It pays to shop around for your travel insurance as you could be saving over $200 on similar policies, according to a new report by price comparison website Mozo.com.au.
It also highlights that adventure cruisers should read the fine print to make sure they have the cover they need.
The report assessed 243 travel insurance policies from 66 different insurers and found that 11 per cent provided no cruise coverage, 35 per cent offer it as an optional extra, and 54 per cent automatically cover it.
โWhether youโre heading to Bali, Thailand or the UK, we found that when it comes to the countryโs best value travel insurance policies it really does pay to do the legwork with savings of almost $200ย to be made on similar policies,โ Kirsty Lamont Director of Mozo says.
Using a nine-day South Pacific cruise as a reference, they also managed to find the cheapest policies that provide โcomprehensiveโ levels of cover for a cruise in the South Pacific for nine days (i.e. unlimited medical cover, at least $7,500 of luggage cover and $15,000 cancellation cover).
The policies that take the crown are the โComprehensiveโ cover with Simply Travel Insurance, Travel with Kit and both the โEssentialsโ and โTopโ cover with World2Cover, which cost from $43 to $53 per person.
For comparison, the cheapest basic insurance option starts from $23.18 with Budget Direct and goes up to $83 on the premium cover with Cover More.
โThe reason we don’t just give the value awards to the cheapest policy is because there is significant variation between the features offered by different travel insurance policies and we don’t know customers preferences. A customer might prefer a slightly more expensive policy that offer slightly more cover,โ says Mozo.
Cruisers should also note that while some general policies provide automatic cover, they may not include cover for shore excursions cancellation, missed cruise departure, cabin confinement, missed ports and ship evacuations.
Adventure cruisers should check the fine print
Mozo advises people who are going on adventurous holidays to read the fine print of the policy to make sure they get a policy that specifically covers the adventure activities in their plans. Donโt automatically assume that youโre covered.
The fine print of the policies often includes a list of excluded activities, the most common ones being: mountaineering (83%), rock climbing (75%) and skydiving (60%).
โIf youโre going on a more adventurous holiday selecting the right policy for the activities youโre planning could save you a small fortune if things donโt go to plan,โ says Ms Lamont.
According to InsureandGoโs website, their cruise policy covers you for the air land and sea portion of your international journey.
So that will include shore excursions that you book with cruise lines or independently at various port of calls.
For some activities like Canopy walking or tree-top walking and Go-karting, they must also be booked with a commercial operator in order to be eligible for coverage.
โIf youโre going on a more adventurous holiday selecting the right policy for the activities youโre planning could save you a small fortune if things donโt go to plan,โ says Ms Lamont.
Hereโs an example of how policies can differ in their exclusion of activities in the fine print.
Covermore excludes โmountaineering or rock climbing using guides, ropes, rock climbing equipment or oxygenโ as well as scuba diving โunless you hold an Open Water Diving Certificate or are diving with a qualified diving instructorโ.
Meanwhile with InsureandGo, the company differentiates outdoor and indoor rock climbing. Outdoor rock climbing is excluded but indoor rock climbing with harness is covered to an extent.
The policy does not include coverage for accidental death and permanent disability and personal liability and also does not require the activity to be booked with a commercial operator.
For scuba diving, InsureandGo states coverage for a maximum depth of 30 metres. Qualified divers must not be diving alone while unqualified divers must be with an instructor and booked with a commercial operator.
We are going on a cruise in Singapore and will not be renting a car. Can we get a discount if we don’t want cover for rental cars?
Thanks for sharing this Mozo report, which I hadn’t seen before!
A couple quick extra tips:
1) Don’t double-pay. Before buying insurance, see if you can get if for free with the right credit card.
2) If you’re already traveling and don’t have insurance, be sure to check with the company they’ll cover you before buying. Most don’t.
Safe travels everyone!
I have just purchased a travel insurance policy with the RAA. Although I paid a higher premium than I would have with Insureandgo or with Covermore, the RAA policy covered for the medical issues my husband and I have and also for unlimited dental whereas the others covered for $500 only. I am more than happy with this as I can now travel without insurance worries. Sometimes one needs to pay a little more to receive the best suited cover.