Insurance pitfalls -- observations/questions

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aspro2

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Nov 26, 2004
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Thinking about a few of the common problems travellers experience and how well travel insurance does(n't) cover them. We all know that policies vary a lot, but what about where they almost universally fail to cover you? Here are issues I thought of, but would appreciate corrections or additions.

(1) travel delay/cancellation -- no cover if due to scheduling/cancellation/malfunction problems affecting your transport, except if due to weather/nature, strike, civil unrest, hijack, accident, terrorism.

* it seems that this applies to transport to the airport as well, so if your bus/train is severely delayed and you miss your flight, tough.

* even business-oriented plans do nothing to help you get to business engagements if your booked travel is delayed/cancelled. The only events eligible for alternative transport costs are usually weddings, funerals, conferences, sporting events or prepaid tours.

* I guess DJ passengers in Melbourne were not covered when the terminal had the mysterious chemical leak recently and all flights were cancelled.

* If flying a dodgy LCC like Ryanair, you have no recourse if they cancel your flight or divert you to an airport 200km away or...

* no cover for operator failure -- a clause now seen everywhere.

* meals seem to be excluded from most permitted expenses during a long delay.

(2) injury -- the usual term is 'accidental injury'. I assume this is so as to exclude suicide, but I can't work out if this also excludes injuries caused by an assault on your person by a third party.

(3) luggage damage/loss -- most of it is fairly common sense... don't leave your luggage unattended or in a car (except boot during daylight).

* If animals/insects damage or eat your luggage there's no cover.

* If your luggage gets wet for any reason, the damage isn't covered... so beware of deluges, floods, overflows.

* Not sure about luggage in lockers at airports/stations, or about luggage stored by hotels on your behalf.

* And the issue of depreciation is always a nasty shock for people when claiming.

(4) medical emergency -- just don't be depressed, already ill, needing extra medication, or have consumed alcohol or drugs before getting injured.

* and don't get injured because of war, nuclear accident, or any terrorist act.

(5) dental emergency -- most policies require 'external force' causing an injury.

* they exclude treatment necessary because of decay... so don't get an abcess or anything else!

* Not sure if breaking a tooth on a nut or with chewy toffee counts as 'external force'.


I hope some people find this useful, and I hope it elicits corrects/comments.
 
That Ryanair is the worst airline I have ever spent money with, I say spent money because I paid for 8 flights and did not fly on any of them. I booked one way flights leaving the UK to travel all around europe stopping for a day or two in each location then back to the UK. They cancelled 3 of the flights and refunded the costs but this meant I would be stuck somewhere in Europe with no outbound flight. They would not refund the other 5 flights because it was not there problem that I couldnt get to the other destinations. You have to remember this is an Airline that charges extra for people who require wheel chairs. I am sure I read somewhere that this was voted the worst airline in the world. They were not sympathetic at all. I instead used Easy jet and found them very good, all the flights were on time and they were cheap. The only problem with Easy Jet is that your not allocated a seat number so eveyone scrambles onto the plane like herds of cattle to get the best seats.
 
Dental insurance

Good topic aspro2. I agree with what you say about most policies. I just took out a Qantas/QBE policy, and it seems to be a bit more generous regarding dental expenses. It covers 'injury to healthy natural teeth' (that would cover your nut or chewy toffee I would say) and it also allows $1000 for treatment for 'relief of sudden and acute pain' (such as caused by an abscess, I would argue). Hope I don't need to claim on it though.
 
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Nice info Anna. The sorts of tips and comments which would be good for this thread:)
 
Reminds me I should check the wording for the free cover provided by SQ for PPS.
 
Ryanair

johnsmith said:
That Ryanair is the worst airline I have ever spent money with, I say spent money because I paid for 8 flights and did not fly on any of them. I booked one way flights leaving the UK to travel all around europe stopping for a day or two in each location then back to the UK. They cancelled 3 of the flights and refunded the costs but this meant I would be stuck somewhere in Europe with no outbound flight. They would not refund the other 5 flights because it was not there problem that I couldnt get to the other destinations. You have to remember this is an Airline that charges extra for people who require wheel chairs. I am sure I read somewhere that this was voted the worst airline in the world. They were not sympathetic at all. I instead used Easy jet and found them very good, all the flights were on time and they were cheap. The only problem with Easy Jet is that your not allocated a seat number so eveyone scrambles onto the plane like herds of cattle to get the best seats.

The scramble to get the best seats on Ryan Air is definately a pain (although quite humorous at times), but overall our experience with them was pretty good. We had around 5-6 return flights with them over an 18
month period (while living the UK), and I think the most we paid for a return flight was around 30 quid. Most of the flights were 15-20 quid, so to be able to jump over to Copenhagen, Stockholm, Dublin or Cork for the weekend for that price, is pretty damn good. Never had a delay of more than 5 minutes, so I think we were pretty lucky.

Easyjet wasn't bad either, but the deals that we got with them were never quite as good.

If you want to talk about dodgy airlines, the charter ones out of the UK are much worse - Monarch was a particularly bad one. But I suppose every airline has horror stories - it just depends on what your luck is on the day.

I myself don't think very highly of Qantas - even though I was a Gold FF up until recently, all of the qualifying flights were on Cathay or BA. Every time that we had to fly them, I knew they would stuff up my Wife's special meal (Gluten Free), even though we'd book it when we booked the flights, confirm two weeks before over the phone, and also at check-in. They have definately improved with this though - the last few times have been fine.. (The worst time was a PER-SYD-LAX-SFO (last leg on AA) where both QF flights didn't have the meal loaded, and she hardly had one bite to eat for 20 odd hours - she wasn't a happy camper when I picked her up at SFO!)
 
getting back on topic

:) just like to get the topic back onto insurance and away from cough airlines...
 
Travel insurance

I have just gone through the process of renewing my annual travel insurance.Had a bit of time so read ALL the fine print.Guess what.I had assumed the personal liability cover would cover me at all times when away.Guess again if you are in any mechanically propelled vehicle-not at all.So the time you would need the cover most-eg in a rental car in the USA-not covered.
So went through every policy I could find-all have an identical clause.Checked with a couple of firms-yes if in a rental car you are not covered with personal liability.
Ended up using www.travelinsurancedirect.com.au
Got an identical policy to the qantas/qbe policy for $200 less.Makes the 2000 qf points you get pretty expensive.
 
Had a look at the insurance website drron provided and is interested in purchasing their multi-trip policy.

I will be travelling to Philippines shortly and start a business there with some friends. I envisage to be there for 2 mths and be back for 1 - 2 weeks and then back again to start the cycle of 2 mths there and 1 - 2 weeks back here

Have anyone purchased this policy before and have any feedback/comments on this policy? Or any other recommendations? Appreciate the anticipated responses.

ric
 
The policy is underwritten by allianz which is a major insurer.You can compare several policies at www.cheaptravelinsurance.com.au
I also went to flight centre,harvey travel and racq and got their brochures.There really was little difference in benefits and exclusions are basically identical.
Therefore I was happy to go with travelinsurancedirect.
 
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