Travel insurance without medical cover

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You can't get international travel insurance without medical cover. But there are lots of cheap policies that include medical, cancellations and more. Compare quotes to find out for yourself.

What does travel insurance cover?

• Missed flights – these are covered if you are delayed because of an accident enroute, but not if the delay was due to your negligence or missed connections.

• Cancelled flights and resultant missed accommodation – these are covered if due to severe weather or airline strikes, but not if caused by the airline, in which case you must seek compensation from them.

• Extreme events – natural disasters, hijacking, riots and civil unrest that affect travel arrangements are covered, but only after policy cover has commenced.

• Severe sickness or injury – this is covered if a medical practitioner deems you unfit to travel, but not if it relates to a pre-existing medical condition or you fail to cancel your pre-booked trip promptly.

• Death of a close relative – this is covered if you need to cancel or curtail your trip, but is subject to age limitations and pre-existing medical conditions.

• Theft of passports, travel documents or credit cards – this is covered providing you obtain a police report within 24 hours and the theft did not occur while you were intoxicated.

• Loss of Frequent Flyer points – this is covered by some insurers if you used the points to help pay for your trip, which was then cancelled.

• Disruption of journey – this is covered if your trip is delayed by more than six hours and pays a benefit amount every 24 hours towards emergency meals and accommodation.

• Alternative transport expenses – these are covered if your flight is cancelled on your way to a sporting match, wedding, funeral or other pre-booked event.

Won’t the airline pay for it?

Travel insurance is like any form of insurance; the insurer will only pay when costs are not redeemable from any other source. So, there are instances where you won’t be covered by travel insurance and must seek compensation from the carrier instead. But compensation varies with each carrier and is usually at their discretion.

• Delay or cancellation – if due to things such as mechanical problems or timetable changes, your carrier will usually put you on the next available service, reroute you through another carrier or give you a refund or credit for future travel.
• Compensation – payments for accommodation, transport, meals and phone calls incurred due to carrier delays and cancellations are purely at the discretion of the carrier.
• Fares and reservations – these usually have strict conditions and are often non-refundable, particularly if they are discounted.
• Overbooking – if a carrier overbooks a service and you are affected, you may be entitled to compensation. There is an agreed industry rate in Australia, but rates vary in other countries with international carriers.
• Baggage – if a carrier loses or damages your baggage, they will usually compensate you, but only if you report it promptly (within 3 days for cabin luggage and 21 days for checked bags).
• Seating – carriers are not obliged to guarantee seating and may reseat you, even in a lower class than you booked. Any compensation for this is at the carrier’s discretion.
• Death or personal injury – the liability of domestic carriers for the death or personal injury of a passenger is limited to $500,000 and overseas, compensation is governed by international conventions.

As can be seen, the extent of a carrier’s liability depends on the circumstances and any compensation is largely at their discretion, so foregoing travel insurance in the hope of being reimbursed by your carrier for any mishaps would probably not be the wisest move.

Won’t the Reciprocal Health Care Agreement cover me?

Relying on your carrier for insurance is not a great idea and neither is assuming that because you are travelling to a country with a Reciprocal Health Care Agreement (RHCA) with Australia that you don’t need travel insurance with medical and hospital cover.

And that’s because, while RHCA countries will provide Australian travellers with subsidised health care similar to Medicare, they each offer different levels of cover and some medical costs are not covered at all, including:

Australia has Reciprocal Health Care Agreements with 11 countries, so if you are travelling to one of them, be sure to have travel insurance that includes adequate medical and hospital cover.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Why do domestic travel insurance policies not include medical cover?

  In Australia, our public health system, Medicare, provides cover for Australian residents for medical expenses if you get sick or injured while travelling domestically. Therefore, domestic travel insurance policies focus on other risks like cancellations, lost luggage and rental car excess.

• Why is medical cover always included in international travel insurance?

  The cost of medical treatment overseas can be extremely high often running into hundreds of thousands of dollars. International travel insurance includes medical cover to protect you from these significant expenses as well as emergency medical evacuation and repatriation back to Australia if needed. Even countries with a Reciprocal Health Care Agreement offer limited cover.

• Does my Australian private health insurance cover me overseas?

  Australian private health insurance does not provide cover for overseas medical expenses. While some policies may offer limited emergency benefits, it is usually not sufficient to cover major incidents, medical evacuation and long term treatment. Travel insurance is specifically designed for these overseas risks.

• Can I get travel insurance that only covers cancellations or lost luggage?

  For domestic travel, policies are available that focus on non-medical risks such as trip cancellations, lost or damaged luggage and rental car excess. For international travel, medical cover is a standard inclusion in all policies so you cannot purchase a policy that only covers cancellations or lost luggage separately.

• Is travel insurance without medical cover cheaper?

  Yes, domestic travel insurance policies that exclude medical cover are generally cheaper because they do not need to account for the potential high costs of medical emergencies. However, for international travel, medical cover is a mandatory component and therefore the option of purchasing a cheaper policy without it is not available.

Find out more about the Reciprocal Health Care Agreement