Travel Tips
8 common travel insurance exclusions
Some travel insurers are getting increasingly tight fisted when it comes to insurance claims and it’s easy to see why. This is why it’s more important than ever to make sure you’re aware of the exclusions in your travel insurance policy so you don’t get stung when something goes wrong.
We’ve taken a look at several common travel insurance exclusions. By making sure you’re aware of these you will ensure you’re well placed to make sure you’re in a good position to be covered.
Things that generally aren’t covered:
- Drunken antics – sure we all like to have a drink or six when we’re on holidays but generally there’s a statement in pretty much every travel insurance policy that says if you’re drunk or under the influence on non-prescription drugs all bets are off.
- Motorcycle antics – unless you hold an motorcycle license with a valid license for riding overseas if you get in any kind of motorcycle or moped accident while you’re away you won’t be covered. And it goes without saying, that you should wear a helmet.
- Medical conditions – generally speaking pre-existing medical conditions are not covered, and “pre-existing” can be a vague, catch-all term when it comes to travel insurance. For example, things like heart problems will probably not be covered by your insurance policy.
- Mental illness – out of 35 insurers surveyed by the Australian magazine Choice, just two insurers (CGU and Bupa) had mental illness coverage in their travel insurance policies. This includes anything from dementia, depressions, anxiety, stress or any nervous condition.
- “Extreme” activities – it probably goes without saying, but “extreme” activities like sky diving, parachuting and hang gliding are generally not covered at all. Sometimes you can purchase extra coverage for things like skiing, kayaking, snowboarding and surfing.
- Acts of terrorism – while losses or delays caused by acts of terror generally aren’t covered by insurers, medical claims mostly are. It’s a good idea to be particularly cautious when it comes to countries that have been deemed “unsafe” by the government.
- Lost luggage – under most travel insurance policies if an airline loses your stuff it’s pretty much up to you to sort it out with the airline. When selecting policies you should also note it’s pretty much the same story whenever freight or postal items go missing as well.
- Lost and broken stuff – there’s also plenty of exclusions when it comes to common items that have been lost or broken, particularly in regards to where they were when the incident happened. For example, items left behind in a hotel room generally won’t be covered.
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