Travel insurance for Aussie travellers

[Cruizeee]

Can you suggest a trusted company?

[Aus Traveller]

We use Travel Insurance Direct annual policy.

 

Another option to consider is the "free" travel insurance that comes with some credit cards. We have an ANZ Platinum card: we have to spend $250 of our travel cost on the card to qualify. The excess is $250 whereas insurance that you pay for might have a nil excess. Some other banks require you to spend the whole cost of your trip on the card to qualify. When we had a large claim (and our son had a larger one) they paid without any problem.:)

 

Compare what each company will cover you for, make sure they cover cruise ship passengers and consider if you have pre-existing medical conditions.

Edited January 16, 2016 by Aus Traveller

[Cruizeee]

There's a lot to learn, I just assumed as that as a local cruise my normal health insurance and medicare would be fine, but they don't cover cruising.

[stingau]

When your looking you can get cruise specific policies. We have one for our upcoming cruise that even covers and pays out on a missed port. No more "Ionly went on this cruise to visit xxxxxx island. This way if the itinerary is altered or changed they will pay out this payment can be used to rebook another cruise

[stingau]

They also pay out if your confined to your cabin as a result of illness.

[Cruizeee]

Can i ask who that's with stingau - sounds like a good one

[Bizziecruzer]

I think the best way to judge if an insurance company is any good is unfortunately making a claim. I'll never use travel insurance direct again. However you should not leave home without insurance - if you can't afford insurance you can't afford to travel.

[Cruizeee]

I have never cruised before and it's been 17 years since I've been overseas, I know it's important to have, but just like any insurance, no one wants to claim, so I'm looking for advice from those that have been in the unfortunate situation of having used it but didn't have issues with claims.

[Royalty X]

We use Travel Insurance Direct annual policy.

 

Another option to consider is the "free" travel insurance that comes with some credit cards. We have an ANZ Platinum card: we have to spend $250 of our travel cost on the card to qualify. The excess is $250 whereas insurance that you pay for might have a nil excess. Some other banks require you to spend the whole cost of your trip on the card to qualify. When we had a large claim (and our son had a larger one) they paid without any problem.:)

 

Compare what each company will cover you for, make sure they cover cruise ship passengers and consider if you have pre-existing medical conditions.

 

Please be very careful with credit card insurance. My colleague had clients rely on their credit card policy. They paid for their trip with their platinum card, as stipulated. The husband became very ill from food they had gotten at a street vendor, had to pay thousands of dollars upfront for hospital treatment, plus other costs to change flights, etc. When making the claim after they got home, it was rejected due to them not having purchased the food with their card. How ridiculous is that!? There are a lot of loopholes.

Edited January 16, 2016 by Royalty X

[Aus Traveller]

Please be very careful with credit card insurance. My colleague had clients rely on their credit card policy. They paid for their trip with their platinum card, as stipulated. The husband became very ill from food they had gotten at a street vendor, had to pay thousands of dollars upfront for hospital treatment, plus other costs to change flights, etc. When making the claim after they got home, it was rejected due to them not having purchased the food with their card. How ridiculous is that!? There are a lot of loopholes.

It depends which bank. As I said earlier in this thread, with the ANZ card you only have to spend $250 of the total cost of the trip on the card. With NAB I believe you have to put the total cost of the trip on the card. The clients you refer to obviously didn't do their homework. :)

 

If I had a claim rejected for the reason given, I would have fought the insurance company on the rejected claim. How many street vendors would have the facilities to have you pay by credit card, and even if they did, would you want to use your card in those circumstances?

Edited January 16, 2016 by Aus Traveller

[Royalty X]

It depends which bank. As I said earlier in this thread, with the ANZ card you only have to spend $250 of the total cost of the trip on the card. With NAB I believe you have to put the total cost of the trip on the card. The clients you refer to obviously didn't do their homework. :)

 

If I had a claim rejected for the reason given, I would have fought the insurance company on the rejected claim. How many street vendors would have the facilities to have you pay by credit card, and even if they did, would you want to use your card in those circumstances?

You're right, they didn't do their research. They blindly believed that the insurance was "free" and it bit them. My colleague had discussed insurance with them and they even signed a waiver saying they'd had the conversation and understood that credit card insurance has limitations and they had read the PDS. The reason I brought it up is because many people don't look for loopholes such as this. They later showed us a copy of the PDS and the wording was quite specific (about making purchases on the card to be covered). I can't remember the exact wording, but it's a very good case of caveat emptor. [emoji4] Edited January 16, 2016 by Royalty X

[cruisine21]

You need to double check the latest policy. Travel Insurance companies can change their underwriters. We used 1Cover last year and they were underwritten by Allianz Global Assist. Now they are underwritten by Lloyds.

[stingau]

Can i ask who that's with stingau - sounds like a good one

 

That is thru an online mob called insure and go

 

Make sure you select the cruise option

 

I also have free travel insurance via a veterans group but it is a basic one and outside of medical and repatriation it covers minimum extra such as lost luggage and travel delays which cause you to miss your cruise.

 

Insure and go has three levels of cover which on paper sounds good value but at the end of the day you can only tell a good company when it comes time to claim

[The_Big_M]

 

If I had a claim rejected for the reason given, I would have fought the insurance company on the rejected claim. How many street vendors would have the facilities to have you pay by credit card, and even if they did, would you want to use your card in those circumstances?

 

If that really was the cause of not being covered, it would be up to the customers to not purchase from the vendor and e.g. buy from a restaurant.

 

The policy can cover you for whatever it wants to. Just like if it doesn't cover you for quad bikes and you use them and have an accident you wouldn't be covered. That said, I've not come across a policy with a restriction on how/where food is purchased and it sounds quite odd.

[RosieCanberra]

I have never cruised before and it's been 17 years since I've been overseas, I know it's important to have, but just like any insurance, no one wants to claim, so I'm looking for advice from those that have been in the unfortunate situation of having used it but didn't have issues with claims.

 

G'day Cruizeee

We have had ANZ Platinum card for many years, and have had to claim twice. Both times were hassle free. Note though, years ago there was no excess, and now there is. But it is still a great deal for us.

Cheers

Rosie

[Kinkacruiser]

We use Covermore as it offers cover or pre-existing conditions ( for an extra cost). If you plan to cruise 2 or more times per year, the annual policy is the best way to go. I understand you can now purchase annual policies 3 months before the cruise (it used to be 1 month). This is much better as you can purchase a policy before final payment.

Suresave is another we have used in the past.

[Cruizeee]

Thank you all for your help and advice

[soak01]

We use Travel Insurance Direct at tid.com.au. On a previous trip to Canada I became sick and they were great to deal with. No hassles

[NSWP]

G'day Cruizeee

We have had ANZ Platinum card for many years, and have had to claim twice. Both times were hassle free. Note though, years ago there was no excess, and now there is. But it is still a great deal for us.

Cheers

Rosie

Same here, used ANZ Platinum Credit Card Travel Insurance. QBE is the current underwriter. I recently had a claim with them after a rental car accident in England, they paid the whole excess $660. They pay the excess for m/v claims overseas but not in Australia, there is an excess on the excess, if you know what I mean.

 

The CC insurance also has unlimited amounts for cancellation/medical, does us. But get the policy book from the bank or download it from ANZ. You have to pay the first $250 with the card on your trip for the insurance to be activated.

[wombat50]

we have used Insure and Go for last couple of cruises. they covered my pre-existing medical conditions. and have the cruise only policy.

we made a small claim on each cruise for lost glasses and damage to camera.

no trouble with claims. will use them again for next cruise

[Bodogbodog]

we have used Insure and Go for last couple of cruises. they covered my pre-existing medical conditions. and have the cruise only policy

 

Thanks for posting of your experience with them - I am using them on our next cruise - and I found they were very good for cover on declared pre-existing conditions (almost none of the others would cover me)

Good to hear they were fair when it came time to claim

[Hawka]

Can you suggest a trusted company?

 

do you have medibank private ?? they also do travel insurance check it out , thats who i used

[Hawka]

I think the best way to judge if an insurance company is any good is unfortunately making a claim. I'll never use travel insurance direct again. However you should not leave home without insurance - if you can't afford insurance you can't afford to travel.

thats what i tell all cant believe people will travel with out then wonder why they have a $30,000 bill from falling off a bike in bali etc

[Hawka]

We use Covermore as it offers cover or pre-existing conditions ( for an extra cost). If you plan to cruise 2 or more times per year, the annual policy is the best way to go. I understand you can now purchase annual policies 3 months before the cruise (it used to be 1 month). This is much better as you can purchase a policy before final payment.

Suresave is another we have used in the past.

 

medibank private travel insurance is through these guys i got a sim for my phone with my insurance as well very handy

[lilly4350]

It is a bit like asking "how long is a piece of string?" It depends on what you want. Do you want to be covered for pre-existing conditions? Do you have an elderly relative who could pass away and you would like to cancel/cut short your trip? (some insurers only cover relatives up to 80 years old. This does not suit me as my Dad is 95). I usually check out CanStar.com.au. They rate different companies. Then I pick 3 out of the 5-star ones and read up on their PDS. I know it sounds like a lot of work but it is pointless paying the insurance if it doesn't cover you in the long run. I recently changed because the one I was using dropped from 5 star to 4 star.