What I've Found Having Researched Travel Insurance...anyone else??

caesura

Been researching a bit about travel insurance - actually got alot back through boards when i googled travel - independent & Youth & Student Travel - and *About Money (*think that was the location of one of the most interesting threads)...Anyway from what i've seen the main three for people going backpacking or adventure or RTW travelling seem to be either ACE, Getcover.com or Trailfinders (can't remember the ACE quote but GetCover was something like €169 and Trailfinders was €219 Worldwide - might've excluded north america - for 4 mths)

And i suppose the main concerns for those of us looking for Travel Insurance would be:

Price
Cover (region and activities esp if interested in hazardous activities ie. Kayaking/Bungy Jumping etc)
Claims Experience (from previous users)

Here's what i'm wondering though...how many people have had to make claims from any of these three insurance co's and what has your experience been like?

And does anybody have any other input or experiences they'd like to add to this thread...some up to date experience with these or other relevant insurance co's (relating particularly to RTW/Adveture/Hazardous Activities/Worldwide Cover and Claims)?

Cheers
C.

beserker

i've been looking at this myself and http://www.worldnomads.com gets reviewed well in every travel forum i've read. might wanna check them out

gary the great

I got travel insuracne from Blue insuracne when i went to Oz - wallet got robbed with 300dollors in it (which i could prove). Was reported to the cops straight away, cops gave me a crime report number as you have to pay for a crime report over there under the FOI (costing upwards of 300dollors). Blue wouldnt pay out without the crime report. Gave them the crime number and told them to get the report - also gave them the Oz cops number and email.

They never paid out. Wont book with them again

almo

i travelled with coverworks- had an accident but had absolutely no problems with claims and hospital stays.
all taken care of very quickly-possibly worth checking out

GAMAN

I got a crazy quote off WorldNomads over €600 no way on earth could i afford to pay that.

caesura

Actually just looking at both Coverworks and Worldnomads – they both look to be pretty good options – a bit pricey(er) than for ACE for example but they seem more geared toward backpacker/adventure travel and have wider cover for hazardous activities etc.

For 4mts with both its €240 for Worldnomads (which seems to include 'no excess' – meaning you don’t have to pay the first excess cost in a given situation…could save a couple of hundred under certain circumstances)

And with Coverworks it’s €165 or* €190 (*to have ‘excess’ waivered) so all the ‘non-excess’ benefits for €20 less than Worldnomads.

Both Co’s cover more than any of the others I’ve been looking at and Worldnomads comes recommended by Lonely Planet for what it’s worth…but from what I’ve found both seem to have good enough reputations.

One thing though, Worldnomads DO NOT have cancellation coverage as of yet according to their site – though they say they’re trying to sort this now…

The Lonely Planet reference had me leaning a little more toward Worldnomads but I have to say that the fact that Coverworks (A) Covers Cancellation and (B) Is Cheaper...combined with (C) Almos input from 1st hand experience with Coverworks makes me think that they’re the better option.

All of which is quite funny since I got up this morning planning to use ACE ;-)

youcancallmeal

Hey op who did you go for in the end?
I'm looking at travel insurance at the moment and worldnomads are ridiculously expensive compared to other quotes I got, haven't read through the policies in detail yet though so maybe they offer a lot more than the others?

watna

gary the great wrote: »

I got travel insuracne from Blue insuracne when i went to Oz - wallet got robbed with 300dollors in it (which i could prove). Was reported to the cops straight away, cops gave me a crime report number as you have to pay for a crime report over there under the FOI (costing upwards of 300dollors). Blue wouldnt pay out without the crime report. Gave them the crime number and told them to get the report - also gave them the Oz cops number and email.

They never paid out. Wont book with them again

Oh dear. I just bought travel insurance with them - and I remember reading this thread before so I don't know what I was thinking!

I only need insurance for 30 days so fingers crossed nothing happens and I won't need it.

Ideo

I've booked my insurance with insurancebookers.ie. Seems to be pretty comprehensive for the price they're offering. Anybody any experiences with them?

shinnersdcu

I was thinking of getting the insurance from usit that gives u a free oz visa but seeing how much your quotes are for only 4 months,is this insurance not worth the paper its written on?

fletch

I would never use Blue Insurance either, had a very bad experience with them a couple of years ago and had to fight for them to pay out for anything. (My bag was robbed with a lot of stuff in it). Hardly anything was covered and after depreciation and the excess, what I got was worthless.

Neamhshuntasach

I might go with http://www.travelinsurance.co.uk/about-us.html or possibly http://www.coverworks.co.uk/ although a little more expensive.

Just look at the policy and see what is included in it. I think the USIT one with the visa is their silver package which isn't that great.

Red Soup

We were insured with ACE in Africa and at least two of my friends had their cameras stolen and were refunded no problem. They just needed police reports I think.

Fabio

Quinn do travel insurance...any idea what they are like?

slayerking

Ideo wrote: »

I've booked my insurance with insurancebookers.ie. Seems to be pretty comprehensive for the price they're offering. Anybody any experiences with them?

Headin to Egypt in June and was thinking of booking with insurancebookers.ie too.

Anyone have any experience with them????

besty

I went for mine with annualmultitrip.com. It was fairly cheap for 3 1/2 months at €65

gary the great

Well after numberous letters/emials/contacting the insurance ombudsman, i got a cheque in the post today, 100euro short of what it should be. They say there is 100euro standard polcy excess, but i paid the extra few quid to waive the excess!

Ah well, perisstance pays people, im fighting for this money since January and if I had of been a regular guy they would of pushed me aside, but i presisted with strongly worded letters and it worked!

gary the great

Does anyone know when booking Europe, does that cover Russia?

have to book it now going in the morning wont have time to call them!

cailinoBAC

You should check the policy, but most of them will state Russia (west of Urals).

And now my question....I'm thinking of getting my cover with worldnomads, as they cover all the 'hazardous activities' I'm thinking of doing. However, I want to have some cancellation insurance. Is there anywhere I can book pure cancellation insurance, just so I have it on top of that? (seeing as worldnomads doesn't cover this....)

breadmonkey

getcover.com: backpacker insurance, 8 months - €100
worldnomads.com: 8 months, €420



I haven't picked through the policies in detail but certainly the getcover one is very transparent and seems like it covers pretty much anything I think I might need, especially in terms of the "hazardous activities". Anyone?

breadmonkey

Having picked through the ACE Travel Insurance (a subsidiary of Quinn Direct) policy, I have decided to go with them.

They seem to cover you for an awful lot of stuff and the main attraction for me is that they cover you for basically any activity you can think of regardless of how hazardous it might be. This includes things like skiing, sky diving, SCUBA diving etc.

It's €250 for 8 months worldwide incl. USA & Canada including personal property cover.

Larianne

I can't stress enough the importance of getting good travel insurance. Pay that slight bit extra. Esp. if you are going to countries which may have expensive or not the best healthcare systems. (Bad healthcare means you have to use the expensive healthcare!) Make sure you read the booklet clearly and decide if it covers all the activities you plan or thinking about doing. They can be sneaky with what they cover and will cover.

Most people think of travel insurance as an after thought to buying airline tickets, planning the trip etc. But if you are unfortunate to need their help, it's not worth the stress. If possible make sure to have receipts and copies of phones and cameras etc in case of robbery/lost. Also, having a few copies of your passport own you and at home is a good thing too.

My experience - had an accident travelinsureonline.com wouldn't cover my claim. Luckily I was still covered on the famiy's VHI and they covered everything. 6,000 worth! :eek: Excellent help from them I have to say.

PeakOutput

if for whatever reason your travel insurace wont cover extreme sports hazardous activities you can get annual extreme sport cover from sports cover direct for 50 euro i think let me know if you want their website and ill try and dig it out

S.M.B.

There seems to be a new thread started every day asking about Travel Insurance so instead of starting a new one I thought I;d just add my query to this thread. Any help would be great.

Is it possible to extend/renew your insurance while you're abroad or must it be always done in Ireland before you leave?

TheNibbler

S.M.B. wrote: »

There seems to be a new thread started every day asking about Travel Insurance so instead of starting a new one I thought I;d just add my query to this thread. Any help would be great.

Is it possible to extend/renew your insurance while you're abroad or must it be always done in Ireland before you leave?

In general I don't think you can but there are certain packages that insurance companies have that allow you to do this. You would definitely need to inquire over the phone before buying. The "Backpacker" insurance from getcover.com allows you to alter your policy while out of the country.

30d1a

me and the gf got our insurance for Thailand last year from Trailfinders ....

thought it was a little pricey but well worth it ....

unfortunately my gf had to go hospital over there after gettin a bad kidney and skin infections...

off to the Bangkok Hospital (anyone who's been to Thailand will know what i'm on about ... shhwanky lol)

got seen an treated in just over an hour wit an english speaking doctor and liasing nurse all the way through ...

anyway , along came the bill , worked out at about 220 euro ... which was a considerable chunk of a budget in Thailand ...

with the Trailfinders policy you have 20 somethin days to report it , so later on in the day i sent an e-mail off to the insurence company ...

by the end of the day had a response back with them expressing their regret that we had to go hospital and hoping it didnt affect our travels and just to keep receipts and that etc.. for claims purposes and because it was now reported we could continue our travels and sort it out when we go home ...


when we did 2 weeks later , filled out the claims form , threw in all the reciepts an sent it off ...

week later we got a check for 200 euro , happy days ..

i had it worked out that we were only gonna get about 140 so was very happy wit that ...


but insurance isnt always a guarantee... always factor in possible "expenses" when doing out a holiday budget ..

always read the policy form closey , takin note what they cover and what not ...

also how they cover it and the claims policy they use etc..

you dont want to be on your death bed paying out of your own pocket with an insurance company not willin to pay out till you hav proof of treatment or till you get home an they re-emburst you ...

max_power

I'm probably going to bringing my laptop away with me to Mexico this Summer, will it be insured for it's worth ( around 1.3k) on any of these policies do you think?

jank

Good thread. Im off to NZ there in a few months to do the whole work travel thing but going to SE Asia first. Want to get 3 months inusrance for that. We will be working first so there is no need in my opinion to get exotic/expensive travel insurance in NZ when ill be working. On the way home we want to do china. I assume that one can get cover for a trip like this when needed even if they are out of the country when buying it?

breadmonkey

jank wrote: »

I assume that one can get cover for a trip like this when needed even if they are out of the country when buying it?

No, you'd want to be extremely careful about that. I think that in general this is not possible (with an Irish company that is).

I unwittingly went away for a 63 day stint to SE Asia two years ago, not realising that my Multi Trip insurance only covered me for a maximum of 60 days which rendered my insurance almost entirely void for the entire trip. We were unable to extend the policy while out of the country.

Make sure you ring around a few companies and ask them about this.

jank

OK Thanks,

But surely i can buy travel insurance in NZ when heading off again?

jank

I unwittingly went away for a 63 day stint to SE Asia two years ago, not realising that my Multi Trip insurance only covered me for a maximum of 60 days which rendered my insurance almost entirely void for the entire trip. We were unable to extend the policy while out of the country.

Actually thats crazy. So even if i Purchase insurance for my 3 months trip to SE Asia (which i am), becuase im going to nz after rather then home my insurance is void? Surely that cant be!

Who gives a **** where i end up after the 3 months, if i dont have insurance in nz why would the insurance company care?

Neamhshuntasach

jank wrote: »

Actually thats crazy. So even if i Purchase insurance for my 3 months trip to SE Asia (which i am), becuase im going to nz after rather then home my insurance is void? Surely that cant be!

Who gives a **** where i end up after the 3 months, if i dont have insurance in nz why would the insurance company care?

The only thing i could guess at is that the insurance policy must terminate in the country of origin. If it does not then you have voided the terms and conditions. I know i have seen legal language on their websites hinting at something like that.

Neamhshuntasach

max_power wrote: »

I'm probably going to bringing my laptop away with me to Mexico this Summer, will it be insured for it's worth ( around 1.3k) on any of these policies do you think?

Trying to find a company that will insure your laptop for what it's worth isn't the easiest thing to do. I rememember reading threads about it before on thorntree. A lot of companies won't insure them because they are luxury items that attract thieves when traveling. So the risk of it being stolen is a lot higher than your personal cash being stolen.

One way around it might be to inseure the contents of your home and add the laptop to it and insure it for all risks. Either way it's probably gonna be an expensive policy.

Unless you need the laptop for work i wouldn't bother with it. There are plenty of Internet cafe's around Mexico.

max_power

Neamhshuntasach wrote: »

Trying to find a company that will insure your laptop for what it's worth isn't the easiest thing to do. I rememember reading threads about it before on thorntree. A lot of companies won't insure them because they are luxury items that attract thieves when traveling. So the risk of it being stolen is a lot higher than your personal cash being stolen.

One way around it might be to inseure the contents of your home and add the laptop to it and insure it for all risks. Either way it's probably gonna be an expensive policy.

Unless you need the laptop for work i wouldn't bother with it. There are plenty of Internet cafe's around Mexico.

Theres a few things on it i'd like to have with me but it's not 100% neccesary, i'd like it for DVD's on the long buses and stuff. Might go the house insurance route ty.

S.M.B.

In my search for Travel Insurance while not being in Ireland I found that World Nomads seems to allow it. I'm just looking to get an extra 30 days cover (I'm out of the country at the moment) but for a while I thought it was going to be impossible.

World Nomads have this in their policy though:

Can I purchase a policy if I have already left home?

Yes, you can purchase a World Nomads policy even if you have already left on your travels. Unlike other insurance companies, you don't have to be in your country of residence to purchase a policy. Please refer to your policy wording for specific detail.

It's a bit more expensive than other insurers but it's pretty much exctly what I'm looking for.

Larianne

You can get covered by VHI if you are starting the cover in a different country, just it is rather costly. I did it when returning from Australia through SE Asia. Valid for 6 months.

breadmonkey

Yeah Worl Nomads seem to get good reviews everywhere but are very, very expensive.

cailinoBAC

I'm planning a trip to South America from January to May. Was supposed to be earlier but for various reasons I put it off. I was thinking of getting worldnomads but they don't have cancellation insurance. I want to start booking things now, but want to be covered for this. I was thinking of going with one of the cheaper insurers and then going with world nomads just for specifics, like if I want to do hangliding or trekking over 2000m or things like that. Does that seem like an ok plan?

breadmonkey

cailinoBAC wrote: »

I'm planning a trip to South America from January to May. Was supposed to be earlier but for various reasons I put it off. I was thinking of getting worldnomads but they don't have cancellation insurance. I want to start booking things now, but want to be covered for this. I was thinking of going with one of the cheaper insurers and then going with world nomads just for specifics, like if I want to do hangliding or trekking over 2000m or things like that. Does that seem like an ok plan?

See my post in this thread about Ace Travel Insurance.

Doop

I read the whole policy with: http://www.getcover.com/ , and they seem pretty good id probably like to move up from Category 1 Hazardous Categories:to Cat 2.. (Cos of treking in Peru and prob will do some scuba diving at some stage), think you have to ring them to do that, ace also seem good (havent read the poilcy tho)

Im doin a RTW from S.America to NZ, OZ, Asia and china...
293 euro with get cover
315 euro with ace

Price also seems to depend on weather your own private health insurance covers you abroad as well (vhi, bupa etc) I have to give em a call and find out.

sporina

hi been looking into travel insurance…

need insurance for RTW trip - needs to cover trekking, up to 4000 mtrs should suffice, and some adventure activities… skydive and maybe a paraglide

looking at the following:

AA; v reasonable, good benefits ( 5 million medical), but does not cover paragliding (includes skydive and trekking up to 4000 mtrs).
Backpacker insurance: covers all €400 but benefits are poor enough in general
Get cover: covers all activities, expensive but great cover - €680? 10 million medical
Ace: expensive too - €580? but covers all activities and 10 million medical,

I am thinking of going with AA and getting independent insurance for paragliding.

Backpacker is covered by blue insurances but I have read bad things about them so I am dubious even though they cover all.. well not delayed baggage actually..

So on medical cover 5 versus 10 million - i do not know the significance of this? I mean 5 millions alot/sufficient?

Anyway thoughts anyone?
I like AA and not cos its cheap - it just seems like a good package and they are reputable I think..

But I would like other opinions on this

thanks