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Our Travel Insurance FAQS section covers questions relating to the following areas: Choosing A Policy Payment Policy Benefits In the event of a claim

Welcome to our travel articles page. Here you will find a list of articles that you may find useful as you prepare for your next holiday or business trip.

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With TravelSurance Plus, you can have a relaxing holiday and a hassle-free business trip. This comprehensive travel insurance plan takes care of you and your loved ones in the event of an accident or an emergency when travelling overseas. It offers a choice of two levels of coverage for everyone in the family and the option to extend coverage to your home contents, pets and golf equipment.

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We explain how to protect yourself with value for money travel insurance when you holiday abroad.

When you go on holiday protecting yourself with comprehensive travel Insurance is almost as essential as having a valid passport, if not more so as the consequences of travelling uninsured have the potential to be a lot more expensive.

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Maybe the view from the top floor was too good to pass up.

After initially leasing four of five floors, locally based travel insurance company Mondial Assistance  decided to lease all five floors of the Deep Run I office building in Western Henrico.

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MELBOURNE, Australia & NEW YORK, Nov 29, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Medibank Private Limited, Australia’s largest private health insurer, has chosen Bloomberg’s Foreign Exchange (FX) trading platform to manage the exchange rate risk associated with its $2.5 billion global equity portfolio, Bloomberg L.P. announced today.

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Smart Traveller is now smarter. At least, that’s the idea now that the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) has relaunched its travel advisory website,smartraveller.gov.au. The Foreign Affairs Minister,KRudd, was on hand last week tospruik the new site, saying it would “help Australians make smart choices about where, when and how they travel overseas”. The old site has been streamlined (translation: had all the useless junk stripped out of it), there’s now a dedicated mobile site, plus a DFAT Twitter feed and instructional videos on YouTube. Advertisement: Story continues below There’s also a new ad campaign to go with the relaunch, urging Aussie travellers to “register, subscribe, insure” – as in, register your plans with Smart Traveller before leaving the country, subscribe to the website’s updates, and get travel insurance. All good advice. But just how useful is the website now? I’ve criticised smartraveller.gov.au before, not least for its stupid spelling, which makes it Smart Raveller, or Smart Rave Ller – ie, not very smart at all – but also because its dire warnings of danger overseas too often sound like the kind of thing a hand-wringing parent might say, not an all-knowing government agency. That’s still going to be a problem. But let’s do the good stuff first. The new mobile website is a great idea, provided you have WiFi access overseas. With a few jabs of your finger you can have up-to-date advice on the country you’re travelling in, plus addresses and map references of your nearest embassy should anything go wrong. It also makes it easy to register your whereabouts if you decide to change your plans, or if there’s a problem in the area you’re travelling through. The once ugly, unwieldy regular website has now been cleaned up, making it easier to quickly access the information you need. It’s all good. My only problem with Smart Traveller now is with some of the teeth-clattering warnings. There’s some useful, sound advice on the site, but it’s far from perfect. Some of the information seems out of date.Thailand, for example, is listed as “exercise high degree of caution”, and “reconsider your need to travel” in certain areas. That’s largely due to the floods that have affected the country. That information, however, was issued three weeks ago. Surely things might have changed slightly since then? And some of the information seems overly frightening, if a little vague. Back in Thailand, there’s a warning that “political demonstrations … have resulted in fatalities in recent years. Firearms, grenades and small explosive devices have been used at various locations.” Right. Um, which locations again? (No mention of gun crime in theUSA sectionthough.) Turkey, meanwhile, is listed as “exercise high degree of caution” largely due to a terrorist attack in Ankara last September. “Terrorist attacks can occur anywhere at any time in Turkey,” Smart Traveller says. Yowser. Count me out. Indonesia, too, currently has a code orange “reconsider your need to travel” slapped on it, citing more threats of terrorist attacks and other violence. Bali, in particular, is a “priority target” for terrorists, which is enough to put anyone off their Bintang. The reality, however, is that plenty of travellers are visiting supposedly dangerous countries right now and not experiencing any problems, just as travellers are inevitably getting themselves robbed or bitten by wild animals or stuffed into jail cells in seemingly harmless countries. Travel can be unpredictable like that. And I don’t mean to play down the warnings on the site – this stuff is real. But it’s not going to happen to everyone. Not even close. That’s where Smart Traveller’s three steps – register, subscribe, insure – become great advice. It’s an extra layer of protection for those choosing to go against the dire warnings of terrorist doom. Do you check the Smart Traveller website before you travel? Has it helped you out overseas? Are you a fan of the new site? email: bengroundwater@gmail.com Follow Ben Groundwater on Twitter@bengroundwater Comments 61comments so far it’s just an ass covering exercise. i work for the govt and have some sympathy here. you’re damned if you do, damned if you don’t. what’s the first thing that usually happens when people get caught in a violent demonstration in Bangkok? you know it - blame the govt for not warning, rescuing or air-dropping fresh supplies of Singha to them. it’s the old saying - you get the govt you deserve.i actually liked the old ST website. of course, you took a lot of the overly-cautious with a heavy grain of salt, but it was a good source of detailed info. jules| melbourne - November 30, 2011, 11:33AM Always enjoy your column Ben. Currently I have a daughter holidaying in Thailand for 2 weeks. Another daughter is going there for the new year and, among other things, is attending the Full Moon Party on New Years Eve. I follow world current affairs closely and am aware of the recent political unrest and current floods in Thailand. Political and terrorist activities are not concerning me in relation to their holidays. Like most parents, I’m more worried about the situations in which they’ll put themselves in the course of their visit. Your points about the DFAT website are well made and generally speaking I believe Thailand is stable and safe to visit. DFAT can’t stop people from making bad decisions, but it does need to provide up to date accurate information. The rest is up to the individual. James Kenny| Dingley - November 30, 2011, 11:39AM Am I the only one seriously disgusted by that photo of the two backpackers being pulled through floodwaters by a local who probably has better things to be getting on with than playing tour guide, like saving her home?On topic: people have quite a ridiculous sense of entitlement sometimes about the government’s supposed obligation to look after them. During the evacuations from Japan after the nuclear meltdown, one radio station interviewed an Aussie expat (with young kids!) who was quite open about the fact that he wasn’t even looking at what other options might be available to evacuate his family because he thought it was up to the Australian government to put on free flights.Making travel advices and warnings a notch higher than strictly necessary gives the Department of Foreign Affairs some buffer where they can say “well we did tell people not to go there”. DisDis| Sydney - November 30, 2011, 11:50AM I don’t think Smart Traveller is out of line at all with Thailand’s rating. The floods haven’t fully receded so it probably isn’t a great idea for tourists to be tramping about some areas. The ‘reconsider your need to travel’ region around Preah Vihear is definitely warranted, considering the Thais are taking pot shots at the Cambodian military every other week. Everyone should be aware of the potential threats down in the Songkhla region. Best for the masses to be over-informed, than not. brently| bangkok - November 30, 2011, 11:51AM Looking at Smartraveller is critical for anyone going overseas.That’s because travel insurance products have in their fine print an escape clause for themselves. They refuse to pay out if you have travelled to a country / region that has an Australian Government travel warning / directive against it - even if the warning / directive was issued AFTER you arrived. Chris| Brisbane - November 30, 2011, 11:56AM The difficulty with these warnings is that the whole country is included. I’ve recently returned from Turkey and travelled around Istanbul, Ankara, Aegean coast and Capadoccia, without feeling at all threatened. I also found Turkish people polite, friendly and liberal in their opinions. Marcus| Brisbane - November 30, 2011, 12:13PM Having just returned from a couple weeks in Thailand - I can assure all you worry warts that it is peaches & cream there. Of course if you stray too far off the beaten track up north you are likely going to be in a world of hurt !!. I used the old website as a guide only - just about everywhere I have travelled has been against the recommendation of the Aus Govt. !! JL1972| StKilda - November 30, 2011, 12:13PM Just returned from 4 days in Bangkok last week, the news coverage and press reports would have you believe the place is head high in water, the city is completely dry,no flooding what so ever,hotels are empty,ppl are doing ti tough,the locals cant be the warnings that have been given by other governments,so point 1,take media reports with a grain of salt and government websites as a guide only,get your info on the ground locally. starship| sydney - November 30, 2011, 12:28PM Totally agree with DisDis, 11.50am, regarding the photo. Quite despicable. feels sick.- November 30, 2011, 12:48PM Chris: I’m not sure where you’ve been getting your travel insurance from - but as someone who works in this particular field, what you have written needs a bit of clarification. An insurer cannot retroactively exclude cover in a country once you are there (provided you advised them you would be in that country), but if you say booked tickets to Thailand after the floods became a known issue, you are effectively selecting against that insurer - because the likelyhood of there being a claim is so much greater, and therefore they will not cover you (but would cover you if you booked the tickets before the floods but had to cancel because of them) - and lastly, I havent ever seen the fine print you refer to - The excluded countries are specified and not great in numbers (Afgan, Iraq etc) sounds like you should shop around next time you’re looking for travel insurance…

Source: http://www.smh.com.au

Thomas Cook India Limited has entered into a tie up through its subsidiary company ‘Thomas Cook Insurance Services (India) Limited’ as a corporate agent of Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company Limited. This partnership allows Thomas Cook to offer travel insurance and other general insurance products from Bajaj Allianz to its vast customer base, across the country.

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The FINANCIAL — An extra 300 post offices across Australia will operate extended trading hours in December to allow customers to collect parcels and access a range of postal services outside of normal business hours.

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Between December 1 and 23, the additional 300 stores will open until 6pm or 7pm weekdays and on Saturday mornings to provide customers with greater access, convenience and choice.

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Disrupted … passengers in Perth attempt to rebook flights after the Chilean volcanic ash cloud disrupted travel earlier this year.Photo: AFP Here are 10 things you need to know about travel insurance before you buy. Let me count the ways you could have needed your travel insurance this year: Cyclone Yasi in Queensland, Hurricane Irene in the US and flooding in Thailand; volcanic eruptions in Iceland and Chile; earthquakes in Christchurch and Turkey; the tsunami and nuclear emergency in Japan; civil unrest in Egypt and Libya, protests in Europe, plus disruptions to Tiger Airways and Qantas flights. These opportunities for cancellation or travel interruption came on top of the more ”run of the mill” holiday woes, ranging from illness and lost luggage through to stolen cameras. But not every traveller who turned to their insurer in the past year will have been happy with the response. Advertisement: Story continues below While the rate of complaint about travel policies has declined markedly in recent years, it still accounts for about 10 per cent of all complaints to the Financial Ombudsman Service. Often these disputes arise because people don’t realise the limitations on their policy, either because they have bought in haste while concentrating on other details of their trip, or because the policy wasn’t clear. To make sure you buy a policy that stands up when it’s needed, here are 10 things you need to know about travel insurance. Price isn’t everythingAs with any insurance, there’s no point paying for a policy that’s cheap only because it’s riddled with limits and exclusions that make it hard for a claim to succeed. The premium might be low because there’s a big ”excess” - the loss you’ll have to bear before the insurance kicks in - or because its benefits cut out quickly. Read the policyIt’s tempting to just scan the summary that sets out the key features and headline figures for benefits but you should read the full product disclosure statement to check the detail. You might discover, for instance, that while there’s $5000 available for lost luggage, there’s also a cap of $500 for each individual item. So even if the five items you lost were worth $5000 in total, you’d get only $2500 back. Check electronic capsIt’s common to carry electronic gear such as cameras, iPads and smartphones so check the policy for any specific excess, individual limit or total cap for electronic goods. You may have to bear the first few hundred dollars of a loss, which means it won’t be worthwhile claiming something such as a $500 camera, or a limit may mean you get back just $500 for a $3000 digital SLR camera. A total cap of $4000 may fall short if it all disappears. Understand baggage limitsCheck not only the limit per item but also the combined value of your luggage cover. If there’s a chance you’ll exceed it, additional cover is relatively inexpensive to buy. In one case that reached the insurance ombudsman, a traveller who lost $160,000 in jewellery hadn’t considered the fact the maximum payout was $5000. Declare pre-existing conditionsA common cause of dispute is ”pre-existing” health conditions. Look for a policy that includes as standard a reasonably long list of common conditions. If you have a condition that’s not on that list, declare it. It’s better to get it added to the list, even if that means a slightly higher premium, than void your policy. Be aware the fine print is sure to give the insurer the right to check your medical history. ”Theft” coverThe theft of items from a public place is another common source of dispute. Many policies say the insurer isn’t liable for the loss of ”unattended” belongings - and that could just mean you left items at the table when you went to check the menu. While baggage may be covered if it’s stolen from the locked boot of a car, it may not be if it was on the front seat. Having a suitcase more than a metre away from you at the airport could mean it’s ”unattended”. Cancellation basicsTrip cancellation was an issue in the past year but policies can differ with regard to what cancellation means. Some policies cover all the journeys involved in a trip; others may cover just the originating flights to and from Australia. Check the definition and whether it suits your travel arrangements. Don’t double upYou may be offered the option to cover the ”excess” a car rental company will charge if you damage their car. These excesses can be as steep as $5000 or so. But you may find you already have this cover through the credit card you used to book the car. Check credit card freebiesThat said, make sure you know what conditions are attached to travel insurance that comes with your credit card. For instance, you may have to pay for your whole trip on the card to activate the cover. Fun can cost extraHigh-adrenalin activities don’t just set your pulse racing, they also give your insurer high blood pressure. If you’re going to undertake a potentially life-threatening activity while on holiday - and that’s anything from skiing to base jumping - check with your insurer to see whether you need to add this to their standard cover (paying extra).

Source: http://www.smh.com.au

Copyright 2011 . All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

CROYDON, England, November 29, 2011 – /PRNewswire/ –

News that 2011 is proving a record year for natural disasters underlines the benefits to travellers of taking out natural disaster cover, according to travel insurance expertDirect Travel Insurance.

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