Australian Travel Insurance - Do You Need It?

Australian Travel Insurance - Do You Need It?
When it comes to assessing the need for travel insurance
there are a couple of considerations that are unique to
Australian travel to overseas destinations. Whereas much
of the world can travel between international destinations
with one direct flight, travel from Australia to the rest
of the world can involve as many as 4 separate flights in
each direction.

For example, fly to Sydney to connect with your carrier
airline, Sydney to the airline hub city, from hub city to
major European city and then on to your final destination.

That's eight opportunities for baggage to go astray or
suffer damage. If just one of those flights is delayed (and
it's not the airlines fault) and you miss the next
connection you are faced with some serious costs. While
those are obviously worst case scenarios and seldom happen,
their significance should not be lightly dismissed when
assessing your need for Australian travel insurance.

Any experienced traveler will tell you that travel
insurance is the one thing you should never leave home
without. Sure its tempting to save costs by not taking
insurance but when something unfortunate happens and you
don't have any cover, you realize just how cheap the
insurance actually was.

The first step in deciding what level of insurance cover is
appropriate is to assess the likelihood of risk, be it
physical, financial or both, that will apply to the type of
travel you are undertaking and the places you are visiting.

So when deciding on a sensible level of cover, what are
some of the things to consider?

** Hospitals & Medical Expense

If there is one reason to buy travel insurance, this is the
one. It makes a lot of sense to protect against hospital or
medical bills incurred while traveling outside of
Australia. Costs in private hospitals in most overseas
countries are horrific. In a worst case scenario, a medical
evacuation back to Australia can easily exceed $150,000.

In the case of serious injury you'll want the insurance to
cover the cost of your return home using commercial
airlines or a network of private medical evacuation
aircraft. The cost of a travel insurance policy is a trifle
when compared to draining the family finances to bring a
loved one home.

Things to look for in a this part of a travel insurance
policy:

- Unlimited hospital and medical cover when travelling to
the US, Canada or Japan.

- Cover for an emergency evacuation.

- Provision for a relative to accompany you if you're ill
or injured and travelling alone.

- Cover for emergency dental work.

- Cover for pre-existing medical conditions or pregnancy.

Take the time to read the policy exclusions. The hospital
and medical cover of a policy will stop when you return
home.

** Your Luggage

The most common reason for travel insurance claims is the
loss of, or damage to, luggage and personal effects. The
next time you are in the baggage claim area, look over to
the customer support desk where those with lost luggage are
waiting to lodge their details. The loss of luggage can
result in a significant outlay to replace the lost items.

With suitable travel insurance cover, you can start
replacing the lost items almost immediately while still
traveling.

Always read the policy wording carefully to see what is
covered. Expensive items such as laptop computers and
cameras may have a limit on the amount that can be claimed.

Things to look for in this part of a policy:

- Are there individual item limits?

- Are you covered if your luggage is stolen from your hotel
room?

- Are you covered if your luggage is stolen from the boot
of a locked car?

- Does the policy cover loss of cash?

** Cancellations & Curtailment

Will your policy need to cover financial loss if you have
to cancel or cut short the trip under certain
circumstances. If you break your leg a week before your
trip, or need to return home mid way through a trip to
attend to a sick relative, how much will you be out of
pocket? What do you stand to lose if the trip is all paid
for but suddenly you can't go due to a serious
illness/accident involving a close relative?

Things to look for in this part of the policy:

- Protection against loss of non-refundable deposits and
any costs paid in advance if you cancel before departure
due to illness or injury, compulsory jury duty, unforeseen
retrenchment and natural disaster.

** Personal Liability

Tourists can and do make mistakes and sometimes face
litigation in a foreign country. If your actions when
abroad cause an accident and injure someone, a good policy
can cover your liability and legal expenses. Most policies
will not pay legal expenses if you have a car accident.

** Rental Cars

If you are involved in an accident overseas in a hire car,
there is usually a policy excess (aka deductible) that you
have to pay to the rental car company. Travel insurance can
cover the costs of the excess amount.

** Delays

Flight delays happen, it's a fact of life. If you have a
tight schedule between connections, it's advisable to
protect yourself against the unexpected costs that can
arise due to missed connections. Delays can involve hotel
costs, transfer and shuttle fares, extra meals and can
quickly become very expensive.

Airlines only compensate customers for delays when the
airline is obviously at fault. There are many factors that
can cause delays where the airlines are not at fault and in
these cases, the customer is liable for their own costs.
Conditions and benefits vary considerably between policies
so always read the policy wording carefully if you need
this cover.

** Resumption Of Journey

Travel cover ends the moment you arrive home. Some policies
allow for special circumstances where you were required to
return home because of a sick relative or a death in the
family. Not only will you be able to claim for some of
these costs, but you can also resume your journey.

The conditions and benefits vary considerably between
policies so always read the policy details carefully.

This article would be incomplete if it failed to touch on
one last, important aspect of travel insurance.... the
COST! Insurance bought via your travel agent will usually
include a 40%-50% commission to the agent. It is nearly
always far cheaper to buy your insurance online and save
yourself those huge commissions which can run into hundreds
of dollars for a family group.

So..... the question is not really do you need travel
insurance, but what level of cover do you need?

----------------------------------------------------
Terry is an author of several highly regarded destination
guides. His Australian destination guide can be seen at
http://www.austtravel.com.au