Medical Cover
Medical cover is arguably the most important reason for buying Travel Insurance. If something unexpected does happen to you while away, you’ll want to be sure you’re going to get the best medical attention available.
A good policy will have unlimited medical cover.
Emergency Medical Assistance
Emergency Medical Assistance is another very important part of a quality travel insurance policy. If you do run into a problem in a foreign country – especially a non-English speaking country – it’s vital to have a support service you can contact 24 hours a day 7 days a week.
A good support service will have a worldwide network of support centres with local contacts in or near the country you’re travelling to. Some policies only offer a phone number in Australia and call it emergency medical assistance.
Pre-Existing Medical Conditions
If you have a pre-existing medical condition that you need covered it’s important that you check that the travel insurance policy you buy covers it. A good travel insurance policy will cover many common pre-existing conditions and clearly state which pre-existing conditions are covered and which are not.
Cancellation Cover
A good travel insurance policy will provide cancellation cover from the moment the policy is purchased. This protects any deposits that have been paid in the event that your trip has to be cancelled due to a medical condition or unforseen event.
Luggage & Personal Effects
Check that the travel insurance policy you buy provides adequate cover for the luggage and personal effects you’re taking on your trip. A good travel insurance policy will provide cover for high value items like laptops, cameras and mobile phones, and will allow you to increase the cover if you need to.
Strong Underwriter
A strong underwriter is vital. The underwriter is ultimately responsible for paying claims so it is important that the underwriter is financially strong, ethical and recognisable.
We suggest that if you have not heard of the underwriter you do some research to make sure that they are a strong, stable, ethical company.
Children Covered
A good travel insurance policy will cover children and dependents under 21 for free.
Excess
When making a claim, excess is the amount you have to pay. For example if you make a claim that comes to $500 and your policy excess is $100, you would have to pay the first $100 and the insurance company would pay the remaining $400.
A good travel insurance policy will have a low excess ($100 or less) and offer the option to reduce the excess to $0.
