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

caesura · 22-02-2008 04:46PM #1

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 · 24-02-2008 05:13PM

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 · 24-02-2008 10:51PM

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 · 25-02-2008 01:27AM

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 · 25-02-2008 11:11AM

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

caesura · 25-02-2008 03:34PM

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 · 02-04-2008 11:32AM

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 · 02-04-2008 12:43PM

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 · 02-04-2008 05:16PM

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 · 15-04-2008 03:18PM

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 · 15-04-2008 04:48PM

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 · 15-04-2008 08:51PM

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 · 16-04-2008 12:06AM

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 · 13-05-2008 01:47PM

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

slayerking · 13-05-2008 08:23PM

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 · 14-05-2008 10:51AM

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

gary the great · 14-05-2008 06:53PM

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 · 22-05-2008 12:25AM

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 · 22-05-2008 10:12AM

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 · 02-06-2008 12:00PM

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 · 12-06-2008 01:34PM

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 · 13-06-2008 04:59PM

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 · 13-06-2008 08:40PM

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. · 26-06-2008 02:28PM

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 · 26-06-2008 02:56PM

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 · 29-06-2008 12:07PM

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 · 30-06-2008 08:34PM

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 · 01-07-2008 12:31PM

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 · 01-07-2008 01:07PM

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 · 02-07-2008 10:40AM

OK Thanks,

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

jank · 02-07-2008 10:44AM

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?

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

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