RICHMOND, Va., Sept. 11, 2012—“I don’t need travel insurance because my husband swears he knows everything. You never have to visit a doctor while traveling. The cruise ship will always wait for you if you are delayed.  Bad things never happen to good people.” These may be great reasons not to buy travel insurance, but can anyone really claim that they’re true? Travelers will weigh in on Wednesday, September 12, 2012, when Allianz Global Assistance USA, the U.S. leader in travel insurance and travel assistance, will ask Orbitz.com® customers for their best reasons not to buy travel insurance. The contest, created in honor of “Travel Insurance Awareness Day”, will offer customers on the Orbitz.com website a chance to win valuable prizes when they submit their best reasons not to buy travel insurance.

“We hope that by asking Orbitz.com customers to tell us why they don’t need travel insurance, it will cause them to consider those times when travel insurance can be invaluable,” said Mike Nelson, CEO of Allianz Global Assistance USA.  “The Best Reason Not to Buy Travel Insurance Contest is our tongue in cheek way of raising  awareness of the importance of purchasing travel insurance. We’re looking forward to having some fun with it while we partner with Orbitz to find the best ‘reasons’ people can come up with.”

Visitors to Orbitz.com need to just click on the Travel Insurance Awareness Day banners to be taken to a special landing page where they can enter The Best Reason Not to Buy Travel Insurance Contest. Lucky winners will receive $200 VISA® gift cards. Full contest rules apply and can be found here.

Perhaps the best perk for consumers on Travel Insurance Awareness Day is the free travel assistance Allianz Global Assistance USA will offer on September 12. The service provides travelers with 24-hour access to travel assistance specialists who are available to help with any medical, legal or other travel-related problem (doesn’t include travel insurance coverage). Free travel assistance will be provided to anyone who calls 800-654-1908 (collect calls accepted at 804-281-5700) on September 12, regardless of whether they are an Allianz Travel Insurance customer.

Travel agents are also invited to participate in Travel Insurance Awareness Day by visiting the Allianz Travel Insurance Facebook page and commenting on a series of informative videos to be entered to win one of ten daily prizes.