The real cost of travel insurance

[NM]

from News.com.au Top stories | News from Australia and around the world online | News.com.au

MANY travellers look to cutting costs where possible – and the first thing to go is often travel insurance.

A Travel and Lifestyle Trends Report conducted by lastminute.com.au reveals that one in three Aussies never, or only sometimes, travel with insurance.

 

[NM]

Insuring for peace of mind

and in a similar vein, also from News.com.au Top stories | News from Australia and around the world online | News.com.au

WITH travellers looking to cut costs, the first thing most do is ignore travel insurance. A Travel and Lifestyle Trends Report by lastminute.com.au, reveals one in three Australians do not travel with insurance.

 

[Dave Noble]

The link given above only goes to the front page Insuring for peace of mind | NEWS.com.au goes to article

I am not surprised that a lot of people travel without insurance. I do domestic travel where I wouldnt buy insurance for and , if just going to UK, wouldn't worry about that either

Dave

 

[Travel Guru]

When you consider you can get an extremely good third party annual policy for $450 which is miles in front of any credit card insurance coverage, I personally don't see any reason not to have insurance for overseas travel.

Whilst medicare's reciprical coverage in the UK does offer some backup, it doesn't over a very high level of care and one can often be left on a waiting list for some quite basic services.

What it doesnt cover you for is repatriation, which can cost upwards of $150,000 depending on level of care, and can leave a family deeply in debt for something easily covered.

Back when i was working frontline travel sales I always told people that if you cant afford the insurance, you cant afford to go, because you definately wont be able to afford any unforseen events, which are usually the ones that people end up claiming for.

TG

 

[Dave Noble]

When you consider you can get an extremely good third party annual policy for $450 which is miles in front of any credit card insurance coverage, I personally don't see any reason not to have insurance for overseas travel.

Whilst medicare's reciprical coverage in the UK does offer some backup, it doesn't over a very high level of care and one can often be left on a waiting list for some quite basic services.

What it doesnt cover you for is repatriation, which can cost upwards of $150,000 depending on level of care, and can leave a family deeply in debt for something easily covered.

Back when i was working frontline travel sales I always told people that if you cant afford the insurance, you cant afford to go, because you definately wont be able to afford any unforseen events, which are usually the ones that people end up claiming for.

TG

I agree with you. Since however I have relatives in UK plus , being Egglish, can get access to the National Health service, for me, there is no real risk for UK.

I have an annual policy anyway (which has been quite profitable with delayed luggage payouts) , just that if I was only travelling domestically or just travelling to Eggland I wouldn't specifically take out insurance if I didn't have any

The info that I read didn't seem clear on whether the statistics referred only to overseas trips or whether domestic trips were included; I would be unlikely to take out specific insurance for domestic trips

I doubt that I would be unique in that respect and am not surprised that the survey shows people not feeling that they need insurance for all trips

Dave

 

[Arthur Hodgson]

you can get an extremely good third party annual policy for $450 which is miles in front of any credit card insurance coverage.
TG

Not sure why you say this. Have you ever tried the free travel insurance that goes with a quality credit card, such as ANZ Gold Visa? There may be all kinds of add-on extras with your paid insurance policy, but other than having to pay an excess for some claims, I'm happy with the coverage provided by my CC insurance.

I have used this CC insurance on several occasions and never once was refused payment of a claim (subject of course to the $200 excess, which is trivial if you have a major problem).

Based on my own good experience with ANZ, I will continue to rely on the free credit card insurance for overseas travel.

Of course, like Dave Noble above, I am also a UK/EU citizen.

 

[coco50]

I rarely but TI for domestic purposes, but would never travel overseas without it. Having said that, my youngest daughter flew to HBA on AN and was meant to return to SYD on AN but the airline died - meanwhile she was in a HBA hospital quite ill. She had purchased the flight using a card which carried TI and was refunded the return leg.

 

[Travel Guru]

Not sure why you say this. Have you ever tried the free travel insurance that goes with a quality credit card, such as ANZ Gold Visa? There may be all kinds of add-on extras with your paid insurance policy, but other than having to pay an excess for some claims, I'm happy with the coverage provided by my CC insurance.

I have used this CC insurance on several occasions and never once was refused payment of a claim (subject of course to the $200 excess, which is trivial if you have a major problem).

Based on my own good experience with ANZ, I will continue to rely on the free credit card insurance for overseas travel.

Of course, like Dave Noble above, I am also a UK/EU citizen.

My basis for the comments Arthur are simply the fact that like anything there are good and bad eggs, and when it comes to "free" credit card insurance, there are some very good ones and there are some very bad ones that I wouldn't let my worst enemy travel on.

The reassurance I get from having a separate third party annual policy is that for me I know who i'm dealing with, I've read every letter of the booklet and FSG so I know what i'm getting.

I'd dare you to run a survey of 100 people who travel on their credit card insurance and see how many have even bothered to ask for a copy of the policy wording, and i'll think what you'll find is most if not all of them are travelling blindly assuming credit card insurance is apples for apples.

If you find a good one, like you obviously have then stick with it, because there are some which aren't worth the paper they're printed on.

TG

 

[dajop]

I certainly don't insure for domestic travel, and similarly don't even think of insuring for travel to NZ, but for all other places would either use my credit card provided insurance or purchase (if using FF points).

 

[serfty]

I have two cards ("Gold" and "Plat") that carry inbuilt TI. For eligibility, one requires the full airfare to be paid with it, the other a minimum $250 pre-purchased on it before departure.

I also have an annual TI policy (costing $340 PA), this fixes having to worry about how I pay for travel etc.

You can also subscribe to a "GOLD" membership here on AFF and get a 20% discount on TI policies through Columbus Direct (e.g. Annual is $250-20%=$200).

 

[NYCguy]

... Being Egglish, can get access to the National Health service, for me, there is no real risk for UK.

Holders of Australian Medicare Cards are entitled to free medically required treatment in the UK, NZ, Republic of Ireland, Sweden, The Netherlands, Norway, Finland, Italy and Malta.

Note that this doesn't cover the cost of repatriating you (or your body) back to Australia, nor does it give you any cancellation insurance, and it won't get you back to Australia urgently if something goes awry at home.

Of course it goes without saying that traveling to the USA without adequate insurance is absolutely bloody stupid, unless you are wealthy enough that a $30K bill for having your appendix out doesn't worry you...

 

[Dave Noble]

Holders of Australian Medicare Cards are entitled to free medically required treatment in the UK, NZ, Republic of Ireland, Sweden, The Netherlands, Norway, Finland, Italy and Malta.

Note that this doesn't cover the cost of repatriating you (or your body) back to Australia, nor does it give you any cancellation insurance, and it won't get you back to Australia urgently if something goes awry at home.

Of course it goes without saying that traveling to the USA without adequate insurance is absolutely bloody stupid, unless you are wealthy enough that a $30K bill for having your appendix out doesn't worry you...

I am aware of what an AU Medicare card entitles plus, as referred to in your quoting of me, I am fully aware what my UK NI card provides for in EU

There is nothing that I can think of which could require an urgent return to Australia plus the ticket I use is fully flexible and fully refundable; if I am dead, I am hardly going to worry about whether my body gets a flight to Australia

The US is irrelevent in this

Dave

 

[Mal]

I am aware of what an AU Medicare card entitles plus, as referred to in your quoting of me, I am fully aware what my UK NI card provides for in EU

What about the stopover in Singapore/Bangkok/Hong Kong/Tokyo? Or if a person became sick while in the air and the plane was forced to land somewhere remote on the way?

I don't see Travel insurance as simply something people need for their home city and destination city. Everyone is free to make their own calculated risk on what they want to risk though - that's the freedom of choice (And I'm still yet to make a claim for any travel insurance I've used/bought... There's probably a couple of Thousand $ I could have used elsewhere!)

 

[Dave Noble]

What about the stopover in Singapore/Bangkok/Hong Kong/Tokyo? Or if a person became sick while in the air and the plane was forced to land somewhere remote on the way?

I am prepared to take the risk for the hr or so transit.

If my trip involves stops in countries other than those where I have no concerns, then I do ensure that I have insurance.

I don't see Travel insurance as simply something people need for their home city and destination city. Everyone is free to make their own calculated risk on what they want to risk though - that's the freedom of choice (And I'm still yet to make a claim for any travel insurance I've used/bought... There's probably a couple of Thousand $ I could have used elsewhere!)

I have an annual policy at the moment from columbus on the 20% AFF discount . For my $200 outlay , I did get $500 for delayed luggage this year

Dave

 

[Dee Thom]

(And I'm still yet to make a claim for any travel insurance I've used/bought... There's probably a couple of Thousand $ I could have used elsewhere!)[/quote]

Recently I was hospitalised in RAP, S/Dakota with strep/pneumonia (picked up in Asia ). Hospital, Medical centre, drugs, recoup in Motel, cancelled flts, car rentals, accom etc., totalled over $US 11K, all in seven days!
The TI $342 cost, was a better investment than NAB in 1991.
Dee.

 

[NYCguy]

Are you a little tetchier than normal today, Dave? You know, just because someone quotes your post doesn't mean that they are trying to diminish or contradict the content of that post in any way.

I didn't see any proviso in the posts preceding mine that the discussion in this thread was to be limited to travel occurring exclusively within the United Kingdom or the other member states of the European Union, hence my comment about the dangers of traveling to the USA without insurance unless one has very deep pockets.

Whilst some people may have coverage for medial services throughout the EU, the vast majority of travelers do not; hence, they require travel insurance. As unlikely as it sounds, some people fly economy! Not only that, they fly on cheap, inflexible tickets. This may lead them to believe that there is a tangible advantage to buying travel insurance. Some individuals may consider that it would place an excessive financial burden on their significant others if they had to repatriate their remains back to the other side of the world, or buy a ticket at short notice to visit them in their hospital bed in a far-off land.

Not everyone has the means to whack an F ticket to London on the Centurion to allow the missus/mistress/whatever to fly over and visit if one should fall down the stairs at Claridges and bust a hip. For those individuals, adequate insurance may add a level of comfort to travel, knowing that they are covered in case of sudden illness or injury.

 

[Dave Noble]

Are you a little tetchier than normal today, Dave? You know, just because someone quotes your post doesn't mean that they are trying to diminish or contradict the content of that post in any way.

Quoting and then making comments does, to me, normally tend to imply that the person is making a response to the quoted text

I didn't see any proviso in the posts preceding mine that the discussion in this thread was to be limited to travel occurring exclusively within the United Kingdom or the other member states of the European Union, hence my comment about the dangers of traveling to the USA without insurance unless one has very deep pockets.

Well, my comments related to particular types of trips where I would happily take the risk and travel without coverage. For most international travel I fully agree with you that insurance is a very sensible thing to have and would recommend having it.
risk

of the 1 in 3 statistic on travellers , how many are covered adequately elsewhere or are travelling domestically I wonder

Dave

 

[JohnK]

I don't travel anywhere without travel insurance. I have an annual policy that expires next week for which I paid $280. I still have not lodged my claim for delayed luggage back in August but I think I will get around $350 when I finally send the claim for processing.

Next time I may try Columbus travel insurance as it is only $250. I won't need it until next overseas trip in March. I feel that travel insurance provided through credit cards is inadequate.

 

[turtlemichael]

I feel that travel insurance provided through credit cards is inadequate.

Are there facts to back-up this statement and several similar ones in this thread?

I'm interested as I have relied on Amex card insurance for the past couple of years but then, I haven't had a claim in recent times. The day will come of course and I don't want shocks. :shock: Is Amex insurance substantially less useful than a paid policy like Columbus?

I'm also interested on Serfty's comment (post #10) which seems to imply, unless I am reading too much into it, that his credit card insurance is adequate but having a separate policy just gives him the freedom of how to charge the fare etc

 

[JohnK]

Are there facts to back-up this statement and several similar ones in this thread?

There have been a few examples posted on AFF in other threads. I would need to search to find them.

As far as I am aware travel insurance provided by credit cards is very basic and subject to an excess applied to claims as well. This may not be an issue when the claim is for large amounts but for smaller amounts the excess is significant. Travel insurance provided by the likes of Columbus is comprehensive.