The Perils of Ignoring Travel Insurance for Overseas Trips
May 3, 2024 - 4 minutes readThe cost of travel insurance has been rising lately. If you plan on travelling overseas any time soon, discover why you shouldn’t ignore cover and what you can do to reduce your risks.
When insurance for travel increases like this, it could be easy to cut corners on your cover – or even ditch it altogether as some travellers have been doing. According to survey data from the Insurance Council one in six Australian travellers (16%) didn’t bother with travel insurance on their most recent overseas trip. Of this number, 15% said they had avoided getting insured to save on their costs.
Another key finding was that of the insured travellers surveyed, fewer than one in five (19%) had taken the time to read their policy documents to check what they were covered for. Unfortunately, being under-informed as to what protection a policy provides could lead to experiencing serious out-of-pocket costs.
The survey also found that about a third of travellers indicated they might not buy insurance in the future due to the rising costs of travel. This could turn out to be a very risky decision.
The risks that come with overseas travel
According to the government Smart Traveller site, travel insurance “is as important as your passport”. Why? Because travel doesn’t always go according to plan – and when it doesn’t you could end up having to fork out thousands of dollars.
For example, if you were to suffer an accident or illness while overseas, you may have to pay the full costs of emergency and medical treatment, as well as the extra cost of travelling home. Other things that can lead to financial losses on overseas travels include trip delays or cancellations, damaged or lost luggage, theft of cash or possessions, and rental vehicle claim excesses.
Comprehensive travel policies usually provide financial protection for the common risks of travel – such as medical expenses, delays, losses, liability, natural disasters and pandemics, and accidental death. But in any case it pays to become familiar with what is included in your policy. You should also get to know what the exclusions are (e.g. cover may be voided in regions deemed unsafe for travel).
Staying safe while overseas
Of course what matters most of all is your welfare while overseas. There are steps you can take to reduce the inherent risks of travel, as well as the additional risks that can come with mission trips.
This includes:
- Pre-trip – team health checks and relevant vaccines (see below under ‘Links and Resources’), team training on risks, safety, security, and culture of destination countries.
- During the trip – safe behaviours while moving around, security for your belongings, avoiding carrying large amounts of cash or wearing expensive items.
Our previous article covers safety on mission trips in much more detail (although bear in mind it was written before COVID – so that may need to be factored in!).
Travel insurance for CofC members
Financial protection through travel insurance is vital for individual or team trips.
Our team can arrange one-off business travel insurance for your church’s mission trips. Get in contact with our team if you would like to discuss or to get a quote on a policy.
Links and Resources
Smart Traveller:
Destination Advice
Health checks and vaccines
Infectious diseases
Travel insurance
Cof C Insurance articles:
Safety tips for overseas mission trips
Managing risks while overseas
Written by Tess Oliver
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