quercus

Hi all

I'm not sure if I'm posting in the right place here. I'm not used to the mobile site.
I never usually bother with travel insurance but i must be getting cautious in my old age. The compare sites don't seem geared up for me as I am going to Uk from Aus for 32 days and will also travel to Italy. Can anyone recommend anything please?

Many thanks!

GarryP

Only get insurance if you can't cover the costs of what the insurance covers anyway. Particularly from Australia, the costs are extreme. The same company will charge £40 for a policy in the UK and $300 in Oz. I guess it's down to the cost of flights, but it means the bet is usually a bad one.

Beoz

Get a credit card with travel insurance

goldchoccycoin

I have used Travel Insurance Direct tid.com.au for the last few years and happy with price, coverage and the claims process (I've claimed twice). Enjoy your trip!

Dorothy

I just bought from American Express travel insurance. $400 for 5 weeks in North America for the 2 of us (mid 50's). Unlimited medical cover, repatriation, all the extras we could need

quercus

Thanks for your replies guys.

I am leaving on Tuesday so left it too late to apply for a credit card but it does remind me that I have free insurance on my Nationwide account so travel from UK to Italy should be covered. That should reduce my quote which was $220 from TID. I will make another application and take a look.

quercus

The quote is now $175 without the Italian side trip. I will probably go with that so thank you all, particularly goldchoccycoin! I might take a look at Amex first.

Pollyana

I can recommend TID too, used them for several times. Another competitive one is Covermore.

spouse of scouse

Buggered if I know how people travel without travel insurance. Get sick or injure yourself in a transit country, need to be repatriated to your home country, fall sick prior to travel and lose the value of your air ticket and accommodation - all of those scenarios would see you lose far more than the cost of your insurance.

Bit close to home at the moment, I've managed to get pleurisy on my visit home to Oz and I'm supposed to be going to Bali for a week tomorrow with one of my sisters. Doc appointment in an hour to declare whether I'm fit to travel. If I'm not, the only saving grace is my travel insurance will reimburse the $4,000 that my part of the trip cost.

Bermudashorts

OP says she wants travel insurance! $300 is hardly extreme compared to the many thousands that a cancelled holiday or repatriation might cost.

spouse of scouse

Certificate from doctor - 'unfit to travel'

Phone call to travel insurer - all the money I've spent on flights, accommodation and medical expenses (totaling over $4,000) will be refunded

I paid 194 pounds for an annual policy, and I'll be using it again over the coming months. Pretty cheap, considering I'm already $3,600 'in front'

GarryP

The prices in the UK, sure it made sense. £40 for an annual multi-trip policy, fine.

However the prices in Australia, for what would be the same equivalent cover and journeys is many multiples of the UK price.

Particularly if I were travelling back to the UK for a visit, I don't think I'd bother with insurance.

spouse of scouse

40 pounds for an annual multi-trip policy? What company?

On your trip back to the UK, what if you became ill in transit, or at your transit stopover? A few months ago in Dubai, an uninsured person had an entirely unexpected brain hemorrhage. His medical bills are AU$225,000 and rising every day.

How anyone can think that it's worth taking this sort of risk, for the sake of 'saving' a few hundred dollars, is astonishing to me.

GarryP

I pulled the particular example from "Insureandgo" since they offer services in the UK AND Australia.

https://quote.insureandgo.com/AMT/compare.aspx

Most insurance has a cap on costs. Plus numerous exemptions and get out clauses. Insurance is no certainty of no problem.

Life is risk, most of it uncovered. Insurance is like gambling on that risk, with the certainty that you come out behind on the deal, on average.

spouse of scouse

Look, I'm not trying to change your mind regarding your take on travel insurance. If you're happy with the risk, that's good. I'm not, and that's good too. May all your travels be safe ones