10% TID Coupon

Travel Insurance Direct have just emailed offering a 10% discount this Christmas. This is what they said:

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You, your family and friends can Save 10% on the cost of travel insurance with this offer from Travel Insurance Direct.

Just visit www.tid.com.au to get your quote and enter the code below to receive your exclusive 10% discount.

Promotion Code: TIDXMAS

TID offers great cover, great value travel insurance underwritten by Allianz, and has been voted Australia's number 1 online travel insurance by readers of www.productreview.com.au

Already purchased travel insurance? You can still save 10%

Even if you've already purchased travel insurance elsewhere, you can get a full refund within the cooling off period (provided you haven't commenced your journey or made a claim), so you can still take advantage of this fantastic offer. Visit www.tid.com.au and get a quote to find out how much you could save.

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So what are you waiting for! Get a travel insurance quote with TID today and save 10%.

TID Coupon Code

It looks like the last TID Coupon has expired so here is one for 5%:

TIDWIKID

Go to Travel Insurance Direct for a quote and enter the coupon code in the field provided.

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.

TID Promotional Code - Spring

Travel Insurance Direct is one of the biggest online travel insurance providers in Australia and offer great prices. Need more information before making up your mind? Read a Travel Insurance Direct Review

Get 10% off with this coupon code:

TIDSPRING

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.