Does my travel insurance cover me for everything?

No, obviously not. Many people seem to assume that once they have chosen and bought their travel insurance, it will take care of them whatever happens. This is not only mistaken, it is a dangerous one.

Am I covered? Well, it depends.

People sometimes get caught out with the following:

Riding a high powered moped or motorbike
Having a camera worth more than the limit the insurance company sets;
Scuba diving deeper than the insurance company set limits;
doing unforeseen adventure sports that they haven't got cover for

You get the idea.

It is vital therefore that you make a list of everything you think you may do on your trip and ensure you 'are covered' for the lot. And before you buy the cheapest policy you can find, make sure you understand what you aren't covered for ... that $50,000 bill might look awfully large by comparison.

Think about it ...

Make a list of all the things you are potentially going to do on your trip. When you come to buy, if in doubt, ask!

Things you definitely need to be covered for

Medical expenses and treatment, repatriation costs, cancellation of trip, third party liability (e.g. you injure someone else), loss of passport and legal expenses. Don't get on a plane without this lot.

Things you may not be covered for

Bungy jumping, jetboating, jetskiing, parascending, Scuba diving, white water rafting, windsurfing and yacht racing.

Things we would suggest you get cover for

Getting your parents flown out in an emergency, cancellation if you think you might have to re-take some exams and being able to make a quick trip home if you need to come back in an emergency i.e. grandparent in hospital.

Things you generally have to pay a bit more for

Travel delay and delayed baggage, missed departure, baggage and belongings cover; plus more 'dangerous'/hazardous sports, e.g. cycle touring, horse jumping, motorcycle touring, parachuting, paragliding, parasailing (like paracending but not attached to the boat) and sky-diving. Just a word of caution, do you really need that expensive new digital camera in the jungle? Would a cheaper one do the job and be less attractive to a robber?

Things you may forget that you need cover for

Money - believe it or not, people often don't insure their cash. Documents, i.e. rail tickets, or even your mobile phone.

Things you may have to ask the insurance company to specifically cover you for

A pre-existing medical condition, eg. Asthma, Diabetes that you wish to be covered for. Typically they will require a medical form to be completed to completely understand the condition and add a suitable cost.

Exclusions

All policies have exclusions. Check them carefully. Here are some of the more common ones to consider:

any activity where you have 'deliberately put your life in danger', and make of that what you will.

any accident you have 'involving alcohol or drugs', not an uncommon occurrence on holiday we would have thought.
parachtuting, skydiving or rock climbing - it seems almost all travel insurance companies have an aversion to any activity using rope.
Bird Flu. Perhaps this is understandable given that all bets are off if a pandemic ever occurs.
Terrorism.
Pregnancy after 26 weeks

Or here are some examples that might give you pause for thought:

Drunk in Mexico

A man fell off a hotel balcony while on holiday in Mexico and fell 7 stories. He survived but the hospital then wouldn't treat him because his insurance was void because he was drunk at the time. Read the full story here

A planned holiday to Sri Lanka

A family was planning a trip to Sri Lanka and had paid over $8,000 in flight tickets. With the violence in the country escalating they decided to cancel the trip and were facing a $2,000 ticket cancellation fee. Their travel insurance won't cover this since it is their choice not to go.

Compare. Buy. Save

Customer Reviews

I have used Travel Insurance Direct several times now when travelling overseas. The last time we travelled with another family who the airline lost their baggage. They contacted Travel Insurance Direct and found them most helpful and assisted them. All of us were greatful for their assistance which may the holiday further stress free.

David | 4/09/2010

Travel insurance is something you take out and hope never to use, indeed dred the thought/act of using it at all... So when I was on an island resort off the sth east coast of Malaysia and was awoken at 1.30am by a stinging, biting sensation on my neck, which turned out to be a giant centipede 11cm long.... Well I was in shock, it continued to hurt/sting like hell for an hour or more and my wife, who was also scared/confused found various websites which contained conflicting info. It was Mary who suggested we call your travel insurance hotline and it was around 3am Malay time.

My experience goes as follows:

* we were put straight through to a nurse who listened, and asked questions in a methodical, calm and understanding way.
* His immediate advice to stay calm as there was a good chance any immediate danger period had passed. He asked what my strongest pain killer was and that it was ok to take 2. He asked if we had any antihistimine(?) Which we did so it was wise to take that and continue for around 48 hrs.
* He found the insect/scoundrel on a Uni Queensland website and proceeded to provide calming expectations of what I would be feeling over the next hrs, day and couple of days etc. He was absolutely spot-on.
* He asked about my last Tetinus shot of which I couldn't remember and he advised to get a shot in the next 48 hrs. I went that day to the mainland and had a shot.
* Finally, he said someone would call me later that day amd wished me well.
* to my surprise, someone actually called back exactly when they said they would. I was exhausted by this stage and they couldn't offer further assistance and I was by now still sore, tired swolen but mending well under competent advice.
* I was then followed up several days later and I was ok by then. Shaken not stirred.

To say I was impressed with the high standard of service would be an gross understatement. For starters my holiday and that for my wife and 3 children was saved by your nurse's swift, calm and accurate advice. We continued on and had a wonderful holiday creating further memories etc.

Your follow up weeks later is 'icing on the cake' as to the service you and your team provide. Though this did not lead to a claim, so I can't speak to that process, nonetheless I am happy to provide your services the highest recommendation.

Peter Dobson | 1/09/2010

So easy to get a quote and after much research went with TID for the price and coverage. Have used them 3 times now and have made 2 claims, reimbursed quickly and with no hassle.

Missa | 23/08/2010

TID is a travel company where I actually felt I was being looked after!!

Michael Cousins | 17/08/2010

Compared travel insurances and found Travel Insurance Direct to be the easiest and most comprehensive. I have now purchased it several times for our holiday insurance needs. Recommended and used by family members.
Would recommend this company to any travellers.

Martine | 5/08/2010

Had a great experience getting a quote with TID. Given that i was in early pregnancy (which was extremely healthy) i was being given the run-around and being asked to pay rediculous amounts to cover myself or not cover myself really at all. TID was a great option and the price was unbeatable!

katie | 20/07/2010

I have used TID many times and although I've not had to make a claim, I would still recommend it to anyone.

Emma | 12/07/2010

Good Morning

I am 63 years of age and wishing to travel to Cairo
I take blood pressure and cholesterol tables for precaution only, no pre medical conditions

Can you please advise if I can be covered for 2 months from 11 July to 11 Sept 2010

Thank you David

David Southern | 2/07/2010

We first started using Travel Insurance Direct a number of years ago because of the easy to use website and price. Two years ago my partner became ill and was hospitalised in Bali. Thanks to our policy and helpful staff we were guided thru the application process. I was very pleased with the speed of the service and very happy with the level of coverage. I have recommended TID to all of our friends based on easy to use, price , service and level of cover.

Mick | 15/06/2010

I know choosing a travel insurance company was a big question for me before going to South America, so I wanted to share a positive review of World Nomads for anyone going through the same process.

Basically, some property of mine was stolen on the street in Argentina at the beginning of my trip. I filed a police report, sent the receipts, and made a claim with World Nomads and within two weeks of receiving the documents had the $500 limit for the items transferred into my bank account. It was a really easy process, efficient, and while I didn't recover the total value of the losses, something is better than nothing. Cheers to having something positive to say about an insurance company for once!

Thorn Tree | 3/05/2010

TID was recommended by a friend that travels a lot. We were offered a rate by the travel agent, when booking our tickets, that was over 3 times the cost of TID. I went to their easy to use site, called their very helpful, efficient and polite service center, checked the easy to understand policy, extremely carefully, and decided that this company is well worth buying insurance from.

Macdesign | 12/04/2010

Not a bad word to say about Travel Insurance Direct. The cover is outstanding, the price is cheap and the level of service is top notch!

On a recent trip to Europe (my first overseas experience) my Fiancee was struck down with shingles in Paris. At the time though we were unaware it was only shingles and after finding an english speaking hospital, whilst they thought it was Shingles initially, also said it could have been a lung clot so done all the relevant testing to rule it out so that we could have a relatively worry free end to our trip. Travel Insurance Direct were nothing but supportive when we called them to let them know of our misfortune and called regularly to check on my Fiancee and when it came to paying out claim, they were prompt and hassle free. It will take an extremely bad future experience with Travel Insurance Direct for me to consider going with anyone else.

Matthew Flanagan | 30/03/2010

World Nomads insurance has been great for us. We have been travelling for 19 months now through the Americas and have updated our insurance online twice in that time with no problems. The price is good and we had one claim (dental) that was processed with no problems. We would definitely use them again.

Carol & Kent - Kiwis | 30/03/2010

I can't believe no one has anything bad to say about this company. The wording seems like its all written by the same person. something fishy going on here!

Editor: we leave you to decide the authenticity of these reviews, but with over 600 reviews it'd have to be a pretty dedicated person to write them all on his own.

bob | 23/03/2010

In November 2009, my father was admitted to hospital in Israel I contacted TID and the service received was outstanding. The care and compassion was second to none and contact was made with my Auntie in Israel to discuss the situation. It was handled so professionally that I have no hesitation in recommending TID to others who wish to travel. We have used TID for the last few years and wouldn't consider anything else.

bcalder | 10/02/2010