Case Study: Travel Insurance for 1 week in Bali

So I've got a week of leave coming up and I wanted to take a relaxing holiday to Bali, Indonesia. This will be a slightly different holiday than I am used to. I'm usually heading for more adventurous locations and doing the whole backpacker thing but this is a chance to just to have a break and relax in the sun. I've bought some cheap airfares tickets from Jetstar (avoid their travel insurance) and booked my accommodation at Expedia. Got a great deal on a 4 star resort!

 

Now comes the tricky part. Buying travel insurance.

Jetstar offer travel insurance (which was selected by default) but I wanted to shop around so passed on that. There aren't any comparison websites that offer a wide selection of the major brands so I'll need to visit them individually.

 

First, lets work out what I need cover for:

- Medical and hospital is without doubt the most important. There have been many cases of people becoming sick or injured in Bali and it ranks as the most dangerous holiday location for Australians. Ideally I'll look for unlimited medical and repatriation (ie, getting flow home to an Australian hospital).

- Cancellation. I've only got a week for holidays so I don't want to risk it being ruined if the plane or accommodation is cancelled.

- Luggage. I'll be taking my HTC Android Smartphone ($800), iPad ($700) and Laptop ($1200) which I'd like to cover with travel insurance. Plus general cover for all my other baggage.

- Other things? Anything else is really just a bonus. I don't plan on renting a car or riding a scooter or motorcycle. No adventure sports are on the adgenda though I might do some kayaking and snorkeling.

 

Lets look at some travel insurance contenders

My trip details are: 1 week in Bali for a Single aged 30 years old.

Travel Insurance Direct
Cost: $39.00 ($63 with additional item cover)
Medical: Unlimited
Cancellation: Unlimited
Luggage: $12000 with per item limit of $700. Brings the cost to $63 to cover my laptop and phone.
Reviews of Travel Insurance Direct 

Worldcare
Cost: $33.30
Medical: Unlimited
 Cancellation: Unlimited
Luggage: $12000 with per item limit of $3000 for computers, $1000 for phones, and $750 for others.
Reviews of Worldcare Travel Insurance  

InsureandGo (Silver)
Cost: $45.15
Medical: Unlimited
Cancellation: $15,000
Luggage: $6000 with per item limit of $4000.
Reviews of InsureandGo

1Cover
Cost: $45.00
Medical: Unlimited
Cancellation: Unlimited
Luggage: $5000 with per item limit of $3000 for computers, $1000 for phones, and $750 for others. Reviews of 1Cover Travel Insurance  

iTrek Travel Insurance
Cost: $44.94
Medical: Unlimited
Cancellation: Unlimited
Luggage: $5000 with per item limit of $3000 for computers, $1000 for phones, and $750 for others. Reviews of iTrek Travel Insurance

 

Which travel insurance did I pick?

The stand out for me was Worldcare Travel Insurance. It was by far the cheapest and covered everything I could want and more. I was surprised that the item limits were so low on the Travel Insurance Direct policy and it costs a lot more than any other company to cover my laptop, phone, and tablet.

Remember to read the PDS and take your personal circumstances into account when buying travel insurance. This blog post is not financial advice but just my individual story.

New website for Travel Insurance Direct

Travel Insurance Direct have a new website that introduces a new look to the brand and emphasises the TID acronym. It features bold blue colours with the focal point being the online quote function. Policy coverage is not changing although there are small updates from time to time. Pricing may change frequently and is not related to the website update.

Also, Travel Insurance Direct recently  moved to a new underwriter, Loyds, after being with Allianz for a number of years. Their PDS and schedule of benefits are mostly the same but potential customers should read them fully to ensure they will be covered for what they need. Existing customers are covered under the policy in effect at the time of purchase. Travel Insurance Direct can supply the correct PDS and provide further information.

Read more about Travel Insurance Direct, including customer reviews: http://www.travel-insurance-reviews.com/travel-insurance-direct/

Air Australia collapse and Travel Insurance

Air Australia (formerly Strategic Airlines) hadn't been in business as a passenger airline for long before it was placed in administration, although it was a charter and freight airline for over 20 years.
Air Australia positioned itself as a low cost carrier (LCC) and was directly competing with the likes of Jetstar and Tiger Airways. It offered low fares to domestic and international destinations, notably Hawaii, Thailand, and Bali. When they were placed into administration many passengers were stranded overseas or left holding worthless tickets. More information can be found on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Australia
What will Travel Insurance cover?
First place you need to check is the PDS. This spells out the terms and conditions of your travel insurance policy. Then go to the travel insurance company's website and check for any updates (or call them). If there are exceptions in place or your policy doesn't provide coverage you won't get any help from your insurance company.
Otherwise you will be covered for (up to the policy limits):

• Cost of re-booking flights
• Hotel accommodation
• Food and other incidentals

Ensure that you keep all receipts and check with the insurer the quality they will cover. They will generally only match your existing or previous level, eg if you booked economy seats you will only be covered for the cost of economy flights. Accommodation is usually at a 3 star level.
Remember that you will need to pay an excess for claiming. If you have future flights booked it might be best if you do a charge back via your credit card (if you paid with one) as this won't be reduced by an excess.

Need help finding the right travel insurance? Take a look at Allianz Travel Insurance Reviews and Travel Insurance Direct Reviews.

No Travel Insurance in Bali - $45,000+ cost

You may have recently read about the Australian Nurse who, while holidaying in Lombok (Bali), drank a poisoned cocktail. She become very sick and had to be flown back to Australia at a cost of over $45,000. She has terrible injuries and may be permanently affected. This is a terrible incident that also highlights the need for travel insurance.

The travellers took all reasonable precautions and certainly weren't expecting to need medical assistance. They went to a reputable restaurant and ordered a local cocktail. Disaster can strike when you least expect and it is best to always be prepared. Travel Insurance doesn't have to be expensive and many companies offer a budget or medial only travel insurance plan that would have been great in this circumstance for paying the medical bills in Bali and medical evacuation back to Australia.

Make sure you take out travel insurance on your next international holiday. An Australian going to Bali for a week can pay as little as $23.54 for Bronze cover with iTrek Travel Insurance which covers unlimited Medical costs. With iTrek Platinum cover costs $46.01 and also has coverage for luggage, cancellations, theft of document or cash. An alternate travel insurance company is Worldcare Travel Insurance whom offer a Budget plan for $28 and comprehensive travel insurance for $47.


*Note - prices correct at time of publishing for 1 adult under 60 travelling to Bali from Australia for 1 week and is an Australian citizen.

Tiger Airways still grounded in Australia

It was just announced today that Tiger Airways in Australia was grounded until at least 1 August 2011. That will bring the total time to 1 month since they would have flown unless they are grounded further or deregistered.

What does this mean for people who have bought tickets through Tiger?

• If you are flying Internationally you won't be affected unless you need to make domestic connections.
• Tiger is refunding your domestic tickets if they have been canceled. But only up to when they are officially grounded. People have reported that it can take 6 weeks to get a refund but the airline is quoting 2 weeks.
• Tiger won't cover the cancellation or rebooking fees associated with the rest of your holiday.
• Travel Insurance won't cover these costs if you take out insurance after Tiger was grounded.
• If you already have Travel Insurance before the grounding announcement and will incur costs due to cancellation or rebooking, contact your Travel Insurer for advice. They will tell you what kind of documentation you need to submit for a claim.

Travel Insurance and Civil Unrest in Egypt

The recent troubles in Egypt highlight the need for taking out travel insurance. Thankfully it was rare for tourists to actually be injured and require medical attention as the protests were largely non-violent. However, it was still a potentially unsafe area and not a place you would want to go for holidays. Luckily there were several benefits of travel insurance that would help.

Cancellation - If you were yet to go to Egypt your Travel Insurance provider was more than likely happy to pay your cancellation costs so you weren't out of pocket. Alternately they could pay for the costs associated with moving your travel plans to another date. It is cheaper for them to do this than potentially have to spend a lot more if you get hurt over there or the situation gets even worse. If you were already in Egypt and wanted to fly out you could be reimbursed for cancellation charges of accommodation, flights, tours etc that you hadn't used.

Additional Costs - If you were in Egypt and wanted to get out then your travel insurance should pay for any additional costs that arise from this such as flights, accommodation, and transport.

Medical Costs - And of course if you are injured during an event like this you will be covered for your medical and hospital costs.

Always check with your travel insurance company if you are heading into an area that is potentially dangerous like the Egyptian crisis or it may involve volcano's, cyclones, or other natural disasters. You can also review your travel insurance policy to check what you will be covered for.

Travel Insurance - 5 Features To Watch For

Medical Fees - Do you have to pay upfront?

When travelling overseas and need to receive medical treatment at a doctor or hospital your travel insurance doesn't always payout upfront. Quite often you'll need lodge a claim when you get home. Before seeing a doctor, or as soon as possible if its an emergency, call your insurance provider and inform them what is occurring. They'll be able to tell you if they have a recommended medical provide and what you need  to do to claim the costs back.

It is preferable to have the insurance pay for your hospital or doctors costs upfront as this saves you from putting the fees on your credit card or attempting to organise the money from friends or family, especially if its a high cost incident.

Overseas Emergency Assistance - Who to call?

All travel insurance companies have some form procedure for being notified of emergency events and how to handle them. Always look for a policy that offers local telephone numbers to call in a wide range of countries. This will make it easier to contact them if something goes wrong. Reverse charge numbers don't work in all countries so should be avoided if you are going anywhere slightly off the beaten track. Calling back to your own country can end up being hundreds or even thousands of dollars depending which country you are in.

Always ensure you have the emergency assistance contact information with you at all times while travelling and store a separate copy in your luggage and in an online storage or email account.

Excess

A small excess is very useful for comprehensive travel insurance because it allows you to claim on a wider range of items. Many policies offer an excess buyout for a fee (reduces the excess to $0). This is often a very good idea as it means that you are able to claim on anything that you are able to and will get the full amount back. If you are going for a backpacker or medical only travel insurance policy the excess may be of less importance as you will most likely only claim for high cost events where the excess is just a small percentage of the total amount.

Sports and adventure activity coverage

Certain adventurous activities are automatically covered by travel insurance policies, these are usually low risk sports or activities such as bushwalking, snorkelling, and cycling. Higher risk activities like sky diving, bungee jumping, and rock climbing may be covered for an extra premium but some policies do cover these as standard. You should confirm directly with the insurance company if you are doing any of these activities.

Pre-existing conditions

Many of us have certain medical conditions that could potentially cause problems when on holiday. Things like asthma, arthritis, allergies. Sometimes these will be covered by the insurance policy, other times they will not and some with stop you from getting the travel insurance policy. These are listed in the PDS and you should contact the travel insurance company directly if you have any pre-existing medical conditions.

Reviews

Reading customer reviews is very helpful as it provides an overview of the claims and assistance services that you can't get from reading the travel insurance PDS or from the businesses website. Make sure you take not of the ease and speed of claims and whether the company tries to get out of settling claims where ever possible.

New Travel Advisory for New Delhi, India

High risk of terrorism

DFAT have updated their travel advisories for New Delhi, India in the lead up to the Commonwealth Games in October. Remember to check frequently as the situation could change rapidly.

Here are some handy link to Smarttraveller:
http://www.smarttraveller.gov.au/zw-cgi/view/Advice/India
http://www.smartraveller.gov.au/zw-cgi/view/TravelBulletins/Commonwealth_Games,_New_Delhi,_India

As always, you should purchase travel insurance prior to travelling and review your travel insurance policy to make sure you are covered for these type of events.

Thailand updated

Do not travel to Bangkok advisory issued by Australia and other western governments. Due to the rapidly deteriorating situation in Bangkok all traveller are advised not to travel to Bangkok and to reconsider their need to travel to Thailand in general. Suvarnabhumi International Airport (Bangkok Airport) is exempt from the advisory and continues to be relatively safe but the situation could change at any time.

All the latest can be found at Smartraveller.gov.au and you can contact your travel insurance provider to see what level of cover they still provide in Bangkok and broader Thailand.

Updated Travel Advice for Bangkok, Thailand

Due to the increase in civil unrest in Bangkok, DFAT has issued a series of new warning for travellers to Thailand. The current overall threat level is "Reconsider your need to travel".

We advise you to reconsider your need to travel to Thailand due to the deterioration in the security environment caused by widening political unrest and civil disorder occurring in Bangkok and other parts of the country.
http://www.smartraveller.gov.au/zw-cgi/view/Advice/Thailand

The Thai army has declared a number of protest areas as "Live Fire Zones" so they are extremely dangerous and all tourists should stay well away from these areas.

Please consult your travel inusurance company if you are travelling to Thailand in the near future to see what level of protection it will offer you as far as travel or accomodation disruptions, medical treatment or evacuation.

What you need to know about Cheap Travel Insurance

Everyone should know that travel insurance is a must when on holiday or vacation. Medical emergencies can cost up to $100,000 or more if an evacuation is required. Cancelled plane, cruise or tour tickets can also cost a lot of money and often there is nothing you can do it avoid it. Even theft of baggage can be costly now that more people travel with notebooks and mobile phones.

Sometimes you may not want to pay the cost of travel insurance. For long trips it may actually cost more for insurance than it does for plane fare. This is especially true of backpacking holidays through places like South East Asia or Europe. Also backpackers may not have costly tour packages or luggage to be worried about. The standard comprehensive level of holiday insurance is often a waste for these people.

Many holiday insurance companies offer plans designed for the budget conscience and backpackers. These plans tend to cover general medical expenses such as hospital visits, doctor and surgical fees, dentist fees, and medical evacuation. Sometimes these will also offer minimal cover in other areas such as baggage, credit card and document replacement. It is up to you to decide if you want this as it will raise the price.

Some providers in Australia of budget and backpacker travel insurance are: iTrek Travel Insurance, Downunder Insurance, 1Cover Direct Travel Insurance, Insure4Less, and Travel Insurance Direct. Reading travel insurance reviews can help find the best insurance for you.

The excess is another thing to consider. The normal excess is often around $100 but some companies charge a higher excess in order to offer lower price. It is usually best to avoid high excesses as it discourages claiming. However, this tends to not be a problem on backpacker holiday insurance as it usually only covers costly medical expenses where the excess fee is only a fraction of what the bills would be.

Always review the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) before purchasing a travel insurance policy as levels of cover can have different terms and conditions. A PDS is mandatory in Australia and details all the conditions, exclusions and limits of the policy.

Icelandic Volcano and Travel Insurance

Allianz and QBE have said that they will cover all reasonable costs as a results of the Icelandic Volcano: article on SMH

Other insurance companies may provide cover. Check directly with your insurer and find out what they are prepared to cover. Otherwise you may find yourself out of pocket substantial hotel and meal costs.

Remember to keep all receipts, get written proof from the airline that you are affected, and do all you can to minimise the claim.

If you are still looking to take out a travel insurance policy then try Travel Insurance Reviews Australia.

Travel Advice for Thailand

Due to the recent civil disturbances in Bangkok, Thailand the Australia Government has advised traveller exercise a "High Degree of Caution" when travelling to Thailand.

http://www.smarttraveller.gov.au/zw-cgi/view/Advice/Thailand

Many Travel Insurance companies have also issues travel advisories that outlines specific detail about their policies and the situation in Thailand.

We suggest that you check with your insurer to determine what you are covered for when visiting these areas.

Travel Insurance -- Essential Protection for Everyone

The conventional reasons that individuals purchase travel insurance is to cover their luggage against theft or incase the airlines lose it. What people often neglect is the necessity of having a travel insurance policy that extensively covers them for medical emergencies.

The Australian government travel advisory website, Smartraveller.gov.au, provides some examples of costs: hospital stays in South East Asia have exceeded $800 per day; repatriation of remains from Europe can cost $10,000; medical evacuations from the USA can cost up to $300,000 and from nearby Bali has exceeded $60,000.

These figures are painful because if you had to pay them without travel insurance you may end up financially bankrupt. It is not too difficult to find a good insurance policy that will cover you in case of a medical emergency. In Australia it is required for travel insurance companies to supply you with a Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) prior to purchase. A PDS details what the policy covers including what they will pay for certain incidents and any if there are any specified terms and conditions attached. If you have a pre-existing medical condition then you'll need to check to see if you are still eligible for cover.

In Australia all the major travel insurance companies have websites so it is easy to compare their price and cover. Some of the largest companies are: Insure4Less, iTrek, Travel Insurance Direct, World Nomads, 1 Cover, AAMI, Allianz, and Columbus Direct. Just search for them and others using your favorite search engine.

Look for the PDS once you are at their website. It will usually be on the quote and product pages. Open it up and don't be worried at how confusing it can look, scroll down to the Schedule of Benefits, a large take with lots of dollar values in it. Ensure that the sections labeled Medical Expenses and Medical Evacuation or similar are unlimited or in the millions.

Get a quote for have a policy that covers what you need. Narrow your search down to those that offer the lowest premiums for your requirements. Reading online reviews can be very helpful at this stage to make the final decision.

Need help with Australian Travel Insurance? Go read up at Travel Insurance Reviews and check out the Travel Insurance Direct (TID) Review.