Travel Insurance

[Mum from oz]

Who have you used for travel insurance? We have used AAMI in the past but this year I thought I'd do some research before I purchased. Turns out all reviews on AAMI are terrible. Luckily I've never had to make a claim with them before.

Who do you use and have you ever made a claim? Was it easy and straightforward? Does your TI cover cancellations due to natural disasters/storms etc?

 

[aussie shaz]

We have used Aami before, but this time going with Travel Insurance Direct. Never had to make a travel insurance claim before, so no idea how they all stack up.

From memory of many years go, travel insurance didn't cover natural disaster, or acts of war. Not sure now though.

 

[gogo65]

Hi mum from oz,
We have used travel insurance direct for the last 5-6years, we buy either the annual policy or individual policies depending on where we are going and for how long. They are very competitive price wise.
In regards to claims we have claimed three times in the 5-6 years(we normally travel overseas twice a year)
First claim was the Iceland volcano, I was on my way to Nice when the volcano struck, at the time of leaving Sydney airport, emirates would not let me board unless I had accommodation in Dubai booked in case Nice airport was closed(at the time it was opened) on arrival at Dubai, Nice airport was closed (for a total of four hours only) and I had to stay overnight in Dubai, I claimed the cost of the accommodation and transfers in Dubai, and was paid without any questions.
Claim number two, DS(17) at the time was skiing in Canada (with friends) and lost our new Panasonic waterproof, shockproof etc camera in the snowfields, again claim put in and paid quickly without any questions or issues.
Claim number three, I was on a plane from Rome to Sydney via London, when I had a sore left ankle, while flying my ankle blew up, the ambulance came and took me off the flight and sent me to a hospital near Heathrow. As we were not planning to spend time in London, I had no pounds sterling, immigration had taken my passport, and I was left at the hospital with nothing. I called their reverse charge number in a bit of state, they arranged a hotel near the airport, spoke with the hospital to arrange for taxi to take me to an ATM so I could pay for the fare, spoke with the doctor to ensure I was ok to fly home, called British airways requesting a business class flight on my return, or at least a bulkhead. They went out of their way to be helpful, called me again the next day to ensure I was ok and asked if I wanted another night in London to help with the swelling, ordinarily I would have stayed another night but I had my sons high school graduation the following day, so desperately wanted to get home.
All in all I continue to used TID, even though we have travel insurance with our American Express I like to have a full travel insurance policy.

I know that cover more also is a good priced travel insurance product.

Love TID

 

[Sugarglider]

I've used Ouch several times - the travel product offered by QBE - on the basis of a Choice Mag recommendation. My quote was cheaper than TID (remember - everyone's quote is different depending on your circumstances).

Last Dec, I used World Travel on the basis they were the annual winner of the Cannex awards and they offered more coverage than Ouch for only $20 more.
I felt both gave me good coverage - better than the credit card. They were also among the lower priced, but not the absolute bottom.

However - I have never claimed so I can't comment on whether they would come good or not.

I support your approach of comparing a few products cause they all offer different limits, diff prices for different applicants

 

[Mum from oz]

Thanks gogo65, I was seriously considering TID and now your reviews have pretty much convinced me.

 

[Luisa]

TID also have a great app you can plug your policy info in to and it gives you hints and tips about where you're traveling to. It also has your policy details, emergency contacts etc, then gives you a 'welcome back' and info on what you need to do to make a claim. The app is called Tripwise.

 

[Snickals]

I have used Covermore on our last two trips and they were brilliant. The first time we had to claim because Baby Girl and I got sick seperately and had to see a Dr twice, they gave us a full refund on what we paid to see the Dr. And this last trip I ended up in hospital (food poisioning...but they were convinced it was my appendix and were going to remove it, thankfully that never happend!) when I got home I just had to pay a $100 fee to Covermore and they covered the rest which was a lot of $$$!

 

[zanzibar138]

Aaahh that necessary evil of travel insurance... We've had some fun there.

We've used TID and Covermore, and have found both to come up short. When we've called for advice or to hear about our options, we've been treated abruptly and were offered no advice or help at all. Having said that, Covermore did give us a few hundred $$ towards a new laptop when ours went missing on our honeymoon.

For my upcoming trip I'm using QBE, for 3 reasons. Because of how we were treated by the other 2 companies, I didn't want to use them. By using QBE I could get extra FF points. And they seem to have fairly extensive coverage. They weren't cheap, but I'll be happy to pay if I can find a decent company. Hopefully I will never find out what their claims process is like

 

[ame]

I'm subscribing so that I'll come back to this thread when I get TI

We usually find the credit card one covers what we need, but always research before every trip. Have never had to claim.

 

[aussietravellers]

I've used QBE in recent years. Prior to that I always used MBF through my health insurance, but had a problem with them when I went to make a claim so haven't used them since. Haven't had any problems with QBE, but have never had to make a claim.

 

[Mum from oz]

I hate deciding things... Especially things that are so, so important.

 

[Jade+3]

We are using Columbus Direct, as they did not add a ridiculous loading for DS's anaphylaxis.

 

[Aussie Wendy]

We have used 1 cover for several trips now mostly based on good raps from friends and the price given inclusions/coverage $ which were more generous than others I compared it against. Much better than some ones we had used in the past but as haven't had to make a claim (luckily) can't comment on how good they will be when put to the test.

 

[marvel]

Based on my 12 month dealings with AAMI although not with travel insurance, I wouldnt insure anything with them ever. Speaking to the insurance obbudsman last year, AAMI has the highest number of complaints across the board. Stay away from any company under SUNCORP which includes AAMI and GIO.

They have an underlying policy of refusing claims whenever possible, hoping that the customer does not force the issue or appeal, even when they know the customer is covered.

On the other hand the best insurance companies are QBE, RACV and ALLIANZ in terms of customer satisfaction, and the number of complaints, which really is what you want given that we are talking about issues that can ruin a persons life, ie - not have claims covered.

I have spent the past year dealing with AAMI, Suncorp Senior Executives, Ombudsman. Local Minister and Mayor, and I would advise anyone to pay extra if you have to, and get good cover.

 

[zanzibar138]

Based on my 12 month dealings with AAMI although not with travel insurance, I wouldnt insure anything with them ever. Speaking to the insurance obbudsman last year, AAMI has the highest number of complaints across the board. Stay away from any company under SUNCORP which includes AAMI and GIO.

On the other hand the best insurance companies are QBE, RACV and ALLIANZ in terms of customer satisfaction, and the number of complaints, which really is what you want given that we are talking about issues that can ruin a persons life, ie - not have claims covered.

It's funny, because I've always heard great things about Allianz, but we found them to be an absolute nightmare for our car insurance claim Would never use them or anyone associated with them again after what we went through. I guess we were just unlucky.

 

[DizOz]

In the past we have used Covermore and QBE and have mixed results.

We have had to claim twice once for medical expenses with Covermore and had no problems. The second claim was for a brand new video camera stolen from our hotel in Fiji. It happened as we checked out, our bags were put in the care to drive us to the airport and when we got the bags out the camera bag had been taken. Luckily I rang the hotel and reported it and got a police report sent to me.

I rang QBE when I got home and made the claim. I had to provide them with the evidence I reported it to the hotel and police report as well as proof of purchase. Once they were satisfied they then pay me 60% of the replacement cost. When I queried it they claimed they had the right to deduct depreciation. I told them I had the camera less than a month and their depreciation rate was the equivalent of 480% pa.

I refused to accept the settlement and demanded to speak to the claims manager. She gave me the same story of depreciation and they were in their rights to do so. Unfortunately for them I have worked in the financial services industry my entire working life, some of which was insurance so I knew the law inside and out. As soon as she saw I couldn't be bluffed and knew the law and my rights as well if not better than she did I was offered a new camera which was delivered to my door the next day. Even better, a new model had come out that month so I got an updated model to boot.

The question is how many people would simply accept what was offered.

Problem with insurance it is impossible to compare apples with apples as every policy is different. The cover provided is different, exclusions are different and especially definitions are different.

We now have travel insurance across the business which covers all employees and their families including personal travel. The cover is reasonable and they have an excellent reputation in claims management.

 

[marvel]

Like most other large businesses it also depends on who you have to deal with. AAMI changed 4 claims managers in 4 weeks because they didnt know how to work with the customer until they found one that had some basic common sense.

 

[Anne_Aus]

I have always used TID, luckily never had to make a claim, but reading others experience with them makes me confident enough to continue to use them

 

[coco392]

we used nrma. got stuck in blizzard in NYC between Boxing Day and nye.

lost money on flights, hotel extra cost (very expensive in NYC over that time), phone calls back to the insurer.

they paid the whole lot no questions asked. it was about 1500 dollars. really easy to claim and paid back very quickly.

made being stuck in NYC much less stressful. although playing in snow in Central Park and tobogganing was awesome. so was making first snowman.

 

[tapdancer]

I've just purchased travel insurance through Allianz for our up coming trip.

After receiving many quotes they had the best cover for our family, the quote was more than some but we decided to go with them as we also have two cars insured and they have always been easy to deal with when we've needed to claim.