Travel Insurance

[shutterbug]

Sorry this is not dslr related, but I need help finding a travel insurance company. I just got my ticket, now I need travel insurance.

What does everyone use?

Thank you in advance

[Catcha]

don't they offer that when you buy our ticket ? of did you get a E ticket ?

[shutterbug]

Yes I got an E-ticket

[MCWB]

Vince, I used http://worldcare.com.au/ for my recent trip. I would NOT recommend taking out the extra insurance for camera gear though (I did, and it was a waste of $200 ); if you read the fine print pretty much the only time your camera gear is covered is if it's stolen from you, there's absolutely nothing you could have done to prevent it, and you get a police report. Pretty unlikely and not worth the extra IMO.

Edit: they were cheaper than QBE insurance through STA in Wentworth.

[shutterbug]

Thank you Trent Much appreciated

[ozimax]

I have found Aussie travel cover to be pretty reasonable, my son in the USA has had it for about 3 years now (he's at college), they paid up quickly on a medical expense two years ago.

http://www.aussietravelcover.com.au/home.asp

See how you go,

Max

[Onyx]

I use a Covermore reseller for my travels, http://www.covermore.com.au. It's the one my regular travel agent is in bed with (I can't be bothered shopping for services such as these as insurance co's are all evil scum to me), but since during my recent past I've travelled a bit the agent has kindly elimininate her commission (saving me 20%). There's a choice of $0, $100 or $250 excess and the rates vary accordingly.

[TonyH]

If you have paid by Credit Card, depending on the type of card you have, you may find you automatically have travel insurance.

With my MasterCard I get free travel insurance that appears to be the equal of the purchased ones.


Cheers

Tony

[birddog114]

If you have paid by Credit Card, depending on the type of card you have, you may find you automatically have travel insurance.

With my MasterCard I get free travel insurance that appears to be the equal of the purchased ones.


Cheers

Tony

TonyH,
Pls. check the fine print, and the maximum of payout for the lost or damaged electronics or photography equipments on each travel insurance policies, I'm sure it's limited, and the figures are not same and are not good. perhaps it's only great with other covers as medical expenses etc.....

[MHD]

I was about to recommend QBE through an STA branch...

Insuring my gear was fairly easy amendment to the policy and not that much more...

[shutterbug]

I have a no frills Virgin MC
I am not sure if I am going to take an dslr with me. If I do, it will be a D200 with maybe a prime lens.

[ajax]

shutterbug,

I recently got extra cover for my d70 and other gear on my contents policy. They (RACV) cover it as mobile item and cover for upto A$10k in oz/nz and upto A$2500 worldwide (theft/accidental damage).

hth

cheers,
ajax

[greencardigan]

I've used QBE through STA. Not sure about camera gear claims but they were good regarding a few small medical claims.
I dont think they are the cheapest around though.

An extension on a home contents policy sounds like a great idea. Might remember that for next time.

[thaddeus]

Decide what you want, eg if you have a major complication do you want to be repatriated to Australia, and if so, how
Shop around - prices can vary - look for the an insurance company that asks you lots of questions because that allows them to better understand and therefore price the risk
Buy direct - ommissions paid to travel agents vary from 20-50%

[poiter86]

Shutterbug,

On my recent trip to Hong Kong & Singapore i went with http://www.travellersassistance.com.au. I found that they offered a good limit of $4000 per item (up to $24k) which covered the camera gear & notebook that we travelled with. For 10 days cover i think the premium was about $184 for 2 ppl. I found that many standard policys only had a single item limit of $700, so if you needed cover for an item worth more, you had to specify items to be covered & pay more & that usually increased the premium at least 50%.

A friend of mind recently went ahead with comprehensive cover (HBF) up to $4000 for his camera gear for around $130 a year. This covers theft as well as accidental loss. I enquired & asked them what would happen if you accidentally dropped ur camera in the river - they said it would be covered. But if you were negligent & left your camera outside & it rained, it wouldnt be covered. I guess its a case of covering accidents rather than stupidity. They did add that claims of the accidental nature are taken case by case as obviously some ppl act fraudulently.

Cheers,

Pete

[shutterbug]

Thank you everyone for all the info, much appreciated.

[el nino]

I've used RACV's international travel cover & Australian based contents insurance for a number of years.

Made a claim last year (after my home was burgled in Aus) and I was happy with the manner in which I was refunded. They did send an assessor after seeing my claims list, but I kept most of my boxes, receipts and even had some pics to show as evidence. Most of the big ticket items were listed on my policy.
They didnt redeem a couple of things to the full amount, mostly heirlooms and jewelry. I even managed to get my bags/backpacks, extra batteries etc... compensated for

For travel I just insure my laptop and a couple of lenses (~10K in total). They did also offer "idiot" protection (if I drop it, its cool), but I havent checked my fine print in the last year.

I've found that some companies (ANZ, Thomas Cook) have very low maximum claim cut off $$$ (e.g. ~$1000 for a laptop). Also check about new for old replacement.

[mudder]

Very timely thread, heading over to NZ for about 10 days or so with other camera nuts, so thanks for the info all, it's reminded me to check out insurance not only for me but mainly for the camera gear...

[Dug]

I took out cover-more for the last trip I lost about $2,000 worth of gear off a canoe in Madang harbour.

They were pretty full on sending out a very aggressive investigator and giving my wife the 3rd degree on the phone, it turned out they confused my full equipment list for my lost equipment list and thought I was claiming $20,000 worth of gear, they quietened down after that small fact was explained.

I have still not got a cheque or reply from them.

I am not real happy with them and will be taking the matter further depending on the outcome.

[Zeeke]

I take out a life insurance everytime i go for a drive with Dug

As for my camera gear, most of it is insured, got more ive gotta add.. will be doing that tomorrow... seeing as i travel and take photos in harsh enviroments (ocean) and its with RACQ

Tim

[mudder]

Just as FYI, approached RACV (who I have home, home contents and car with), $5000 cover in Aus and NZ, includes accidental cover (in case I drop the cammera off a cliff or in a river etc), pinched from car etc. replacement = new for old, about $150/year.

Just fyi...