Annual multi-trip travel insurance from the UAE

How long can each trip last on an annual plan?

Between 62 and 92 days, depending on the insurer. The limit applies to each trip.

• GIG Gulf: 62 consecutive days. Any trip over 62 days is not insured. The wording and the leaflet both say 62.¹²
• Liva: 62 days for a single trip, and 180 days in total in a policy year.³
• AIG: 90 days.⁴
• Allianz Partners: cover for each trip ends on the 90th day.⁵
• Orient: 92 days.⁶
• Daman Alami: 92 consecutive days.⁷

Sukoon lists Annual Individual and Annual Family plans, and its page states no per-trip limit.⁸ Salama’s booklet shows no annual plan and says its insurance is not renewable.⁹

Orient and AIG describe unlimited trips.¹⁰¹¹ Liva caps your total days away at 180 in a policy period.³ The other wordings state no yearly cap.

What happens if your trip runs past the limit?

It depends on the insurer. With Orient you lose cover for the whole trip unless it agrees otherwise in writing.

• Orient gives no cover for any part of a trip longer than 92 days, unless it agrees otherwise in writing.⁶
• AIG ends cover when you reach the 90-day limit.⁴
• Allianz Partners ends a trip’s cover on the 90th day. It extends cover if your return is delayed for a reason the policy lists.⁵
• Liva’s booklet gives the limits and does not say what happens past them.³

If a trip may run past the limit, ask your insurer before you leave and get any agreement in writing.

Does each trip have to start in the UAE?

With AIG, Liva, Orient and Sukoon, yes. AIG says each trip must begin and end in the UAE.⁴ Liva says each insured trip must start and finish in the UAE.³ Sukoon says the journey must begin and end in the UAE.⁸ Orient’s product page says all travellers must be UAE residents and that travel begins and ends in the UAE.¹⁰ Daman starts a covered trip when you leave your usual country of residence.⁷

Orient’s page also says you must buy the policy before you leave, and you cannot buy it once you have left the UAE.¹⁰

If you are already abroad on the day your annual cover starts, ask the insurer whether that trip is covered.

Is the trip limit the same as your visa limit?

No. The trip limit is a term in your policy. A visa limit is set by the country you visit, and neither changes the other. UAE citizens with valid passports may stay up to 90 days in any 180 in the Schengen area.¹² On a plan with a 62-day limit, a 90-day Schengen trip is longer than the policy allows. See the Schengen visa guide.

What age limits apply?

Each insurer sets its own, and some apply them only at the start of the policy.

More on age rules is in age limits.

When does cancellation cover start for a trip you have booked?

AIG, Orient and Allianz Partners start cancellation cover on the later of the policy start date and the date you booked the trip.⁴⁶⁵

Can you get a refund if you cancel the plan?

Only with some insurers.

• GIG Gulf says the annual plan cannot be cancelled and no refund is made.¹
• AIG lets you cancel after the policy starts and refunds pro rata if no claim was made.⁴
• Daman lets you cancel before the policy starts only if your visa is refused or a doctor certifies you unfit, with a fee of AED 100 for each insured person. During the policy, cancelling the whole policy, or an approved removal of a person under section 5.1, gets a pro-rata refund if no claim was made. Otherwise the premium is not refunded.⁷

Are family limits per person or shared?

Some insurers pay one limit for the whole family. Sukoon’s Annual Family medical limit is USD 60,000, against USD 1,000,000 on Annual Individual, and family limits are shared across the family. Trip cancellation is USD 1,000 on both plans. Sukoon’s page marks family plans as not Schengen compliant.⁸ Orient’s page says Travel Family Plus limits are per family.¹⁰

Ask your insurer whether each limit is per person or per family before you buy a family plan. More is in family travel insurance.

Does your credit card already give you multi-trip cover?

Some UAE cards include it, with their own limits. The Mastercard MENA terms cover trips of up to 180 days for a round trip or 90 days one way.¹³ Mashreq Solitaire says up to 90 days.¹⁴ Emirates NBD describes multi-trip cover and does not state a trip length.¹⁵ This cover comes with the card and is not a policy you buy. See credit card travel cover.

The small print

• Contract terms. These trip limits are terms in each insurer’s policy wording, not government rules.
• Residence. Most of these plans require you to live in the UAE or another GCC country. The header of Orient’s wording says it is for residents of GCC countries travelling from their home country.⁶
• Counting days. In its single-trip section, Allianz Partners counts the departure and return dates as two separate days, except for one-way and same-day return trips.⁵ The other wordings state no rule for counting days.
• Trips inside the UAE. Liva covers a journey within the UAE only with at least 2 nights away in paid accommodation.³