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Travel insurance

PostPosted: Wed Oct 22, 2008 8:53 pm
by mozzie
I am taking a trip overseas in about 2 months - going to Bangladesh for about a month and a half. By that time i'll have my 400D +430 ex + 60mm macro + 11-16 tokina + 50mm f1.4 and my twin kit lenses - so not too much but all up about 3K+ of stuff and stuff that i dont fancy re-acquiring

I have been looking at some travel insurance - the ones i have been able to find is through places like medibank and so forth that does total package travel insurance. I dont want anything like that i JUST want my camera covered.

I know that its possible to insure camera gear and possibly take out an add on travel insurance but not currently looking into getting cover while i am at home. So just wondering whether anone knows of a place that'll do just camera travel insurance for a month or so?

also slightly off topic but is there a way to seach topics in old posts? i mean i am sure things like travel insurance has been discussed before....

Re: Travel insurance

PostPosted: Wed Oct 22, 2008 9:55 pm
by paulmac
The top right hand of the web page should help you on your quest for travel insurance posts...there's some great reading there.

Please please please tell me you're getting travel insurance. This place http://www.travelinsurancedirect.com.au will cover you for less than $200, which includes $4000 worth of camera gear.

I have to plug them, based on the fact that I got sick in the US a few years ago.
(I'm blaming the food...my brother-in-law thinks it might have been the alcohol!).
They found I had another problem, so they admitted me to the cardiac ward...

3 days in hospital: $14,000
Cost to be escorted home by a nurse: $30,000

Travel insurance: Priceless!

Re: Travel insurance

PostPosted: Wed Oct 22, 2008 10:24 pm
by mozzie
thanks paul!!!

That looks tops and its SIGNIFICANTLY cheaper than what i was looking at with the others. I just got a quote of 178 which I am more than happy to pay even for just the camera.

your US story sounds a nightmare.... I guess thats why they invented these thigns. I have always travelled without a travel insurance... I guess i've never really thought much about it.

I am lucky in that my family is filled with doctors in bangladesh so in terms of any medical expense i;d b rather safe - unless i needed surgery which i would much rather not get in that country even if i needed it!.... but looking at the cover its awesome.!!!!

i'll feel rather foreign though goin there with insurance but knowing that the chances of being mugged esp with my camera around is about 70% i think its a good thing to get

Re: Travel insurance

PostPosted: Wed Oct 22, 2008 10:46 pm
by scott s
paulmac wrote:....Cost to be escorted home by a nurse: $30,000...

thats gotta be some special nurse... hehe

Re: Travel insurance

PostPosted: Thu Oct 23, 2008 6:57 am
by gstark
scott s wrote:
paulmac wrote:....Cost to be escorted home by a nurse: $30,000...

thats gotta be some special nurse... hehe


Geoff would have done it as the Aldi Nurse, for about 15% off. :)

Re: Travel insurance

PostPosted: Thu Oct 23, 2008 9:36 am
by paulmac
scott s wrote:thats gotta be some special nurse... hehe

Yeah, $30k buys you 1 return and 1 one-way fully flexible, last minute business class ticket on Qantas, including a visit from the Captain wanting to be reassured he's not going to have to divert to Hawaii just for me...!
And the looks we got from the x-ray dudes when the nurse (male...) put two bags full of medical gear through was something to behold.

Re: Travel insurance

PostPosted: Thu Oct 23, 2008 10:50 am
by cyanide
Somewhat tangential - and without being alarmist - but please be sure to leave copies of important docs with someone: itineraries, photocopies of passport/s, details of any travel & medical insurance, list of phone numbers of important people etc. If something goes wrong, it can save time in those crucial initial hours/days. Some friends learned this the very hard way.

Re: Travel insurance

PostPosted: Thu Oct 23, 2008 10:55 am
by gstark
cyanide wrote:Somewhat tangential - and without being alarmist - but please be sure to leave copies of important docs with someone: itineraries, photocopies of passport/s, details of any travel & medical insurance, list of phone numbers of important people etc. If something goes wrong, it can save time in those crucial initial hours/days. Some friends learned this the very hard way.


Very good advice.

My sister and her darling hubby recently went on a trip to England with an overnighter in Gay Paree, and then a trip to Spain to board her Mediterranean cruise to Turkey, taking in Italy and Greece.

During the trip her kids got a call, asking them to look for her cruise tix, which she apparently neglected to bring along with her. :)

Re: Travel insurance

PostPosted: Thu Oct 23, 2008 12:19 pm
by Marvin
I wouldn't even think about traveling without insurance. Even with a family of doctors - like Paul said, you may always need to be evacuated home. It's a pretty small price to pay.

Re: Travel insurance

PostPosted: Thu Oct 23, 2008 3:50 pm
by cyanide
Marvin wrote:I wouldn't even think about traveling without insurance. Even with a family of doctors - like Paul said, you may always need to be evacuated home. It's a pretty small price to pay.


Which is also related to my mention of leaving insurance details, and important family numbers, behind with someone. My friends were seriously injured on their honeymoon and needed to be evacuated asap. Their family basically had to arrange it themselves, from back home - including, since the insurance company wasn't playing ball, raising the almost a quarter of a million for the medivac - until the local gov't came to the (interim) rescue.

Not fun regardless, but having key info at the family's fingertips would have made things move at least a little quicker/smoother.

The chances of something going wrong might be low, but it really doesn't take that much effort to be organised and leave details, and if the shit does hit the fan it can save you a lot of stress.

Re: Travel insurance

PostPosted: Fri Oct 24, 2008 3:18 pm
by who
Slightly more extreme, but one guy I know of, who is working all through Europe as a chef on private yachts etc, has left all that plus an enduring power of attorney with his mother back in Aus.

Re: Travel insurance

PostPosted: Fri Oct 24, 2008 3:27 pm
by photohiker
Last big trip we did, I scanned all the passports, tickets and such to pdf and uploaded them to a private directory on our webspace, as well as send them to a relative.

Of course we didn't need them...

Michael

Re: Travel insurance

PostPosted: Fri Oct 24, 2008 7:23 pm
by Frankenstein
photohiker wrote:Last big trip we did, I scanned all the passports, tickets and such to pdf and uploaded them to a private directory on our webspace, as well as send them to a relative.

Of course we didn't need them...

Michael


I scanned my docs and copied them to my PDA/phone. As well I emailed them to myself at gmail so I had a copy "in the cloud".
Lastly, I stuck a copy on the fridge for my wife.

Re: Travel insurance

PostPosted: Wed Dec 10, 2008 12:03 pm
by makario
excellent thread thanks Paul for the tip on Travelinsurancedirect. They are cheaper than most out there. Will need to check with my H&C insurer as to how much per item would they cover of my camera gear.

Cheers
Mak

Re: Travel insurance

PostPosted: Wed Dec 10, 2008 12:28 pm
by paulmac
makario wrote:Will need to check with my H&C insurer as to how much per item would they cover of my camera gear.

Quite possibly zip if you're out of Australia...

Re: Travel insurance

PostPosted: Wed Dec 10, 2008 7:37 pm
by team piggy
I have also used reguarly http://www.worldcare.com.au/

Even on within Australia trips I have used them, they are also good as they cover hire car excess.
Having this plus all the other included insurance stuff for usually less than 2 days of overpriced hire car companies excess reduction policy $$ :P

Re: Travel insurance

PostPosted: Wed Dec 10, 2008 9:58 pm
by makario
 AAMI offers 30 days overseas insurance for specified items as part of the H&C insurance, and since Ipaid by credit card I get travel insurance.