Wild travel debacles top list of Australian insurance claims for 2021

Australia is a dangerous place to travel and, Covid issues aside, insurance claims this year stretched into the thousands for many.

It’s been a bizarre year for Australians, with borders shut and Covid surging.

But even with our borders closed for much of 2021, plenty of people still managed to travel - and get themselves into trouble while on holidays.

Australia is full of travel hazards, from deadly snakes and spiders, chunky animals like kangaroos, wombats and cassowaries regularly running onto roads and wild weather, it’s no surprise thousands of people were forced to call up their insurance provider.

A cassowary was involved in one of the top 10 most expensive insurance claims this year.

Southern Cross Travel Insurance (SCTI), which has been operating in Australia for more than a decade and in New Zealand since 1982, recently crunched the numbers to rank which claims were the most costly.

In the 2020/21 financial year, the company sold more than 211,000 policies and paid out 31,000 claims.

Southern Cross Travel Insurance CEO Jo McCauley said the interest in people buying insurance for their trip had skyrocketed thanks to the pandemic.

“Following the outbreak of Covid-19, there has been a heightened sense of what could go wrong on holiday, and we’ve seen this reflected in the growing number of people purchasing domestic travel insurance,” she said.

“Interestingly, people commonly purchase insurance because they want to be covered while they’re away on holiday, but our biggest number of claims show that the unexpected can happen beforehand, regardless of whether you’re travelling domestically or abroad. Unfortunately this can have a serious hit to your pocket if you don’t have travel insurance.”

Here were the top ten most expensive claims to hit Aussies.

1. Cancelled Surfer’s Paradise trip

The most expensive claim paid out by SCTI involved a Melbourne mum having to cut short her family’s holiday to Queensland.

The mum and her two children with autism made it to Surfer’s Paradise but returned home early when her six-year-old became extremely distressed due to being in unfamiliar settings.

The child’s autism was declared and covered as a pre-existing medical condition and she was paid $6,043 for the cancelled holiday.

2. Emergency hospital visit

The second most expensive claim was paid to the parents of a 15-year-old.

The teen was hospitalised in Mackay, in central Queensland, with acute appendicitis.

The 15-year-old was rushed into emergency surgery to remove the body part, with SCTI paying out $4685 to cover the family’s cancelled accommodation and costs for flight changes.

3. Tasmania biking tour injury

A Tasmanian tourist was paid $4536 after falling off their bike on the first day of a six-day tour of the Apple Isle.

The fall put the 47-year-old cyclist in hospital for three days and left him with multiple fractures.

Unsurprisingly, he was unable to complete the non-refundable tour.

His claim of more than $4500 included the rest of his tour and his missed accommodation.

Tasmania is a popular place to go biking. Picture: Kane Naaraat and Pinkbike.com

4. Another bicycle injury

Taking out the fourth spot is another cycling injury, but this one happened even before the 65-year-old cyclist was able to leave for her trip.

The woman was hit by nerve impingement and muscle inflammation, leaving her unable to go on holidays.

She claimed $4021 for the cancelled trip.

5. Cancer relapse

A 59-year-old tragically had to cancel their trip after their cancer came back.

They claimed $3339 for the unused holiday.

6. Workplace injury

A 24-year-old had an exciting holiday booked in Australia before a workplace injury forced them to cancel it.

Their pre-booking of travel insurance meant they were paid out the full $3318.

7. Alpine horse incident

A 75-year-old man claimed $3256 after he fell off his horse and suffered a painful collarbone fracture while on an alpine safari.

The man was on the trip with travel insurance, allowing him to claim the $3256 for the accommodation he had to miss out on and the rest of his horse tour.

Horse riding is popular in NSW and Victoria’s alpine regions.

8. Cancelled trip following accident

A 44-year-old Queensland mum had to cancel her trip to Cairns and return home after hearing her six-year-old had been hospitalised. after being involved in an accident.

The mum rushed home to Brisbane to be with her child in hospital.

She claimed $2871 for the cancelled trip.

9. Cassowary accident

A driver had to issue a claim after a cassowary sprinted out onto the road in the remote Cape Tribulation region in far north Queensland.

Cape Tribulation, in the Daintree Rainforest, is teeming with huge cassowaries, which can weigh up to 80kg.

The front of the driver’s car was damaged, leading them to claim $2750.

10. Reuniting with wife

An 87-year-old cancelled his trip after his wife was diagnosed with breast cancer.

The husband returned home so he could be with his wife for her surgery.

He claimed $2400 for the cancelled trip.

Originally published as Wild travel debacles top list of Australian insurance claims for 2021