The married couple
Alison and Manny are a married couple in their mid 30s, who took frequent trips to New Zealand, where they were building an investment property with plans to move there to have a family (Manny’s family were based in Wellington). As well as flying about four times a year from Melbourne to Wellington, they also enjoyed weekend shopping trips to Sydney and a once a year holiday skiing in Italy. Alison was also a chronic asthmatic.
The family
Steve and Leanne Porter are married with two young girls aged 7 and 9. They both loved island holidays and would head to Daydream Island every year for a week-long family vacation. As Steve had a company car with a fuel allowance, they would drive up to Proserpine from Brisbane, and the girls and Leanne would fly home while Steve drove the car back to Brisbane. They were on a budget, and thought that they wouldn’t need medical insurance because Medicare would cover any medical treatment they might need. In the end Leanne decided to take out cancellation and baggage insurance cover, with much grumbling from Steve about what he saw as wasted money.
The single woman traveller
Stacey was a successful single woman in the banking industry in her late 40s. Each year she would travel to Europe as a Flashpacker – flying Business Class everywhere but staying in hostels and pensiones to save money for her flights, food and sightseeing. (She figured that she was going to be asleep for most of the time, so why pay a lot for a room? Plus she liked the company and interesting people she met in hostels.) She used a range of credit cards while travelling which she thought would cover her, insurance-wise, for anything that would happen on her next trip through Portugal, the Basque country and Southern France.
The empty nesters
The Fordhams are a couple in their mid-50s. Jeff was a QC, and approaching the end of a successful career as a top barrister. Heather had for 15 years run her own successful PR company but had recently sold the business to spend more time painting, and caring for their mildly disabled son. (Heather had had a series of minor strokes while pregnant with him). They decided on approaching their 55th birthdays to train and go for a guided walk in the Himalayas.
Choosing Travel Insurance to suit you
These people and their travel situations would all need slightly different Travel insurance policies. Insurance policies and coverage can vary depending on the provider, and it’s a good idea to check your policy to make sure you’re covered for every contingency, but also not paying for things you don’t need.
Annual and Ski Insurance
For example Alison and Manny decided that it was more economical for them to take out an annual insurance policy, for their domestic and New Zealand flights, as they flew so frequently. They also chose to take out extra Emergency Medical Cover and Ski Insurance, (for their overseas holiday. Though they knew that Italy has a Reciprocal Medical Agreement with Australia, they knew they would have to be treated as a public patient, which would mean long delays, if they were injured while skiing. Also, Reciprocal Agreements do not cover emergency medical repatriation to Australia, if this were required, or medications if Alison required extras for her asthma.
Emergency Medical Cover
The Fordhams were concerned about Heather’s medical history so discussed her pre-existing condition with their insurance provider before purchase. They found that in fact Heather’s history did not prohibit them from taking out travel insurance, so decided to purchase full Emergency Medical Cover, as well as cover for flight cancellations and delays, and lost baggage. Just as well they did, because their bags containing all their walking gear disappeared overnight in Annapurna and, while they were walking, Jeff slipped and broke his leg half way down the trail. By the time they had stretchered him out on the back of a pony, the leg was severely damaged and he required a helicopter medilift back to Nepal for treatment. The cost of the medical care and transport without insurance could have meant that their son was left without enough money to keep him in care for the future.
Delays and Cancellations
Leanne and the girls were due to fly back from their holiday on the Sunday evening so that Leanne could start work the next day. However that day the cyclone warnings turned to amber, with strong winds, and their flight was cancelled. Heavy rain meant that no flights could go in or out of Proserpine for three days. The Porters suffered more bad luck; while driving back from Proserpine, a four-wheel drive rear-ended Steve in a four-car pile-up on the slippery roads. Fortunately, Steve was not hurt, but worried about the $3,000 excess which his company would charge him for being involved in an accident while using the car for personal use. However, as they had taken out Travel Insurance, the excess was covered.
Theft
Stacey decided to take out comprehensive cover in spite of her credit card coverage. Just as well – her passport, visa papers, phone, and credit cards were all stolen while she was asleep in a shared dorm and insurance covered the replacement costs.
Worldcare Travel Insurance
With Worldcare Travel Insurance , you can tailor your own insurance package to suit your situation and travel plans, either online or via our Call Centre. For example, there’s usually no need to pay for Medical Cover if you’re an Australian travelling within Australia, but you might want to consider cancellation and delay insurance if a delay will cost you, as well as coverage for your bags. If you are a frequent traveler, it can be more economical to purchase an annual insurance policy. Even if you are a backpacker on a budget and think you can’t afford travel insurance, it’s wise to budget for it – the costs of overseas medical care without insurance is often in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
You can check Travel Insurance options by visiting the Worldcare Travel Insurance website. Once you’ve decided what you need coverage for, it’s easy to select the best combination of insurance for you by using our easy Select a Benefit tool, where you can choose your coverage based on your unique needs. Or, if you’d prefer, call our friendly Call Centre on 1800 008614 and have them talk you through the options.
Worldcare Travel Insurance has assisted thousands of Australians like the people in this story, with Medical Expenses, repatriation, interpretation, replacement of lost or stolen goods, and reimbursement for expenses due to cancellations, for over 10 years. No matter where you’re planning to travel, we can cover you in all continents and in most situations.
Disclaimer
Any advice here is general only and does not take into account your specific needs or circumstances. Pre-existing Medical Conditions exclusions may apply. Please refer to the Product Disclosure Statement to consider whether our products are right for you and for details of policy benefits, limits and exclusions. Any medical advice here is general only and you should always seek advice regarding your specific situation from your medical professional. Mondial Assistance does not endorse the content of linked websites nor comments by contributors or the content of websites linked by contributors.