claiming that the website is “easy to use” and the prices are “competitive.”

ON DEFAQTO, another go to review site Allianz didn’t fare as well with all of their policies, including their Gold policy, rating surprisingly low for coverage levels. Their Gold policy rated 4 stars, while the Silver and Bronze rated 3 and 1 star respectively.

Real Life Customer Experience with Allianz Travel Insurance

You go to a pizza place and the menu for an Everything Pizza reads, “pepperoni, sausage, onions, peppers, meatballs and bacon.” You order the Everything Pizza and it is brought to your table solely with pepperoni and peppers. You ask the waiter for the additional toppings. The waiter says you didn’t order the additional toppings. You politely tell the waiter you ordered the Everything Pizza and point out all of the toppings listed on the menu. The waiter says, “You should have checked with the chef because, although those toppings are listed on the menu, they’re not necessarily put on the pizza.” You are slightly confused and ask why it’s listed on the menu if it doesn’t come on the pizza. The waiter abrasively responds, repeating his previous comment. Unfortunately, you have already paid for your pizza. The waiter refuses to refund you. The pizza tastes terrible. You learn to never again spend money at this pizza place and to ask all subsequently visited pizza establishments for the exact toppings included on the Everything Pizza prior to purchase. -Bryan, Tripadvisor

Our advice, as always, to avoid situations like Bryan’s is to make sure you read the policy documents fully to ensure you are fully covered. We know that not everyone understands legalese and that’s why we have created a handy guide to understanding travel insurance to make things simpler. Remember, if in doubt it’s better to call and get someone to explain than regret it later!


Allianz Travel insurance policies

  Bronze Silver Gold
Maximum trip length (days) 180 days (single trip) 31 days(Annual policy) 180 days (single trip) 31 days(Annual policy) 180 days (single trip) 31(Annual policy)
Minimum UK Trip Length (nights) 2 nights* 2 nights* 2 nights*

*more than 25 miles from home in pre-booked accommodation

Buying online from Allianz, you will find that they have divided up their policies into sections depending on what kind of holiday you will be going on. You can choose from standard single or annual insurance or go for one of the more specialist options such as business insurance, backpacker insurance, sport, golf, family or wedding cover. That makes it much easier for customers who have specific needs to find exactly what they need quickly.

If you buy directly from Allianz then you will find each of the different sections are divided into three different levels of coverage: Bronze, Silver and Gold, and the main aspects of the policy are clearly marked so you can quickly compare them.

The majority of the plans are reasonably good value for money although you may find that with the Silver and Bronze cover the level of protection offered is lower than with some other providers. They offer discounts for couples or families, and children under 2 can be added to your holiday insurance policy free of charge. Allianz will only cover people under the age of 64 on the start date of their policy.

You can also choose whether you want to be covered straight away or defer your start date up to 31 days in the future if you do not need cancellation cover to commence immediately.

Be very careful with the excesses on Allianz policies. As with many other insurers, they will charge you excesses for each person insured, for each section, for each claim incident. So imagine, a couple that are attacked in the street and have their bags stolen. They will have a total of four excesses deducted. Two of these will be for the two claims under section 5 (possessions), and two of these will be for the two claims under section 2 (medical.) These might add up really quickly and deduct quite a lot from your claim.

Medical emergency and repatriation services

The level of cover available with Allianz is surprisingly low. The Gold policy, which is the most expensive, only covers £10,000,000 in medical emergency and repatriation, on the other end of the scale even the Bronze plan’s coverage is really low just covering 1 million. We would recommend that £2,000,000 is enough in almost any circumstance and so £10 million is actually good for such a low price even though it doesn’t come close to the limits of some other policies.

  Bronze Silver Gold
Medical costs £1,000,000 £,000,000 £10,000,000
Emergency Dental Treatment £350 £350 £350
Hospital Benefit (Total) £200 £500 £1000
Hospital Benefit (Daily) £10 £20 £40
Meal Expenses (Total) - - -
Meal Expenses (Daily) - - -

They also include a separate amount for hospital benefit, which although low, will be enough to cover most expenses. Hospital benefit insurance is an amount available that is per person for each complete 24 hours that you may be required to stay in hospital as an in-patient. The benefit will also be available if you are confined to your accommodation due to compulsory quarantine, or on the orders of a medical practitioner outside your home area as a result of any injury, illness or disease that you may sustain. It’s useful as it can help you pay for additional expenses such as taxi fares and phone calls which you may need to shell out on for yourself or your visitors during your stay in hospital.

Cancellation

Cancellation and curtailment are also lower than with many other policies. You will be protected for only £500 with the bronze policy although this increases to £5000 if you have the Gold policy. Generally, we would expect to see about £3000 for these types of expenses so you might want to consider another insurer if your pre-booked holiday costs are very high.

  Bronze Silver Gold
Cancelling or Cutting short your trip £500 £2,500 £5,000
Prepaid charges - - -
Travel Abandonment £500 £2,500 £5,000

Allianz will cover you if you have to cancel your trip because of a family member’s death or severe illness, court attendance, vehicle damage, being made redundant and various other reasons covered in the policy documents.

However, there are some exceptions under which you won't be covered for:

  • You not having the correct passport or visa;
  • Your carriers’ refusal to allow you to travel for whatever reason;
  • Any restriction caused by the law of any country or people enforcing these laws;
  • Bankruptcy or liquidation of the company providing your transport or accommodation, their agents or any person acting for you;
  • Your vehicle being stolen or breaking down;
  • You not wanting to travel or not enjoying your journey;
  • Riot, civil commotion, strike or lock-out;
  • Your suicide, self-injury or deliberately putting yourself at risk (unless you were trying to save another person’s life) for example swimming while under the influence of alcohol or climbing from one balcony to another;
  • The death of any pet or animal;
  • The withdrawal from service of an aircraft, cross-channel train or sea vessel (temporarily or permanently), on which you are booked to travel, by the carrier or on the recommendation or order of any government, civil aviation authority, port authority, rail authority or other similar authority in any country.

You do also get some cover for abandonment. This is when your delay becomes so great that you are forced to abandon your trip.

Luggage

Much like with the rest of their policy the cover for luggage and personal possessions with Allianz is quite low unless you have the premium cover. Allianz will pay you between £0 and £2000 for your personal belongings and money, depending on the level of cover that you have taken out.

Allianz will deduct an amount for wear and tear which means that you won’t be returned the “as new” value of the items that you have lost. There is a limit for each item, set or pair, and for valuables which you can see below. Also, there are significant exclusions to the policy which means that your mobile phones, tablets and laptops won’t be covered.

  Bronze Silver Gold
Total £0 £1,500 £2,000
Single Item Limit £0 £300 £300
Total Valuables Limit (WBL) £0 £400 £500
Delayed Baggage £0 £150 £200
Important Documents and personal money £0 £150 £500
Cash £0 £250 £250

Travel Insurance and Gadgets - make sure you’re covered!

You also won’t be able to make a claim unless you have the correct documentation - for example, receipts, bank statements and even photographs, for the items when you go to make a claim to prove that you did own them.

Remember that if you leave your items unattended at any time and they are stolen, you will not be able to make a claim. Generally, you will also need a police report to make a claim.

Included Activities

mini ski slope

As with most insurance policies, not all activities are included in your standard cover. A list of activities which are included in your policy can be found in your policy documents on page 8 . The list is not extensive as some other insurers, so it’s definitely worth making sure that any activities that you have planned are included on the list before you buy cover.

Notably, winter sports and golf are two activities for which you will need to buy additional cover.


Prices

As we mentioned before, no travel insurance policy is one size fits all. In order to compare prices we have done a comparison for an annual policy including Europe for a 35 year old woman with no pre existing medical conditions.

As you can see, Allianz's policies are generally quite a bit more expensive then the market average for a similar policy. However, we would encourage all customers to get a quote for themselves before deciding.


Allianz Travel Insurance - Global Assistance

It’s imperative to know that your insurance provider has 24-hour emergency assistance. Allianz has 24-hour assistance which has an extensive network of connections to help you if you have a problem. Customers generally rate this service as excellent, and we have heard of very few cases where customers have been unhappy with the emergency help available while they have been abroad.

If someone is ill, emergency assistance means that there will be someone on the other side of the phone who has medical knowledge, contacts and knowledge of facilities to help you get the right care. The emergency assistance team can also help you arrange your transport to go home if necessary.

The Allianz emergency assistance team is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and have multilingual staff to help you with whatever emergency situation you find yourself in.

This call will cost the same as a call to a UK landline. We would always recommend having this number saved in your phone and written down somewhere in case of emergencies.


Allianz Travel Insurance Pre Existing medical conditions

man with broken arm

Allianz Global Assistance will only accept customers with pre-existing medical conditions for single trip and backpacker policies. Customers with pre-existing medical conditions will not be able to take out an annual policy. In these cases It may be worth trying insurance providers with policies which cover pre-existing conditions such as Boots Travel Insurance or Saga.

Many common conditions such as mild asthma or high blood pressure can be covered with Allianz single trip and backpacker policies, and various conditions are often overlooked but which should be declared.

  • Inflammation of joints
  • Neurological conditions (e.g. stroke or epilepsy)
  • Mental health or psychiatric conditions (e.g. anxiety or depression)
  • Treatment and conditions related to cancer (usually within the last five years)

It’s vitally important that you declare any pre-existing medical conditions as your policy may be invalid if you do need to make a claim for other things down the line and haven’t done so.

However, we would urge you that if you have any questions or doubts about your condition, you should phone and get confirmation over the phone as even a slight error in declaring your condition could make your policy invalid.


Allianz Travel Insurance Making a claim

make a claim document

Making a claim with Allianz is a relatively simple process, and the easiest way of doing so is by using their online claim form. It only takes about 15 minutes to complete the form. You will need your policy number and postcode or county to get access.

To make a claim you must get in contact within 31 days after the incident and must provide the relevant documentation. Make sure that you keep all those receipts and documentation.

For making any type of claim, you will need your policy number to hand. Additionally, when making a claim for theft or loss of property, you will need to contact the police to get either a police report or crime reference number. If your document is in another language, you may need to get it translated. In the case of hospitalisation, it will be useful if you have your hospital documents and the final bill.


How can I make a Complaint About Allianz Travel Insurance?

In the last part of 2017, there were no claims forwarded from Allianz to the financial ombudsman. 47% of all the complaints submitted to Allianz were resolved in less than 3 days.

You can find the contact information for complaints on our Allianz contact page.


How can I cancel my Allianz Travel Insurance Policy?

cancel policy document

Cancelling your policy depends on the type of policy that you have contracted. Allianz has a 14 day cooling off period for annual policies where you can change your mind and cancel the insurance. They will refund the whole sum that you have paid.

After 14 days you won’t get a refund.

For single trip policies, the rules are slightly different. You can cancel your policy right up to the day that your trip starts and Allianz will give you a full refund. You cannot cancel your policy or get a refund after the day that your journey begins.


Data and information correct as of December 2018.

All material on this page and the selectra.co.uk website is for information purposes only and does not constitute any form of financial advice. Selectra.co.uk is not responsible for any consequences that might arise from your use of the information provided.

Other providers are available and the best deal for you will depend on your individual circumstances. Please do your own research and seek professional advice if necessary (moneyadviceservice.org.uk offers free, independent advice on all financial issues).

The services and products mentioned on this website may only represent a small selection of the options available to you. Selectra encourages you to carry out your own research and seek advice if necessary before making any decisions. We may receive commission from selected partner providers on sales of some products and/or services mentioned within this website. Our website is free to use, and the commission we receive does not affect our opinion or the information we provide.