QBE Travel Insurance

QBE Travel Insurance Review

If you are planning to take part in extreme sports like snowboarding and skiing this holiday season, travel insurance is a must for you. Travel insurance, unlike your passport, is not mandatory but is essential. It is important to have travel insurance as you never know when you may need it. It not only makes your holiday safe by providing cover for sports but also provides you with financial protection in unpleasant situations like accidents and illness, car rental excess charges and trip cancellation. QBE travel insurance has been providing peace of mind to Australians and overseas clients for more than 125 years.

QBE has the ability to deliver a broad, competitive product range, high levels of service and a degree of flexibility that its competitors find difficult to match. There are ample travel insurance policies to choose from and also various levels of cover, so you can tailor the policy according to your needs.

QBE Company Profile

QBE Australia is a division of the QBE Insurance Group, one of the world's top 20 general insurance and reinsurance companies. It operates in all the key insurance markets in Australia. QBE is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange, has its headquarters in Sydney and employs more than 17,000 people in 48 countries. The company provides localised services from more than 30 offices spanning each state and territory.

The North Queensland Insurance Company Limited was formed by two young Scotsmen, James Burns and Robert Philp, in October 1886. In the next four years, the company went on to establish over 35 agencies across the globe, in locations including Singapore, Hong Kong, New Zealand and London. Since those early beginnings and through stable growth, merger and strategic acquisition, QBE has grown to become one of the top 20 insurers and reinsurers worldwide as measured by gross written premium.

Thousands of Australians every year encounter problems while travelling, such as lost luggage, sickness, injury, transport cancellations or delays. QBE manages your emergency situations, handling your claims and answering your questions wherever you are. QBE offers online quotes for travel insurance and the option of claiming online or sending in your completed form.

QBE offers a variety of insurance plans including Annual Multi-Trip, International Travel, Australian Travel and Cancellation Insurance, which help to make your trip comfortable and enjoyable.

Benefits of QBE Travel Insurance

Range of product options

QBE provides you with a range of cover options to choose from and the covers can be tailored according to your requirements. QBE travel insurance products provide cover for various situations including cancellation, overseas medical and dental expenses, emergency assistance, personal liability, emergency travel expenses, repatriation and lost or stolen luggage. They also provide assistance for the replacement of passports and other travel documents and cover a variety of sporting activities.

Worldwide assistance

You can contact them from virtually anywhere in the world and be assured that your queries and problems will be dealt with 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Frequent Flyer points

Qantas Frequent Flyer members can be rewarded by earning one point per dollar spent on eligible products.

Emergency medical assistance

You don’t have to worry about medical assistance while travelling to foreign shores where you don’t understand the language and getting help can be difficult. QBE has a medical and emergency assistance team, QBE Assist, which provides you with worldwide, round-the-clock assistance. It is a team of trained medical experts and insurance specialists who are available at any time to assist travellers. This Australian-based team coordinates medical evacuation and repatriation back home to Australia when required. QBE can provide emergency assistance to policyholders who become seriously ill or injured while travelling overseas, or when unforeseen events disrupt travel itineraries. This service is available across the globe and operates in conjunction with numerous healthcare groups, hospitals and other international service providers.

QBE continues to provide important travel advice to its travel insurance policy holders. Advice about natural disasters like rainstorms, floods and volcanic eruptions is useful while travelling and helps you to take the necessary precautions.

QBE Travel Insurance Policy Options

The different types of cover that QBE provides:

Australian and International Annual Multi-Trip Travel Insurance

For regular travellers, both overseas and within Australia, this plan offers comprehensive cover for any trip taken during your 12-month period of insurance. This enables you to take an unlimited number of trips without the hassle of buying travel insurance every time. This insurance is available for Australian resident travellers up to 70 years of age. It automatically covers 33 medical conditions. You can also add your spouse, de facto partner and dependent children who are travelling with you for an additional premium. Also, Qantas Frequent Flyer members earn one point for every dollar spent on Annual Multi-Trip Travel plans.

International Travel Insurance

QBE offers four travel insurance plans which are designed to suit your destination. These are:
Premier Plus Extras Travel Plan: provides minimum cover for the USA, Canada and Antarctica. It is available for all other destinations.

• A Travel Plan: provides minimum cover for Europe, South and Central America, the Middle East, Japan and Africa.
• B Travel Plan: provides minimum cover for the UK, Asia and Tahiti.
• C Travel Plan: provides minimum cover for the Pacific Region and Indonesia (including Bali).

Australian Domestic Travel Insurance

QBE offers three travel plans designed to meet your domestic travel needs within Australia. These are:

• Australian Plus: a comprehensive insurance for travel within Australia.
• Australian Basics: minimum cover for travel within Australia.
• Australian cruising: cover for cruising within Australian waters.

Cancellation and Additional Expenses Insurance

This plan offers limited cover for single trip cancellation and additional expenses protection for travel within Australia or to New Zealand.

QBE Travel Insurance Benefits

QBE travel insurance plans provide a range of benefits which include:

• Medical Expenses

The company will pay the usual and customary cost of medical, hospital, ambulance or other medically justified treatment you actually receive outside Australia during the trip if you suffer an injury.

• Dental Expenses

QBE pays you the cost of emergency dental treatment you receive outside of Australia during the trip if you suffer an injury to healthy natural teeth during the trip.

• Medical Evacuation and Repatriation

The company will pay you if you have to interrupt your trip after it has begun for necessary medical evacuation or repatriation that you undertake with its consent.

• Cancellation and Additional Expenses

QBE pays the value of unused pre-paid travel arrangements, less any refunds due to you, if you have to cancel these arrangements, or the reasonable cost of rearranging your trip. This cost should not be greater than the lost deposits or cancellation fees that would have been paid if the trip had been cancelled.

• Extra Travel Cover

The company pays you if your scheduled transport from or within Australia or overseas in respect of your planned trip is delayed for at least six hours, for a reason outside of your control, and for each subsequent 12 hours.

• Rental Vehicle Expenses

If you rent a vehicle from a rental company and it is involved in an accident while you are driving it or it is stolen during the trip, they will pay you the rental vehicle insurance excess or the cost of repairing the vehicle, whichever is lower.

• Death Expenses

If you suffer an injury which results in your death, the company will pay your estate, if you are 18 years of age or over and your death occurs within 12 months of the injury being sustained.

• Sports and Entertainment Package

For Australian Basics travel plans they pay for non-refundable, pre-paid golf green fees or golf equipment hire; ski lift passes or ski equipment hire or ski school fees that cannot be used because of an illness or injury sustained during the trip.

• Benefits Back Home

If your normal place of residence in Australia is damaged or burgled during your trip and you make a claim against your home and contents insurance, the company will pay you up to $200 for the home and contents insurance excess. You must provide a copy of your police report or insurance claim or both.

• Luggage

The company pays you for accidental loss, theft of or damage to your luggage or personal effects including things you buy during the trip.

• Personal Liability

The company will pay you for your legal liability to pay damages or compensation if your negligence during the trip causes injury to a person who is not a member of your family or travelling party. They also pay you for loss or damage to property that is not owned by you or a member of your family or travelling party.

• Legal Expenses

The company will pay your legal costs and expenses incurred in pursuit of compensation. They also pay for damages arising from personal injury or your death during the trip.

QBE Travel Insurance Claims Process

QBE provides excellent customer service by giving a high level of service to all its customers. When assessing and determining claims they ensure promptness, fairness and efficiency. QBE's claims officers are trained and highly skilled in travel claim management so your claim will be handled with the expertise you deserve.

QBE’s fast and efficient electronic service enables you to lodge claims round the clock and from anywhere in the world. Before making a claim you should have some information available including your travel insurance policy number, your contact and travel details and particulars of your claim and any supporting documentation. Supporting documentation includes copies of any medical, police or airline reports, the contact details of any treating doctor or hospital you attended, and any receipts for payments made.

Lodging your claim online is easy with QBE's, as their customers can get in touch with them 24 hours a day from anywhere in the world. You will receive a Identification Claim Reference (ICR) number when you lodge your claim. A claims specialist will be assigned to your claim within 24 hours of you lodging it.