How to avoid a travel insurance nightmare

By Rebeccah Elley · · 2 min read
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The holiday season is fast approaching, which means thousands of Aussies will soon be jetsetting overseas for a much needed vacay. While a break in a foreign country can be a fantastic experience, if an incident occurs Mozo Director Kirsty Lamont says many travellers face the risk of having their claims rejected due to not following some of the golden travel insurance rules.

“Basic travel insurance is not an all-inclusive product, it’s designed to cover the most common travel issues but in many cases won’t cover the more obscure or ‘unlucky’ scenarios.”

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According to Lamont, one of the most important things to do when taking out travel insurance is to read the fine print to ensure you know exactly what your policy covers (and whether it will cover your overseas activities) and the actions you’ll need to take to make a claim.

When we spoke to Fast Cover, the travel insurer revealed a major reason travel insurance claims are rejected is due to the lack of information. Managing Director of Fast Cover, Dean Van Es explains, “We receive a lot of partially completed claims or people who haven’t obtained the relevant proof of what’s happened. This could be a police report, medical records or receipts for costs incurred. These are all vital in proving a traveller has a legitimate claim.”

“There are also things you can do at various points in your travels, for example as soon as something happens abroad that you might claim on, call your insurer and explain your scenario, they could give you vital advice at this point,” says Van Es.

Travel insurance tips for getting your claim across the line:

  • Keep any records relating to your claim. For instance if you need to claim lost luggage, it’s important to photograph any valuable items you’re packing as proof of ownership.
  • Contact your insurer as soon as an incident has occurred. Some insurers require you to obtain an official report of an incident within 24 hours.
  • Avoid going back and forth between yourself and the insurer by providing a thorough amount of detail when making a claim.
  • Claim any loss from the responsible party first and then your travel insurer can make up any difference.

Need some cover for your end of year vacay? Compare travel insurance deals here.