Holidaying Australian's, especially those planning adventure trips or holidays where
adventures are part of the culture, such as jet boating in New Zealand for instance, would
be wise to read the fine print when they are buying travel insurance.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission ASIC has warned that some policies
target younger travellers and will cover a broad range of adventure activities, but
intending travellers should be very careful of any "special circumstances" that
apply.
"Don't just chase the cheapest policy without checking exactly what it covers you
for," ASIC recommends.
You may end up with nowhere near the amount of cover you may need for the kind of
holiday you intend to take, especially if your plans include activities such as rock
climbing or white-water rafting r in some circumstances even activities like snow skiing
or water skiing might be excluded from your cover.
The most common exclusions include:
- The airline you are flying stops trading;
- You travel to countries against advice of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
(check www.dfat.gov.au to get the
up-to-date travel warnings);
- You cancel plans because of fear of terrorism, a change in financial circumstances or
business obligations;
- You have an existing medical condition;
- You are older than 80; if you are older than 70 you usually need a medical assessment
and may pay a higher premium;
- Your unattended luggage or valuables such as camera or mobile are lost or stolen;
- You take part in a hazardous adventure sport, such as bungee jumping, white-water
rafting, ballooning, snow skiing and/or scrub diving; or
- Your cash is stolen
It's worth reading the fine print on these policies because, the
consequences on being stuck in a foreign country without your luggage or health is bad
enough but, imagine if something really, really bad happened which affected the rest of
your life back home - and you were uninsured.
Always seek the advice of a professional insurance broker no matter what the Travel
Agent says.
