Travel insurance is such a dry topic but I’m hoping you’ll read on because I’m about to share how we are saving money on our next trip by buying domestic travel insurance. (Please note this is not a sponsored post, I am writing about our experience in the hope of helping others.)
I’ve already shared over on Facebook that our family are travelling to Central Australia (Uluru) and the Northern Territory later this year. Despite it being a domestic trip, it’s turning into an expensive holiday, meaning I’m keen to save money where I can. I’ve recently bought travel insurance for our trip which may seem unusual but I have good reasons.
CANCELLATION
Our airfares and pre-paid accommodation are adding up. Our airfares are non-refundable and although we have no desire to cancel our trip for any reason, if something unforeseen did occur we’d hate to lose this money. The domestic policy covers us for up to $10,000 cancellation.
CAR HIRE
Car hire in the Northern Territory is expensive and our car rental company charges $5000 excess and this has to be paid no matter which driver is at fault. We are paying close to $150 per day for car hire and the only way to reduce this excess through the car rental company is to pay $35 per day extra. This still leaves a $1440 excess which once again needs to be paid in the event of any damage no matter who is at fault.
I checked into how much is paid by a travel insurance policy and found that Cover-More Travel Insurance (our insurer) pay $4000 on the regular policy. I chose to increase this amount by $1000 to ensure our whole excess would be covered in the event of an accident. By taking a domestic travel insurance policy I can avoid the additional $35 per day and be fully covered. The $230 we are paying for our insurance policy covers us for cancellation, the excess on the car and more. I am saving money by taking the policy compared to taking the car rental company’s excess reduction.
I know many people wouldn’t worry about the excess reduction cover but particularly on Northern Territory roads it isn’t worth risking in my opinion.
EXISTING MEDICAL CONDITION
I have mentioned in previous blog posts that cerebral palsy is considered a pre-existing condition. I always disclose this and the cost of covering BJ’s CP on this policy was $50 (this is included in the $230 I have quoted above).
BUYING ONLINE
Despite working in the travel industry for many years I always get nervous taking out an insurance policy. I always want to ensure we are covered for everything, especially for BJ’s existing medical condition. This time I took the plunge and bought the policy online. It was quick and easy. When it came to BJ I ticked that he had a existing medical condition and a drop down box of conditions appeared.
This domestic policy will not cover us for medical needs when we are travelling because we are covered by Medicare and our private health insurance.
Being a glass half full kinda gal I’m not a fan of thinking about worst case scenarios but I know that if the worst should happen I’d prefer to be insured than uninsured. Travel insurance should never be thought of as an add-on it should be something you factor into your travel budget from the start.
If there is one take-away you get from my blogs on travel insurance I hope it is that everyone should have travel insurance on an international holiday and checking if you can get insurance cover BEFORE booking your trip is essential if you have an existing medical condition. I wrote that in bold because of the number of messages I get from people in strife when they can’t get insurance coverage after they’ve booked their trip.
If you are travelling internationally you may like to check out my behind-the-scenes day at Cover-More. My day in their office gave me answers to lots of questions on the process of covering existing medical conditions and more.
I am no expert on travel insurance, I am simply sharing our experience on this trip. I recommend you see what is suitable to your needs and situation and always read the read an insurer’s PDS (product disclosure statement).
Now that I have travel insurance I’ll get back to the fun bits of planning our trip to Uluru.
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