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Similarly, those travelling with items of a high value (particularly outside Australia) may wish to draw upon the extra protection offered by a higher cost policy, ensuring that peace of mind is not a problem whilst trying to enjoy an expensive trip. The added cost of a premium policy may be worth considering given the limited pay-out of less expensive plans, especially for substantial costs such as legal fees, travel documents or even trip abandonment (in the event of extended delays), but is the extra cost worth it? Insurance Buddy weighs up premium travel policies.
Extra benefits of premium travel insurance
You may expect to find some things that are covered by a top of the range travel policy on a standard travel insurance plan, such as personal accident cover, search and rescue expenses, and reimbursement for loss of personal effects. However, some travel insurance plans will not cover for cancellation at all and some will, but only with specific stipulations. Premium travel policies may offer unlimited coverage in the event of cancellation, but often this will mean an amount up to the trip’s value and only if cancellation is out of your control. If your trip departure is delayed for more than 12 hours and you choose to abandon your trip in its entirety, some providers may fully cover you, which certainly would not be the case with most standard policies. However, this would usually only apply up to the maximum claimable under the cancellation and curtailment section of your policy. It is a good idea to check with your insurance broker before taking out a new policy.
Some premium insurance policies may also cover the cost of flights purchased to resume your trip if, during the period of insurance, you:
- are repatriated to your normal country of residence under the provisions of your policy
- have to curtail your trip due to the death, severe injury or serious illness of your travelling companion
- have to curtail your trip due to the death, severe injury or serious illness of a close relative in your country of residence
A premium plan will almost certainly offer a higher level of payout for most aspects of the policy than a standard plan. You could probably expect your personal effects to be covered for thousands more dollars than a standard travel policy would offer. Some policies may even offer you a luggage and personal effects daily expense limit, and even a travel delay expenses limit. Whilst not able to match compensation that a specific life insurance policy or permanent disability insurance policy would offer, some premium travel plans will include a pay-out limit in the event of accidental death or permanent disability, even including compensation for a loss of income in some cases. Obviously, it’s worth considering that these bonus features of premium travel insurance may be intended to encourage customers to pay higher premiums for unnecessary cover; most people will probably already have sufficient life insurance and/or permanent disability and loss of income insurance in a separate policy. It’s worth seeking independent advice for your individual situation to ascertain whether or not premium insurance is necessary. Then again, if price difference between the two policies is minimal, you may decide that the added cover is a cost-effective choice.
Ultimately, a good travel insurance policy is one that gives you value for money. Value for money in travel insurance is a policy that provides the best amount of cover for the most reasonable premium, together with an always readily available and informative emergency assistance contact and an efficient and fair claims process. When purchasing a travel insurance policy you should look at the quality of the policy as well as the premium. The cheapest policy in the marketplace is generally not the best policy.
