Best Annual Multi-Trip Travel Insurance in the new COVID World?

[tgh]

My one rat study firmly indicates that Hba1c is a very poor indicator of diabetes control.
Post prandial hyperglycaemia is the villain but is largely ignored to the detriment of many diabetics.. IMnsHO..of course...

 

[JohnK]

I purchased SCTI policy for myself and daughter last night. Wife is Thai and has full insurance in Thailand so no need for separate travel insurance.

I declared type 2 diabetes plus cholesterol but decided to leave $100 excess and premium was ~$475 less 12% cashback from CashRewards so happy with result.

 

[eastwest101]

So bit of a noob question, I was shopping around for a domestic multi trip annual policy, mostly flying around domestically within Australia. Here is an example I plucked from the Cover-More (underwriter Allianz).

For me its lots of flying around with the only real benefit I want is an airline cancellation/rescheduling event that misconnects me and leaves me stranded overnight in a random Australian town somewhere and costs of rebooking flights if necessary.

Here is an extract of the PDS:




So basically - this policy is junk right? If an airline cancels/reschedules you into a misconnection situation nothing is covered right?

Examples being A-B on Airline X then B-C flying airline Y in the situation when Airline X reschedules to arrive missing flights of airline Y.

I do a lot of flights where you can't ticket on one PNR/itenarary eg: Qatas to Rex, or Virgin to Rex or vice versa.

 

[RooFlyer]

COTA insurance was great after a bit of hiccup at first

So I'm looking at multis now - I have 5 O/S trips planned in the next 10 months. Turns out COTA is the same as NIB that I usually look at!

 

[VPS]

So I'm looking at multis now - I have 5 O/S trips planned in the next 10 months. Turns out COTA is the same as NIB that I usually look at!

yes but for some reason COTA insurance was cheaper than NIB - go figure

 

[ellen10]

Trying to sort out our travel insurance policy for next year to Europe. This will be a single policy (I know this thread says annual, but there has been lots of good information for both). We have paid a substantial amount up front so I need a good cancelation amount included.

If you read the product reviews you would be worried to take out any policy. My TA does Covermore (really bad reviews and NIB ( which is the same as COTA?)

I have used SCTI before, although I didn't have to claim, ( I think @drron recommended it?). Also TID and InsureandGo.
I have only ever had to claim once in all our travels, that was with InsureandGo, eventually got my claim paid but lots of back and forward and fortunately we had transcripts from agents.

We are not so young anymore so I am more cautious.

 

[RooFlyer]

Have just taken out a NIB annual multi-trip, non USA & Nepal, through my TA, who also quoted Covermore.

Covermore pay-outs are a bit higher and I was tempted, but the premium cost (incl cruises) is almost double the NIB premium. I used to always take Covermore, but went NIB last time after a careful comparison; NIB a little more generous with existing medical conditions and automatically covers cruises (which I think is odd), while with Covermore you select it as an option

yes but for some reason COTA insurance was cheaper than NIB - go figure

For me, the difference was quite small.

 

[ellen10]

Thanks for your reply @RooFlyer. The travel agent has given me a good discount. So I have decided to go with Covermore, which is cheaper than NIB, but not cheaper than SCTI. She is a local travel agent and said that she has used Covermore for the last 20 years with no problems for clients claiming.

She also said that if there are problems whilst overseas and with claims she would attend to all the paperwork and details.
Certainly premiums have increased since our last big overseas trip in late 2019.
And I am more wary as I have a friend who was on a cruise in south America, had to get off the ship in Mexico, has had an operation and still can't fly home yet. Navigating all the travel insurance details is quite the nightmare.

So I am purchasing it through the TA.

 

[whole-lotta-moxie]

I know this is going to sound very morbid but ...... does anyone know if there are any policies that would cover you if you needed to get home in a hurry if something happens to a close relative?

I have looked at various policies and your relative can not be older than 85.
These are the PDS that i looked at:
Southern Cross
Go Insurance
Allianz
Covermore - void if they have been in hospital in the last 12 mths

Any ideas?

 

[VPS]

I know this is going to sound very morbid but ...... does anyone know if there are any policies that would cover you if you needed to get home in a hurry if something happens to a close relative?

I have looked at various policies and your relative can not be older than 85.
These are the PDS that i looked at:
Southern Cross
Go Insurance
Allianz
Covermore - void if they have been in hospital in the last 12 mths

Any ideas?

To be honest I think you'll struggle to find anyone that covers a relative over 85 but good luck if you do and please share

 

[whole-lotta-moxie]

To be honest I think you'll struggle to find anyone that covers a relative over 85 but good luck if you do and please share

I defiantly will.

I just made an assumption that if i needed to get home in a hurry and I buy top travel insurance this would be covered and i was surprised that it isn't. I think lots of people might make that assumption too

 

[Cynicor]

The probability becomes too high to be worth insuring, sadly. you’ll need to look pretty hard for something over 85

 

[whole-lotta-moxie]

Can anyone please explain this to me?

So i have been doing a deep dive on what is the best insurance for points flights and there seems to be a lot of tricky wording out there. So i have found a couple that have this wording and found an example but I am still confused.

So in this example if i use a biz class flight from Mel to BKK using qantas point
To travel in Nov in Biz = $4,700
Qantas points lost = 68,400
Fees (I think) = $500
How do i work this out?

$4,700 x (68,400/?) - $500 = ?????


NB - some policies don't seem to cover for the same class of travel and will only cap the amount back at $2,500 pp

 

[Lynda2475]

Prior to departure most flights booked on points are refundable if you cant fly less a small cancellation fee. If the airline refunds your points no need to make a claim.

So for TI when travelling on points flight, Id want assurance that if I am injured and cant return home on the originally booked J flight, that the insurer will fly me home on a replacement flight in the same class my original ticket was in. If that happens who cares about points refund, just get me how in the same comfort level.

 

[whole-lotta-moxie]

Prior to departure most flights booked on points are refundable if you cant fly less a small cancellation fee. If the airline refunds your points no need to make a claim.

So for TI when travelling on points flight, Id want assurance that if I am injured and cant return home on the originally booked J flight, that the insurer will fly me home on a replacement flight in the same class my original ticket was in. If that happens who cares about points refund, just get me how in the same comfort level.

I agree 100% I guess i am just going down a rabbit hole with this

Happy to get a refund if the trip hasn't started so no need to do a claim

BUT.... will they get me home on a J booking if my travel has started? I just want to get home and some of the wording kind of looks like that you are on your own and they will just refund the points and you have to find your own way home

 

[Cynicor]

Yeah, that’s how those provisions work. If you lose all the points you’ll get a full J or F fare back in cancellation costs.
Works well for some though the Oneworld award makes the calculation confusing at times.

 

[whole-lotta-moxie]

So for TI when travelling on points flight, Id want assurance that if I am injured and cant return home on the originally booked J flight, that the insurer will fly me home on a replacement flight in the same class my original ticket was in. If that happens who cares about points refund, just get me how in the same comfort level.

So, what companies will give you assurance that they will get you home and on a J or F flight? Or any flight home?

I continue to look into this and it is murky.

I called Allianz and they said they would refund my points but not get me home. They would not be responsible to get me home even if i pay extra for the cancellation supplement because I have been given refunded points. I don't want a points refund i just want to get home. So, the problem still exists, I am sitting in an airport with a cancelled flight and now i have to pay full price for tix (this is all hypothetical, the rabbit hole continues)

What insurance company will get me home for the equivalent flight?

Given that most of us here use frequent flyer points I would assume that this is a key point for all of us.

 

[Cynicor]

What clause are we assuming you are using?
Medical? Death of someone at home etc?

 

[whole-lotta-moxie]

What clause are we assuming you are using?
Medical? Death of someone at home etc?

The death of someone at home is only if they are under the age of 85 or have not been in hospital in the last 12 months, varies from company to company. Yes, for this scenario

Could be medical. Or any other scenario.

Given how many flights are being cancelled esp by Qantas these days, I wondering what happens if Qantas or any airline then cancel my frequent flyer seats on my flight home? If the airline doesn't have another frequent flyer seat or do not want to help you, will insurance get you home? Allianz won't help? I would be on my own.

 

[Cynicor]

I think in terms of airline cancellation, you are on your own.
Most of the others will pay out to the value of what you booked or your points as defined.
They then don’t care what class you book to get home, but if short you fought up and if in excess they won’t pay the extra!

Post automatically merged: Sep 25, 2023

To be honest anything that gets me fixed up and home in an emergency is why I pay for insurance.
Business class is a bonus, and won’t choose my insurance cover based on it.