Crucial Travel Insurance Advice and Tips

Recently, one of the Spratt Financial Services team was away on a two week vacation in the USA and Canada and though he couldn't quite believe his bad luck, his circumstances give a crucial insight into the necessity of travel insurance anytime you're abroad. Even moreso, it emphasises what to do and what not to do when something goes wrong while overseas.

All circumstances below are real and actually occurred during his travels.

1. Expenses Caused by Flight Delay.

The first incident came when he was flying from Los Angeles to Atlanta. In mid-air the flight was re-directed to Charlotte because inclement storms wouldn't allow the plane to land safely in Atlanta. He was grounded in Charlotte for 8 hours before the airline organised another flight to get to Atlanta. It arrived at 2:30am. Since his organised lift from the airport to where he was staying had fallen through over the delay, he was forced to book an unexpected night's accommodation at the closest airport hotel he could find in Atlanta.

What to do: Some insurers require confirmation of delay or cancellation from the airline, so make sure you get written confirmation from the airline that your flight has indeed be rescheduled or delayed. Also, keep your boarding pass and ask the hotel for a receipt confirming the cost of the stay and payment. This will ensure you have all necessary information and your claim will proceed smoothly.

2. Lost or Mishandled Baggage.

On a separate flight in the USA, our unfortunate traveller landed and after waiting 30 minutes for his baggage, realised it had not arrived. It turns out it had been put on the wrong flight and redirected to New York City instead. The airline couriered the bags to him 48 hours later to where he was staying in the US and luckily, the contents were undamaged and complete.

What to do: If your baggage is lost or damaged and you have to buy additional supplies/clothing/toiletries/necessities because of it, keep all purchase receipts. To be safe, don't be extravagant in your purchases and try to replace things that were in your baggage like for like. If your bags are lost entirely, get a written confirmation from the airline confirming the contents of your baggage and if applicable, what damage has been done.

3. Travel Interrupted Due to Sickness.

Lastly, six days before he was scheduled to return home to New Zealand, he was stricken with a severe stomach virus that caused three consecutive days of vomiting, nausea, weakness and intense stomach pain. He was unable to make the six hour flight from Nashville, Tennessee to Orlando, Florida and had to spend more days recovering in Nashville before heading back to LA and then back to Auckland from there instead. This involved a considerable expense or re-arranged flights, plus losing the value of the flights already booked that he was unable to make.

What to do: If you are severely ill while overseas and think that it may affect your ability to travel, it is crucial that you visit a medical professional and get a medical certificate that states that you are indeed sick and unable to travel. Without this, it is difficult or impossible to prove that you were indeed sick and the insurance may have reason to deny or reduce your claim. Also, keep all records of your original travel plans and all receipts and boarding passes of your new flights/alteration fees and proofs of purchase.

Conclusion: Because he invested in travel insurance beforehand and because he was diligent in keeping all the necessary documents and proofs, our team member was spared a loss of over $1,000. In even worse case scenarios, that cost can be even higher, depending on the seriousness of illness or the costs incurred by unforeseen circumstances.

Travel Insurance is generally inexpensive and well worth the investment, but its vital to be aware that just buying travel insurance isn't all there is to it. It's imperative that you take the time to get the necessary documents, confirmations and receipts when something goes wrong. If in doubt, make sure you always get it in writing. Most reputable travel insurance providers are not looking to deny your claim, but they do require the necessary proof that your travel was indeed disrupted in the way you describe. Be careful, and make sure you read your policy wording before you travel.

If you are worried about your upcoming travel or want the responsibility of claims taken out of your hands, we can be your link to affordable and comprehensive travel insurance and offer you our claims management service completely free of charge. If you're interested or would like a quote, contact us anytime here.

Insurance News Round Up

1. Quirky contents insurance claims highlighted to encourage customers. - Insurance Business Online

"Some customers don't make a claim because they don't realise their more unusual items are covered under their contents insurance" - AA Insurance gives a reminder to potential customers that they may be underestimating the value of their contents insurance and what is truly covered.

2. Where to find the best travel insurance. - Stuff.co.nz

Southern Cross Travel insurance, 1Cover and Worldcare have been named the travel insurance providers who best provides "outstanding value".

3. New Zealanders lack insurance for their most important asset. - Stuff.co.nz

Whilst 95% of Kiwis have cover for their homes, cars or possessions, only a mere 30 percent of New Zealanders are covered by health insurance and only 57% have life cover.

4. Southern Cross Travel Insurance reveals the extent of fake claims. - Voxy.co.nz

SCTI have revealed the regular extent of fraudulent travel insurance claims they receive, estimating upwards of 1500 cases a year may be fake claims.

5. Sovereign targets underinsured millenials in latest insurance campaign. - Good Returns

New digital led campaign aims to combat excuses, empowering young Kiwis to stand up and take charge of their financial wellbeing.

www.sprattfinancial.co.nz

Bali volcanic ash sends crucial message about travel insurance.

Mount Raung in Bali has recently erupted, spewing tons of volcanic ash into the air and wreaking havoc on flights. The eruptions began on June 29th, and their impact has been felt on unfortunate travellers trying to get home for over two weeks now. Those with comprehensive travel insurance, purchased before the cut-off date, will likely find their accomodation, transport and meal costs reimbursed. Those without it find themselves in a sticky situation - having to pay the costs out of their own pocket. Many of these unfortunate travellers will have budgeted on their trip lasting the planned length of time and will be left considerably out of pocket by the eruption.

Impatient travellers wait for flights out of Bali.

Estimates show that 40% of Kiwis that travel to Bali on a weekly basis have no travel insurance. Those who were stranded there could be facing thousands in unexpected costs that could hugely affect their finances and life (after all, lots of us don't have huge cash reserves behind us for a rainy day). 

The lingering Bali ash saga sends a clear message that we all need to be more vigilant about our travel insurance and going without is probably a risk that's not worth taking. I myself discovered this fact on a trip to the United States where my connecting flights were cancelled and I found myself stranded in Los Angeles for two extra days waiting for a new flight home. Being covered ended up saving me close to $1,000 in flight alteration costs and extra accomodation. Those stranded in Bali face far worse due to this lingering and unexpected natural disaster. A secondary message from the disaster is that the lower costs of a basic policy may be tempting, but a comprehensive option may be worth the extra investment. Those with just basic cover stuck in Bali may only receive limited reimbursement, if any.

For those that do have a comprehensive travel insurance policy and face delays while overseas, it's crucial that you get everything possible in writing. This includes confirmation of delays or cancellations from the airline, transport receipts, hotel bills and meal receipts. If in any doubt at all, get it in writing. Also, read your policy carefully (including the fine print) and know exactly what you're covered for before you make decisions so that you won't face any unexpected surprises on your return home.

If you have any questions about travel insurance and what's the best option, you can talk to our travel insurance experts at Hood Insurance Brokers. Above all, be vigilant, know the conditions and be safe. Take the smaller cost of insurance beforehand just to be safe. Travel policies also cover far more than unexpected delays, including lost luggage, theft and medical costs while overseas.

A member of Spratt Financial Group.

Largest Southern Cross Travel Claims 2014/15

In the wake of Southern Cross announcing that they would be waiving the 'trivial' $100 excess from their travel insurance policies, they have also released the top 10 largest travel insurance claims from the past year, demonstrating just how necessary appropriate travel insurance can really be.

The list itself for the first time does not include only New Zealanders claiming from travel overseas. A claim totalling $236,000 was made by a foreigner who suffered a stroke while travelling through New Zealand and was forced into hospitalisation with an extended treatment. The CEO of Southern Cross Travel Insurance remarked that in comparison to any of these claims, the small cost of insuring your travel paled into insignificance.

The full list is as follows:

Highest value travel insurance claims for 2014:

1. $405,000 - surgery required for cancer in the USA.

2. $365,000 - air evacuation after a brain bleed and heart attack in North America.

3. $285,000 - blood clot while travelling caused a cardiac arrest on a plane, admitted to hospital in the US.

4. $236,000 - a tourist visiting New Zealand suffered a stroke requiring extensive hospitalisation and rehabilitation and transport to home country by air ambulance.

5. $193,000 - suffered a stroke in Europe, required air ambulance.

6. $177,000 - fell from a roof and fractured several leg bones in the USA.

7. $122,000 - family member of an international student diagnosed with cancer.

8. $120,000 - hit by a motorcycle in South East Asia.

9. $112,000 - heart attack while visiting New Zealand, required surgery and rehabilitation.

10. $105,000 - accidental fall resulting in broken bones in Europe

Source: Southern Cross Travel Insurance.

Whether you are travelling overseas, or you are a tourist looking to visit New Zealand, organising travel insurance should be the top of your priority list. Unless, of course, you have a spare $400,000 you're looking to offload.

Read how travel insurance bailed me out on my trip to the USA.

Read my experiences with the Southern Cross Travel claims process.

Need a free, no obligation quote? Use our contact form here.

Travel Insurance Claim Update

A few weeks back I arrived back to Auckland after an amazing two week journey to the United States. Awesome that is, apart from my journey home being affected by cancelled flights, leading me to have to stay another two nights in LA that I had not budgeted for! (Read the full story here)

Today, after I had filed the claim with Southern Cross Travel Insurance a few days earlier, everything was sorted and my claim was accepted. It was easier than I had anticipated too. All I had to do was fill out some forms, which weren't as daunting or lengthy as you might expect, and attach the relevant receipts and hotel information. There were also facilities on their website that let me do it all online if I had chosen to. They then were excellent in updating me on the process by email and by phone.

They said it would be processed within six days and it ended up being done in two. All in all, having the cover only set me back $70, whereas not having it and having to pay for my added expenses out of pocket would have set me back over $500. That's a considerable return on my investment. I admit to once scoffing at 'unnecessary' travel insurance, but after this, never again.

Thanks to Southern Cross Travel Insurance too for processing everything so quickly and efficiently.

Travel Insurance Pays Off

I have spent the last two weeks vacationing in the US, and as well as having an amazing time and seeing the grandeur of New York City for the first time, it helped teach me an important lesson. Never assume things will go according to plan!

Three nights ago, I was sitting in Pensacola Airport in Florida. I had flown in from Orlando on a plane so small it still had propellers, and I was waiting on my connection through to LA on what I hoped would be a bigger plane! I had crafted my schedule of flights to get me back to Los Angeles and then onto a Qantas Flight back to Auckland with 5 hours to make all my connections and do my transfers. I assumed that even if my flight was delayed, I would still make it in plenty of time. So of course, as if the cosmic fates wanted to waggle their disapproving fingers at me for my presumptions, the flight I was on the LA was cancelled entirely!

I assumed I would be here...

... Then this happened.

I sat in the airport for 6 long hours, realising that the new flight I was scheduled on wouldn't make my connection, even though I had left 5 hours to get it. I spent an hour on hold with the airline changing my tickets, but the earliest ones I could get back home were more than a day later than my originally scheduled flights. It was about now that I began to think about the Travel Insurance I had been advised to purchase before I left. I had originally fought against it because surely nothing would happen right? Luckily, I had given in and got it.

I had to pay to spend another night in a hotel in Los Angeles waiting for my flight, including transport to the hotel, extra meals and an over $200 fee for changing the flights that I could no longer make. All in all, the cancelled flights would have set me back over $500 if I had to pay for it out of my own pocket. The Southern cross travel insurance though, paid for all of that and saved my credit card. It made me feel just a little bit stupid for not wanting to pay the paltry insurance premium at the start of the trip.

It could have been worse too. Upon flying into Florida from New York, my baggage didn't arrive at the airport and US Airways told me it had never even been put on the flight at JFK airport to begin with! Luckily, they found the bags and had them delivered to me within 48 hours, but if they hadn't, the loss of my property, clothing and gifts would have been covered by the insurance as well. It does happen, and it did happen to me. You just never know what will happen, and not just during travel, during your day to day life as well. Now, having insurance has paid off for me in two big ways, on this trip and having medical insurance when I was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease. I would have almost no financial independence right now if I had to pay my medical bills myself. Think about that, both the next time you travel or when it comes time to think about insuring your life or your health. And if you come to the conclusion like I did that insurance was a worthwhile investment, let us get the best deals for you. It's as easy as that, and we'll make sure you have the best possible cover on the market at the lowest possible price.

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