Travel Insurance Hints & Tips

The Australian Government advises all Australians to take out travel insurance before going overseas. Every year, the Department of Foreign Affairs has to deal with over 20,000 cases where Aussies get into difficulty overseas. This includes over 700 cases where the traveller was hospitalised, 600 cases of death and 100 cases where an Aussie had to be evacuated for medical reasons.

When booking travel insurance, there are several things you need to think about in order to ensure you get the right cover, and also to make sure you’re getting a good deal.

How to buy travel insurance

The most popular way to obtain travel insurance is by purchasing direct from a travel insurance company, either over the phone, through their web site, or perhaps even via your travel agent.

Buying travel insurance on the cheap

There is an alternative which can often be considerably cheaper.

Many gold credit cards are now offering free travel insurance for you, your spouse and dependent children. Upon closer examination many of these policies appear to offer good coverage, and could be a suitable alternative for some people.

Generally the period of coverage is restricted to up to 4 months of travel per year. And you will be required to pay for flights and possibly other expenses associated with the holiday on the card before you leave, in order to qualify for the free travel insurance. But not all cards have such strict requirements. And the annual fee on these cards is often far less (some less than $90) than what you’d pay for just one month of travel insurance.

Many gold cards also comes with other benefits for travellers such as extended warranty on purchases, lost luggage assistance, legal and medical referrals, commission-free travellers cheques and more.

What to look for in travel insurance

The most important thing to check is exactly what you are covered for. The full details of a travel insurance policy are spelled out in a lengthy document called a Product Disclosure Statement (PDS). Often, these documents will be available as a free download on the web site of the travel insurance company. You should read through the PDS carefully, and not just rely on the information presented on the web site, which is often an abbreviated listing of coverage details, terms and conditions.

When reading the PDS, look for things that you think may be of importance. For example, if you’re travelling to a country that has a history of civil unrest, find out what you’d be covered for if tensions in the country were to escalate. If you’re going skiing or participating in dangerous activities, ensure you have adequate coverage for emergency medical care and evacuation if necessary.

Your Australian health insurance probably won’t cover you for anything while you’re overseas. Take note of the cost of any excess which may apply if you make a claim, and look at the maximum sum insured for the various benefits. It is important that this maximum represents a level at which you are confident you would never exceed. For example, many insurance policies offer unlimited overseas medical expense benefits. This certainly gives you peace of mind while travelling.

Check for hire vehicle cover

Many travellers pay extra to waive any excess in the event that they are involved in an accident in their hire car, or the hire car is subject to theft or malicious damage. What they don’t realise is that this may already be covered by their travel insurance. Check your policy PDS. You may not need to pay for excess waiver on a hire car if your travel insurance already has it covered!

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