For information relating to policies purchased prior to 03 February 2022, please check the PDS provided with your purchase. You can contact us if you need this sent to you again. For policies purchased on or from 03 February 2022 please see below.
Has your destination been documented as unsafe for any reason? If you do travel in a country or region where a travel warning is in place or if an event is occurring that may threaten your safety, it may affect your policy coverage.
Travel insurance is designed to cover you for events which are sudden, unforeseen, unavoidable, outside your control and that occur after you buy your policy.
While we all love a great travel tale where a bit of risk is involved, the policy isn’t designed to cover events you already know about that could impact your health or travels (sorry!), such as travelling in areas where your Government or other official authority expects something to happen or where something is already happening.
Government warnings can be issued or changed without notice at any time, so always check the status with the Australian Government travel advisory (www.smartraveller.gov.au) before you buy a policy and before you pay anything towards your trip, like deposits or the full amount.
If you’d prefer to cancel or rearrange your travel plans because of an event occurring at your destination, we’ll look at three important factors when assessing any claim you need to make:
Here’s a guide to give you an idea:
1. If a warning is in place before you buy a policy (whether you have travel expenses or not): Most likely you will not be covered for any events arising from this event. There may be cover available for other events not related to the travel warning.
2. A warning is published after you buy a policy and before you have booked travel or incurred expenses: Most likely you will not be covered for any events arising from this event. There may be cover available for other events not related to the travel warning.
3. A warning is published after you buy a policy and after you have booked travel or incurred expenses (before you leave home): There may be cover for cancellation or rearrangement costs for affected travel services which were purchased before the warning was issued, under the terms of your policy, however there are also exclusions that may apply to this, including if the warning is due to an epidemic or pandemic, or acts of war.
4. A warning is published after you buy a policy, and if you are already travelling in an affected area and have incurred expenses: There may be cover for cancellation or rearrangement costs for affected travel services which were purchased before the warning was issued, under the terms of your policy, however there are also exclusions that may apply to this, including if the warning is due to an epidemic or pandemic, or acts of war.
5. If you choose to travel to a region despite published warnings: Most likely you will not be covered for any events arising from this event. There may be cover available.
Then you can travel under the terms of your policy, but be sure to monitor any changes to Government advice and risk status.
The policy isn’t designed to cover everything and there are some exclusions.
For example, there is no cover for any expenses incurred:
Travel insurance isn’t designed to cover everything, so make sure you’re careful with your planning and you read the PDS to make sure you understand what’s included and what’s not, as well as the terms, conditions, limitations and exclusions. If you have any questions contact us.
We’re here to help if you have a question about travel insurance. We’re available:
Before your trip, check to see if there are current travel alerts for your destination – you can also view the latest government advice.
Gaza−Israel conflict: For travellers in, or planning on travelling to, Israel or the Palestinian Territories, please see our travel alert with more information.