If you pay for your airfare by credit card some providers give you a free travel insurance.

I used this lot last time I went OS...

www.travelinsurancedirect.com.au/

Worked out a hellova lot cheaper than getting staff discount with the insurance company I was working with - go figure !

I've been round the world lots of times with no insurance. Saved at least 10-15k. Plenty of semi-dodgy places too.

The one time I had insurance I got pickpocketed on new year's eve in Spain, lost a lot of cash, and they refused to pay anything. Never again.

The only time you really really need it is if you get some rare disease and have to be medivac'd back to Oz with a team on surgeons on a specially chartered 747.

I looked into it last time with my wife, and once you start reading the fine print nothing is covered, I mean nothing. Checked your bags? not covered. Leave your bags in the hotel? not covered. Bags in any way out of your sight? Not covered. Read all 35 pages of fine print before you pay for anything!

kiteboy dave said...

I've been round the world lots of times with no insurance. Saved at least 10-15k. Plenty of semi-dodgy places too.

The one time I had insurance I got pickpocketed on new year's eve in Spain, lost a lot of cash, and they refused to pay anything. Never again.

The only time you really really need it is if you get some rare disease and have to be medivac'd back to Oz with a team on surgeons on a specially chartered 747.

I looked into it last time with my wife, and once you start reading the fine print nothing is covered, I mean nothing. Checked your bags? not covered. Leave your bags in the hotel? not covered. Bags in any way out of your sight? Not covered. Read all 35 pages of fine print before you pay for anything!

I went on a working visa to Whistler to work and snowboard for a year. One condition of employment was you had to have travel insurance. Thought i'd start my insurance the day i started work. Ended up slicing my leg opon on a snowboard the day before my insurance started. Severed my Artery and all the ligaments and tendons that make your foot move.

Ambulance ride back to Vancouver, microsurgery and one night in hospital.

Total bill was $15,842 which i had to pay before they would release me from hospital.

Get travel insurance mate. For the sack of a few hundred bucks it is well worth it if sh!t hits the fan...

I'm off to Finland for 9 months. Paid my flights with Gold Visa but the travel insurance is only valid if the return ticket is inside 4 months. So now I have to pay $800 for travel insurance.

Should have booked for 4 months and then paid $60 to change the return ticket after the insurance was issued. Then I would have only had to pay a balance of $300.

Live and learn.

CJW said...

kiteboy dave said...

I've been round the world lots of times with no insurance. Saved at least 10-15k. Plenty of semi-dodgy places too.

The one time I had insurance I got pickpocketed on new year's eve in Spain, lost a lot of cash, and they refused to pay anything. Never again.

The only time you really really need it is if you get some rare disease and have to be medivac'd back to Oz with a team on surgeons on a specially chartered 747.

I looked into it last time with my wife, and once you start reading the fine print nothing is covered, I mean nothing. Checked your bags? not covered. Leave your bags in the hotel? not covered. Bags in any way out of your sight? Not covered. Read all 35 pages of fine print before you pay for anything!

As Woodo says travel insurance isn't for replacing lost baggage, after all that stuff is easily replaceable but if you get hurt and need help in a lot of countries (particularly the US and Canada) it WILL cost you an absolute fortune, without travel insurance...you're rogered. It's a massive risk to take.

True Indeed, However I dont know what its like these days but when I used to live in Fiji, we used to get many visits from relo's from Aus and Seppo land just to get their Dental work done, kept us going with meat in our curry anyway. From recent reports from work fellows, Asia is a great place to get all your medical stuff done too, but I realise we are talking Insurance here, so yeh dont get stuck in the muck, coz lifes a bitch then ya die ;()

Ta for the reminder on the gold card cover.

Wifey booked a trip recently and also got extra travel cover thru the agent, who neglected to mention we were already covered by gold card.

Refund coming our way.

For a few bucks the potential saving on overseas hospys etc are massive.

Go the extra for peace of mind I reckon.

BTW Woodo - WTF is that in your avatar? Seriously WTF is that - a Wetta on roids or sumpin !?

Be careful with the credit card insurance... I don't think it is that simple. Particularly if you need a policy number for the activiites you are doing O/S.

My credit card provider recently refused to give a policy number, and stated they would assess each claim on a claim by claim basis. In order to do the O/S stuff, I needed to provide a policy number... Gave up on the credit card thing and just got a separate policy...

If you really think you need travel insurance, best to talk to your credit card provider and see exactly what it is they offer.

BTW - Funky, are you a kiwi, bro Seriously, no one in Oz knows what a wetta is As for the avatar... think bigger, think underwater, think delicious

WHAT THE F#CK IS THAT THING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Looks like a gigantic cricket!!! Imagine the noise that would make hiding in your bedroom at night!!!