Only one in six Australians believe travel insurance is a “must-have”
Many Australians will be heading overseas on a Christmas holiday but it’s important to consider travel insurance before jetting off. These are big bills you could end up with if you don’t have cover.
Money
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A dream overseas holiday can quickly turn into a living nightmare if you’re left without travel insurance to cover you when something goes horribly wrong.
Tens of thousands of Australians will be heading overseas over the Christmas holiday period but some might be leaving themselves open to disaster by failing to take out cover.
Insurer Budget Direct said some of the significant claims travellers made after unplanned overseas events included:
• Decompression sickness, which often occurs while scuba diving or going to a high altitude, in Bali cost $42,000.
• A broken wrist after falling in the US cost $147,000.
• Sudden onset of kidney stones in the US led to a $300,000 medical bill and holiday cancellation costs.
New independent research commissioned for Budget Direct found only one in six Australians who have travelled overseas in the past two years believe travel insurance is a must-have item on their holiday checklist.
And one in two admitted they purchased travel insurance at the very last moment before jetting off.
Compareinsurance.com.au director Natalie Ball urged jetsetters to arrange travel insurance as soon as large expenses such as flights and accommodation were booked.
“This is important because the cancellation benefit kicks in as soon as they buy their policy,” she said.
“Anything can happen in the lead-up to going on holiday. A family member could become ill and your flights and accommodation could be reimbursed.”
Expenses that are often covered in an international travel insurance policy include medical or dental emergencies, stolen luggage and trip cancellation fees.
Ms Ball said the cost of travel insurance could be small – for a 30-year-old on a 10-day trip to Bali, unlimited medical cover could be just $25 for the trip’s duration.
“It’s such a small price to pay should something happen overseas (where) you could be up for tens of thousands of dollars,” she said.
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Budget Direct’s general manager of travel insurance, Tanya McCaffrey, said a simple injury such as a broken ankle or leg could cost a jetsetter “anywhere from $5000 to hundreds of thousands”.
She said without insurance “it’s quite unknown on what you leave yourself exposed to”.
“A lot of people don’t consider what you pack in your luggage. We all have iPhones and if you take laptops and these items with you there’s limits.”
Ms McCaffrey said some travel insurance policies cost “less than a cup of coffee” per day.
The research also found the most common reasons people failed to bother taking out travel insurance was the cost (40 per cent), short trip duration (38 per cent), and the jetsetter was only visiting family while away (38 per cent).