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Travel Insurance Guide – How to Keep Yourself Covered While Away

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Planning a trip is exciting. There are several things you need to do, including packing your stuff and picking the sights to see. But one thing that you should not forget is travel insurance. The appropriate level of insurance coverage can save you from all the headaches you could encounter, especially when travelling overseas.

What is Travel Insurance?

Travel insurance protects the insured (you) from unexpected events, whether you are travelling internationally or domestically. Being insured helps you with the costs you may have to pay if you get sick or injured while you are outside the country. If you lose your luggage or it is stolen, you do not have to worry about repurchasing what you lost.

It’s also common for travellers to face inconveniences, such as flight cancellations and delays. Travel insurance can pay for fees that may be associated with the event. Of course, your coverage all depends on your policy and the level of protection your insurance offers. With suitable insurance, you can be covered for different occurrences that can affect your travel plans.

What Does Travel Insurance Cover?

There are various types of insurance policies that can meet your requirements. Having insurance protects you against financial losses that could arise from situations you may have failed to plan for. Some examples are:

Illness or injury
Pre-existing medical conditions (highly depends on the policy)
Lost or stolen luggage
Lost or stolen personal effects like laptops, mobile phones, and others
Cancellation fees on flights and accommodation
Car hire

Your insurance cover can be basic or mid-range, but it can also be comprehensive. The coverage you need will depend on where you plan to travel and what you’re most likely at risk for.

What Type of Travel Insurance Do You Need?

Like other insurance types, there are a variety of travel insurance products that you can choose from, including:

Student Travel Insurance

Without a doubt, travelling is expensive, especially for students. If you are a student, you care about saving up for a trip. Although it is hard, you can achieve your goal. Once you have achieved that goal, you’re ready to pack your suitcase and enjoy your destination. But things can get awry, and all the money you poured into your upcoming adventure can quickly disappear. For example, you get injured. All those savings can go to your hospital bills and perhaps therapy if you need it.

Business Package

Purchase up to six products under one Business Insurance Package.

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AQF Diploma of Insurance Broking

The Diploma of Insurance Broking is deigned to equip individuals with the skills necessary for managing broking teams, handling new business submissions, and providing quality insurance services and advice to clients.

Details Learn More

Tier 2 General Insurance Compliance

This unit focuses on teaching the skills and knowledge required to assess clients’ insurance needs and accurately advise them about retail general insurance products and services.

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If you are over the age of 16 and juggling work and study, we highly suggest that you get insured. Your travel insurance can cover unfortunate events that you may or may not be prepared for.

Group Travel Insurance

Travelling with a group can save you a ton of money if you get travel insurance for everyone. You can even get discounts if you get insured with more people who will be with you throughout the entire trip. Additionally, you can save a lot of time by simply taking out one policy instead of going to the insurer individually.

This particular type of travel insurance offers the same level of cover for all the members of your group. Therefore, it is vital for everyone to read the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS). This document will tell your group about the limitations and exclusions, as well as the inclusions of the insurance policy.

Travel Insurance for Seniors

Insurers in the country often accept old clients, reaching up to 100 years old. The process may differ from one insurer to the next, but it generally assesses eligibility based on pre-existing medical conditions.

The assessment will help the insurer determine whether or not the senior citizen can be insured under a specific insurance product. In the case of travel insurance, they typically check for pre-existing diseases, which may mean extra costs. However, some insurers do not bulk up the price, primarily if they cater to seniors.

When comparing policies, make sure that you check the requirements of the travel insurance product that you would like to buy. Some insurance policies explicitly state that older people, such as those who are 65 years of age with a heart condition and other illnesses, will not be accepted. But it does not mean you cannot buy insurance for seniors. Make sure that you do not fly, especially out of the country, without insurance if you are a senior. Travel with confidence and understanding about what you are covered for.

Once again, check the Product Disclosure Statement to know what you may not be included in the policy.

Family Travel Insurance

Just like with group travel, the family cover protects everyone who will travel with you. It’s a good way to protect your loved ones without paying for the insurance cover separately. Most of the time, family insurance offers higher limits when it comes to the benefits. That’s because there is more than one individual in one policy.

Many insurers will accept up to three children who will travel with two adults without extra costs. That is certainly an excellent deal!

Annual Travel Cover

If you travel a lot, you should take advantage of an annual travel insurance cover. This insurance product is also called multi-trip insurance. It is designed for people who frequently hop on a plane, either for business or leisure.

With an annual cover, you get more value compared to single-trip coverage. It is also easier to arrange a new policy every time you need to go overseas. Several policies today impose a maximum period for each trip. This means you will only be covered based on the pre-agreed duration, which can be anywhere from 20 to 90 days.

In many cases, the agreement stipulates that you will have to return home before the duration lapses; otherwise, you will lose coverage. That is why it is essential to take note of the maximum duration so that you retain cover for the rest of your trip.

An annual cover, however, may not cover your work-related losses. For example, if you often travel for conferences, you will not be covered for stolen or lost goods, such as your documents. In this case, you should take out an add-on that specifically covers business or work-related losses. All the restrictions and limitations will be in the PDS document.

Others

Are you planning to travel in the winter? Perhaps you would like to go snowboarding or skiing. Many insurers do not cover these activities automatically, which is why you need an additional level of cover. Ski insurance may be what you need. In some situations, this cover is available as an add-on option to your existing policy. However, you may require it as an individual policy in some cases. Be sure that you are covered for the winter sport you plan to enjoy before hitting the slopes.

Another insurance type that you may need is cruise insurance. As the name suggests, it is the policy you require if you will go on a cruise trip. It will cover you for a wide range of scenarios, such as cruise (or even flight) delays and cancellations. Some policies offer extra cover for activities, including jet skiing and snorkelling. Just like with ski insurance, you may have to take out cruise cover on top of your existing policy. It can also come as a separate cover if it is not included in your travel policy.

Benefits of Getting Travel Insurance

In an ideal world, you only have to think about where you want to eat, which beaches to go to, and where to sleep. But that’s not reality. Travelling with the assumption that everything will be rainbows and butterflies when you’re on holiday is a huge mistake. You could get injured, have your bags stolen, or have a cancelled flight. Even natural disasters could occur. Depending on your policy, all these mishaps can be covered.

Yes, you have to pay to be insured. But it’s a small investment to gain something priceless, which is peace of mind no matter where you travel.

Here are the benefits of getting travel insurance:

Think of your travel insurance as your all-purpose insurance for emergencies. When overseas, you do not truly know where to turn to if your flight is cancelled. Your camera or laptop could get stolen, which means that you have to buy one again – not a welcome expense. With your insurance, you can quickly pay for a new item and other fees due to your cancellation of the flight.
Insurance can also be used to pay for emergency evacuation if you need to return to your home right away. A critical situation may have come up, which means you need to buy a ticket in a hurry. Booking close to the flight date will not save you money, but insurance can pay for it.
Depending on the level of cover you have, you can also have all or part of the cost of your trip refunded.

Considering that many events are insurable on your trip, it makes sense to travel with insurance in place. Speak to our friendly Grace Insurance staff if you need guidance when buying your insurance for your next trip.

General Advice Warning: This advice is general and does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. You should consider whether the advice is appropriate for you and your personal circumstances. Before you make any decision about whether to acquire a certain product, you should obtain and read the relevant product disclosure statement.

All information above has been provided by the author.

Frans du Plessis, Grace Insurance, ABN 63 133 156 742, AFSL 233750

This article originally appeared on Grace Insurance Blog and has been published here with permission.