Online Travel Insurance

G'day Dean, good to see the discussion as we are just looking at it at the moment. Nick referred us to www.worldcare.com.au/ but we had been looking at www.qbe.com/australia/travel/index.html brochures.

They are slightly different offerings and there is a gap between the payouts on particular things if you do have that mis-adventure.

We thought the online one looked ok for the young, fit and healthy but for pre-existing illnesses it didn't look as easy. Because of that we thought we would go with the devil where we would get to see someone to strangle if it didn't go as it should.

It really is great until you need to make that claim.

I have used www.worldcare.com.au 3 times, no claims as yet to really see how good they are but the price was right
NickR

for our trip to the cape i used a company called travel insurance direct.. they are based in sydney.. had good coverage including cancellations, loss/thieft of goods and even covered the excess for my mates hire car.. ( on and off road )
they are easy to deal with and the only place i found that covered off road

travelinsurancedirect.com.au

donks

I've used 1cover a couple of time but luckily have had no need to claim which is really when you find out how good or otherwise they are.
www.1cover.com.au/

If you are interested in Overseas travel insurance it is worth looking at the 'free' insurance which comes with some Gold credit cards. Last time I took my family O/S(five people UK and Egypt, away for about 6 weeks) we saved hundreds of dollars by taking out a new gold credit card. I obtained a copy of the insurance offered and compared it very closely with commercial offering. There were swings and roundabouts but they were pretty much the same. From memory the card fee was about $85 for a year while the insurance would have been around $600.

Also, while you have the card you have the insurance - no fuss. We had no plans to travel again in the near future so at the end of the year we just closed it down but would have kept it if we planned any more O/S trips during thenext couple of years. If necessary we will just get another one when needed.

The only reason I said 'free' in commas is that you do have to pay the card fee, and the interest rates etc might be higher, but just use it with care.

IMPORTANT: Read all the conditions of use pertaining to the provision of insurance. There are a couple of rules you have to follow - all travelling together for example.

Re did all my vehicle insurance online a few months ago, what a surprise, saved a fortune. The internet takes the guessing away and enables you to shop around a lot easier, do your research etc. This site alone makes things so much easier and transparent when you need help.

Travel insurance is a small outlay compared to vehicle and it's Friday, time for a Jimmie..

Dean,

Travel Ins can be a minefield. Read the offerings carefully. I wont make any suggestions as I am in the insurance game (not travel though). The commissions for this cover can be huge. If you are dealing with someone face to face ask them how much their commission is - they should tell you.

I have serious misgivings about covers attached to credit cards. I have had customers caught out badly with health issues in the states - very nasty.

Good luck.

Gday all,
Worldcare was the one I spotted on the net, will give them a go, its only for Aus travel, so hopefully.
Dean