Travel Insurance

[edcba]

Anyone have experience how well/promptly Travel Insurance Direct pays claims?

 

[NickP]

How about this list:

www.worldnomads.com
www.travelinsurancedirect.com.au
www.snowinsurance.com.au
www.cheaptravelinsurance.com.au
www.travelinsurancecompared.com.au

 

[NickP]

PS - forgot to mention that Covermore is not u/w by Allianz, they are u/w by Vero - completely seperate insurance group.

 

[clifford]

You can't come close to that with the conventional insurance policies. ...Be careful there, an important issue is many of these gold cards provide cover for Accidental injury BUT NOT illness.

Yes, that's a good point serfty.

Checking the fine print of ANZ's policy, I note that there is "unlimited" coverage for illnesses. Having used this insurance in the past, I am completely relaxed about this aspect of their policy.

But... if you don't want to save money (and get good coverage) ....

 

[MarkK]

Hi all,

Long time listener, first time poster.

Finally a subject I can post about!

I work for Mondial Assitance, which is the assistance provider for many of the companies listed above, we in turn are underwritten by Allianz.

I'd be happy to answer any of the questions about Travel Insurance, anyone here might have.

Would prefer not to give specific/personal advice on Travel Insurane policies, as it is illegal and could be misconstrued as spam (some of the posts look a little suspect above), but happy to answer general questions.

To cover off some of the posts above;

- Covermore is not underwritten by Allianz, they are underwritten by Vero as NickP said
- The four key underwritters for travel insurance in Australia are Allianz, CGU, QBE and Llyods (UK).
- As with all insurance, it really is important to read the fine print or Product Disclosure Document (PDS) to ensure that the product meets your needs. The Choice article is great for helping to highlight what to look for in the policies.
- As a general warning, there are very few travel insurance companies that have a licence to dispense personal advice on travel insurance. Any companies claiming to have tailored policies, or policies to meet your individual needs, etc... should be treated with a great deal of caution. If you feel up to it, infringements can be reported to ASIC.

Offline, I'd be happy to discuss any of the companies we provide services to and any specific policy/benefit/rates questions that you may have.

My email is [email protected]

Happy trails,

Mark Kopec

 

[markis10]

The ANZ hire car insurance looks not bad value for a year for $25 odd dollars, covers you on excess after the first $350 up till $2000.

 

[zac_brookes]

MarkK,

In terms of key underwriters in Australia, you neglected to mention Vero and AIG?

Thought they would have been up there considering they underwrite Cover-More, who would probably have the most popular travel insurance policy in Australia?

 

[HardieBoys]

Just checked out the travelinsurance.com.au site, which looks pretty good. Their annual multi-trip policy costs $432 per year, underwritten by QBE, whereas the Qantas Frequent Traveller policy costs $615 per year, also underwritten by QBE.

The Qantas policy allows a maximum of 42 days per any one trip, whereas the travelinsurance.com policy allows a maximum trip length of 60 days. The Qantas policy covers individuals up to the age of 65 years, whereas the travelinsurance.com policy provides cover up to 70 years.

My annual policy is also up for renewal, and until I read this thread, I was simply going to renew with QF. Can anyone think of reasons to renew with QF at the greater cost, other than the FF point bonus?

 

[NM]

My annual policy is also up for renewal, and until I read this thread, I was simply going to renew with QF. Can anyone think of reasons to renew with QF at the greater cost, other than the FF point bonus?

I am not sure if this applies to the QF annual policy, but at least one of their policies includes cover for FF points if you have to cancel an FF award flight. But that may not be relevant to you.

 

[serfty]

My annual policy is also up for renewal, and until I read this thread, I was simply going to renew with QF. Can anyone think of reasons to renew with QF at the greater cost, other than the FF point bonus?

I am not sure if this applies to the QF annual policy, but at least one of their policies includes cover for FF points if you have to cancel an FF award flight. But that may not be relevant to you.

The non QF policies rebate a cash value for Frequent Flyer points (pro-rata, based on the cost of an equivalent class of purchased fare). Ealier in this thread, there is mention of a $340 Annual Policy.

 

[HardieBoys]

Thanks guys. Both have frequent flyer points provisions that are relevant to me, and which I'll have to look into. I have another week to research this in more detail. If I'm bored at work this week, I may do a comparison table.

 

[NickP]

TID.com.au - $340 Annual Multi Trip policy

I'm the General Manager for tid.com.au - so any questions I can help with please fire across.

Cheers

 

[MarkK]

MarkK,

In terms of key underwriters in Australia, you neglected to mention Vero and AIG?

Thought they would have been up there considering they underwrite Cover-More, who would probably have the most popular travel insurance policy in Australia?

Zac,

Good point, I guess I should have clarified and said in the online sense of the market. There is very little activity from Vero and AIG on the net, hence not much of a mention.

But, by all means I would encourage people to walk into a travel agent a pick up a PDS and compare it with some of the online offerings.

Cheers,

Mark K

 

[Pieces]

I have generally found Westpac travel insurance underwritten by Vero cheapest with a relatively easy to read policy. They have been very flexible when I needed to change the duration of my trips. They cost about half as much as the travel agent's product. It's a modest policy that still retains most of the sensible features.

http://www.westpac.com.au/internet/publish.nsf/Content/PBIN+Travel+insurance

Always compare policies to make sure it covers everything you may need - it's boring reading but you must do it.

 

[acampbel]

Still can't believe the hide of it !

Qantas sent me out a brochure for travel insurance (QBE policy) and the lowest cost available for my trip (UK & Hong Kong for 31 days) was $389.

By going direct to the QBE website the price drops to $322

By going through a web reseller ( eg travel.com.au ) the price drops a further 20% and you still earn QFF points! On top of all that the benefits appeared to be at a higher value than those quoted in the Qantas brochure.


Where do Qantas get off charging a 20% uplift on RRP???


Cheers,

AC

 

[Dave Noble]

Re: Still can't believe the hide of it !

Qantas sent me out a brochure for travel insurance (QBE policy) and the lowest cost available for my trip (UK & Hong Kong for 31 days) was $389.

By going direct to the QBE website the price drops to $322

Have you looked at annual policies. You'll likely find that the price for an annual policy ( which tend to allow max trip time of 31 days per trip ) is cheaper than that

Dave

 

[G*]

Covermore

Dec04/Jan05 Partner slipped over in SFO & 'broke' leg. Transferred to hospital who were interested in $ before any pain relief could be administed :evil: Insurance with Covermore who needed to chat with surgeon before authorising surgery (this was initially difficult). From there on, Covermore were a dream to deal with . I cannot recommend them or their service highly enough. A few months later we got a bill from the hospital (>100K :shock: ), forwarded it on to Covermore and they dealt with it. All out of pocket claims fully reimbused about 10 days after we submitted them (except for QF who would not reimburse the points for a J class upgrade x 2). Suggestions: keep every receipt (or copy) and record names and times of people you spoke with. If visiting a US hospital; make sure you have your policy details with you otherwise they're looking to charge your credit card with very large amounts :shock: It also helps to watch where you're walking

 

[markis10]

Re: Covermore

Dec04/Jan05 Partner slipped over in SFO & 'broke' leg. Transferred to hospital who were interested in $ before any pain relief could be administed :evil: Insurance with Covermore who needed to chat with surgeon before authorising surgery (this was initially difficult). From there on, Covermore were a dream to deal with . I cannot recommend them or their service highly enough. A few months later we got a bill from the hospital (>100K :shock: ), forwarded it on to Covermore and they dealt with it. All out of pocket claims fully reimbused about 10 days after we submitted them (except for QF who would not reimburse the points for a J class upgrade x 2). Suggestions: keep every receipt (or copy) and record names and times of people you spoke with. If visiting a US hospital; make sure you have your policy details with you otherwise they're looking to charge your credit card with very large amounts :shock: It also helps to watch where you're walking

The annual policies often have coverage for points lost, in my case SARS in Asia cancelled a conference and I lost points on an award flight, the policy paid up for that loss and the $$$ conversion proved to be very generous!

 

[straitman]

Re: Covermore

Dec04/Jan05 Partner slipped over in SFO & 'broke' leg. Transferred to hospital who were interested in $ before any pain relief could be administed :evil: Insurance with Covermore who needed to chat with surgeon before authorising surgery (this was initially difficult). From there on, Covermore were a dream to deal with . I cannot recommend them or their service highly enough. A few months later we got a bill from the hospital (>100K :shock: ), forwarded it on to Covermore and they dealt with it. All out of pocket claims fully reimbused about 10 days after we submitted them (except for QF who would not reimburse the points for a J class upgrade x 2). Suggestions: keep every receipt (or copy) and record names and times of people you spoke with. If visiting a US hospital; make sure you have your policy details with you otherwise they're looking to charge your credit card with very large amounts :shock: It also helps to watch where you're walking

A great example of why it's important to have the ducks lined up correctly with regard to Travel Insurance. 8) 8) 8)

thanks G*...........and welcome to the forum if nobody else has said that to you.

 

[QF WP]

*G, an excellent first-hand account of why Travel Insurance is worth every cent you pay, in the unfortunate event you have to claim against it.

I've only claimed once in about 15 years of having annual policies, for jewellery lost in HNL. Excellent claims service as well.