Traveling can be a wonderful adventure, but sometimes things don’t go as planned. Here are 10 great reasons why travel insurance is worth every penny, sprinkled with a dash of humour to keep things light.
- You Need to Cancel Your Trip: Imagine this: you’re all set for your dream vacation, but then life happens. Your travel buddy gets sick, or some unexpected event forces you to cancel. With trip cancellation and loss of deposit coverage, you can recover the non-refundable portion of your trip cost. It’s like having a safety net for your holiday plans.
- You Miss Your Connection: You’ve got a complex multi-flight itinerary, but one airline runs late and the other won’t wait. With missed connection cover, you can hop on another flight to reach your destination. No need to stress about being stuck in airport limbo.
- Your Flight is Cancelled: After a lovely family reunion, you find yourself at the airport only to hear that storms have cancelled all flights through Sydney. Who’s going to help you find a new flight home? With travel delay cover, you’ll have the funds for a new ticket or a comfy hotel stay. Think of it as a travel fairy godmother.
- A Hurricane Damages Your Destination: You’ve been saving for that winter escape to Fiji, but a hurricane hits your hotel a week before departure. Don’t worry! Travel insurance protection for unforeseen natural events can help you recover pre-paid costs and even assist in arranging a new vacation spot. Hurricanes can’t dampen your spirits now!
- You Get Sick or Injured on Your Trip: After enjoying some questionable curry on your first night in Asia, you wake up with severe stomach pains and a high fever. With travel medical coverage, you won’t be stuck with a massive medical bill. Plus, assistance services in your language will help you find the right medical care. No need to worry about translating “help, my stomach is rebelling” in a foreign language.
- Your Baggage is Delayed or Lost: You’re ready for your dream trip, but your luggage decides to take a detour. With emergency baggage cover, you’ll get reimbursed for essential items to start enjoying your trip. If your bags are lost for good, personal baggage cover ensures you can replace your clothes and essentials, including your suitcase. It’s like having a personal shopper on standby.
- Your Passport is Lost: You’re at a conference in London and realize your passport is lounging in a local restaurant. With travel document cover, you’ll get help expediting a replacement passport. No more panic attacks about being stranded abroad.
- You Get a Cold or Flu Just Before Your Flight: These days, even a sniffle can get you denied boarding. With cancellation and disruption cover, if you’re showing Covid-like symptoms and get denied, you won’t lose out financially. Airlines have the right to refuse you, but your insurance has your back.
- You Need an Emergency Medical Evacuation: Trekking the Inca Trail sounds amazing until your daughter gets a high fever in the mountains. With medical evacuation cover, you can arrange safe transportation to a medical facility without breaking the bank. Because “rescue helicopter” shouldn’t be the most expensive phrase you hear on vacation.
- You Damage Someone Else’s Property: You’re at the Museum of London and accidentally knock over a $100,000 vase. Whoops! With personal liability cover, you won’t have to pay for that irreplaceable piece of history. Accidents happen, but financial ruin doesn’t have to.
Some important things to consider when taking out travel insurance.
Pre-existing medical conditions: If it already exists – then it is pre-existing. If you are taking medication for it – then it is pre-existing. If you have seen a doctor about it – it is pre-existing. Pre-existing medical conditions are not automatically covered. They must be added to the policy. If you make a claim, and the cause of the claim can be attributed in any way to a pre-existing condition that you have not declared, the claim will be turned down.
A pre-existing medical condition is defined as “any physical defect, infirmity, existing or recurring illness, injury, disability, or mental illness of which you, or the person due to whom you are claiming, are aware of,” or “any medical condition for which you, or the person due to whom you are claiming have had or received a medical examination, consultation, treatment, investigation and/or medication in the 12 months prior to the date your policy is issued.” We have a medical questionnaire that you should complete to check if cover is automatically provided under the policy.
Disinclination to Travel: Simply not feeling like going isn’t covered. Insurance only applies to actual events, not potential ones.
Medical Certificate Required: If you are wishing to make a medical claim, a note from your doctor is essential. No note, no claim.
Claims paper trail: Claims must be supported by a paper trail. Receipts, photographs, police reports, transport authority reports, news articles, medical or hospital reports. Include anything that you can. Claims can be declined if they are not supported by suitable evidence.
Intoxication: We all do silly things when we are intoxicated. That is why insurance companies do not cover incidents that occur because of intoxication. Think carefully about how much you consume on holiday! Enjoy your holiday responsibly!
“Typical” clause wording to look out for regarding pandemic cover (example only).
1.1 CANCELLATION & TRAVEL DISRUPTION BENEFITS
Epidemics and Pandemics: The cover described under Sections 1.1a), 1.1b), 1.1c),
1.2 a), 1.2 c), 1.2d) and 1.2f) is extended to cover the following events:
You are diagnosed with Covid: a) You or your travelling companion are diagnosed with an epidemic or pandemic disease and cannot commence or complete your travel; or
You are ordered into mandatory quarantine or isolation: b) You or your travelling companion are quarantined or ordered into mandatory isolation by the New Zealand Government based on their suspicion that you have been exposed to an epidemic or pandemic disease; or
The additional accommodation and meals incurred due to you or your travel companion being denied boarding based on the suspicion that you have covid: c) Your travel is disrupted following the commencement of your journey due to you or your travelling companion being denied boarding on any scheduled public transport service, based on the suspicion that you have an epidemic or pandemic disease and you incur costs for additional accommodation and meals as a result. The most we will pay for any claim under Section 1.5c) is $200 per day up to a maximum of $1,400.
Lockdowns & Alert levels: There is no cover for claims arising from any lockdowns, changes in government alert levels, quarantine or mandatory isolation that applies generally or broadly to some or all of a population, vessel or geographical area, or that applies based on where you are travelling to, from, or through.
Fitness to Travel certificate: Should you become ill, or show signs of illness, you should get an immediate FITNESS TO TRAVEL certificate from your doctor, as well as a negative Covid PCR test – or risk being offloaded.
If you have to make a claim.
Once you have taken out travel insurance, please ensure that you take a copy of the policy and the “Schedule of Benefits and Exclusions” with you so you know what you could claim for if you had to.
In the event of an incident, IT IS IMPERATIVE that you obtain written records, photo’s, and proof from official sources to substantiate your claim (A paper trail). Lack of proof will severely slow down the claim process.
For an airline delay: a note from the airline verifying the delay, photos of the airline departure board.
For a medical claim: a note from the medical practitioner explaining what procedures were undertaken and why.
For a lost bag: an airline lost luggage incident form, and a list of contents of the bag.
For a damaged bag: an airline baggage incident form and photos of the damage.
For stolen items: a Police report, or copy of the report from the accommodation provider.
Travel insurance: it’s like a superhero for your trip, always ready to save the day when things go awry. Safe travels, and remember to pack your sense of humour!
