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Australian Travel Insurance - Did You Know..?

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Australian Travel Insurance Explained

So you have an overseas trip planned and you've started thinking "do I really need travel insurance?" Before you make that decision, you should consider a couple of things that are unique about Australian travel to overseas destinations.

Consider for a moment that while most of the world can travel with one direct flight between international destinations, overseas travel from Australia can involve as many as 4 separate flights in each direction.

Think about it for a moment... fly to Sydney to connect with your carrier airline, then from Sydney to the airlines' hub city, then from the hub city to a major European (or north American) city and then on to your final destination.

That amounts to eight separate opportunities for baggage to go astray or suffer damage in handling. What happens if you miss a connection and its not the fault of the airline? What happens is that you may be looking at some serious, unforeseen expenses.

OK... so those are obviously worst case scenarios and happen very infrequently, but the fact remains that they do happen and the more sectors there are in your itinerary, the more the risk that it might happen to you. As mentioned earlier, there can be a lot of sectors in travel to and from Australia.

It is always tempting to save money and not take any Australian travel insurance but when something unfortunate happens and you don't have any cover, you realize just how cheap the insurance actually was. Any experienced traveler will tell you that travel insurance is the one thing you should never leave home without.

The first step in deciding what level of insurance cover is appropriate is to assess the likelihood of risk, be it physical, financial or both, that will apply to the type of travel you are undertaking and the places you are visiting. So when deciding on a sensible level of cover, what are some of the things to consider?

Australian Travel Insurance At The Best Prices

Shortcuts to the best providers of Australian travel insurance
Travel Insurance Direct
This is one of Australia's leading providers of travel insurance, offering comprehensive cover options at the best prices available online.
World Nomads
A leader in travel insurance and specialist in policies that include cover for adventure tours and activities. Popular with the 18-35 age group of travelers.
Compare Travel Insurance Policies
Link to a site that provides comparisons of various travel insurance products from a wide range of insurers.

Hospitals And Medical Expenses Cover

If you only take travel insurance for one reason, then this is that reason. It makes so much sense to cover yourself against hospital and medical bills incurred outside of Australia.

The costs for private hospitals in many overseas countries are on a par with the gross income of some small counties!

In the event of suffering a serious injury you'll want insurance to cover the expenses of returning home using commercial airlines or a network of private medical evacuation aircraft. The cost of a travel insurance policy is a trifle when compared to draining the family finances to bring home a loved one.

Things to look for in a this part of a travel insurance policy:

- Unlimited hospital and medical cover when travelling to the US, Canada or Japan.

- Cover for an emergency evacuation.

- Provision for a relative to accompany you if you're ill or injured and travelling alone.

- Cover for emergency dental work.

- Cover for pre-existing medical conditions or pregnancy.

Take the time to read the policy exclusions. The hospital and medical cover of a policy stops once you have returned home.

Lost Luggage Cover

Loss of, or damage to, luggage and personal effects is the most common reason for travel insurance claims. The next time you are waiting at a carousel in the baggage claim area, check out the queue at the customer support desk where passengers are waiting to lodge their lost luggage details.

Loss of luggage can result in a large financial outlay to replace the lost items. With suitable travel insurance cover, you can start replacing the lost items almost immediately while still traveling and with a minimum of disruption.

Always read the policy wording carefully to see what is covered. Expensive items such as laptop computers and cameras may have a limit on the amount that can be claimed.

Things to look for in this part of a policy:

- Are there individual item limits for things like computers and cameras?

- Are you covered if your luggage is stolen from your hotel room?

- Are you covered if your luggage is stolen from the boot of a locked car?

- Does the policy cover loss of cash?

Cancellations And Curtailment Cover

If you have to cancel or cut short the trip due to unforeseen circumstances, will your policy cover the financial loss? If you break a leg a week before your departure, or have to return home part way through a trip to attend to a sick relative, will you be seriously out of pocket?

How much will you lose if the trip is all paid for but suddenly you can't go due to a serious illness/accident involving a close relative?

Things to look for in this part of the policy:

- Protection against loss of non-refundable deposits and any costs paid in advance if you cancel before departure due to illness or injury, compulsory jury duty, unforeseen retrenchment and natural disaster.

Personal Liability Cover

What happens if you face litigation while in a foreign country? If your actions caused an accident and injured someone, you are probably going to be faced with liabilty issues and legal expenses. A good travel insurance policy can cover you for those expenses although most policies will not pay the legal expenses if you have a car accident.

Rental Car Cover

Chances are that when you drive overseas, you'll be on the "wrong" side of the road trying to interpret unfamiliar road signs and all the while trying not to get lost. If you should happen to be involved in an accident overseas in a hire car, there is going to be a policy excess (aka deductible) that you have to pay and that will take a chunk out of the travel budget. Travel insurance can cover the costs of the excess amount.

Travel Delays Cover

It's a fact of life that flights get delayed. Just look at any arrival board at the airport. If you have limited time between connections, it's advisable to protect yourself against the costs that can arise due to missed connections.

Delays can involve overnight hotel costs, transfer and shuttle fares, extra meals and can quickly become very expensive.

Don't assume that the airline has a responsibility to pick up the your costs when there are delays and missed connections. Airlines only compensate passengers for delays when the airline is obviously at fault.

Many factors can cause delays where the airlines are not at fault and in these cases, the passenger is liable for their own costs. The conditions and benefits vary considerably between policies so always read the policy wording carefully if you need this cover.

Resumption Of Journey Cover

Travel insurance cover ends when you arrive home. Some policies will provide continuation of cover for special circumstances where you are required to return home because of a sick relative or a death in the family. Not only will you be able to claim for some of these unexpected return home costs, but you can also resume your journey afterwards.

The conditions and benefits vary considerably between policies so always read the fine print carefully.

Best Prices For Travel Insurance

And finally one last, important aspect of travel insurance.... the COST! The commissions paid to travel agents when they sell you a travel insurance policy can be as much as 40%-50% of the amount you pay. That can, and usually does, amount to a significant sum of money.

The good news is that in these days of websites and on-line buying, the insurance companies now make it possible for you to buy policies direct from them via the internet. Not only does this simplify the process, it also allows for easy comparison of policies and cuts out those huge commissions, providing you with some serious savings!

So..... the question is not whether you need travel insurance, but rather what level of cover do you need?

by

swagman

I've been camping out on the web for over 12 years. I specialize in travel destination guides such as Australian Travel Emporium and Go Florida more »

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