Travel Insurance FAQs

General

• What is the maximum age you can insure up to?

  • We can offer Single Trip policies to people who are 84 or younger. We can offer Annual Multi-trip policies to people who are 69 or younger.

• Can you cover non-residents?

  • You don't need to be an Australian permanent resident or citizen to take out a policy with us.  If you’re on a temporary resident visa like the 457, or even a working holiday visa, you can still be covered. Our only requirement is that you’ve lived in Australia for 3 months or more at the time you purchase your policy. 

    Non-residents should be aware that for the purpose of the policy their country of residence is considered to be Australia.  This means that

    - In the event of a medical emergency overseas we would consider the cost of repatriating you to Australia. We won’t cover the cost of sending you to your home country or country of permanent residence. 

    - There is no cover for medical treatment received in Australia.

    - Cover for cancelling or curtailing your trip due to the illness, injury or death of a relative will be limited to Close Relatives (as defined) under 85 who are living in Australia.

• Do you offer individual policies to people under 19?

  • We provide individual policies for travellers who are 18.  Travellers under 18 can be covered individually on trips where they will be with a responsible adult the entire time. Responsible adults can include non-family members like teachers or airline cabin-crew.

    Polices for under 19 year olds need to be set up over the phone. Call us on 1300 669 999 to organise a quote.

• How soon before my trip should I buy travel insurance?

  • We recommend you take out travel insurance as soon as you put money down for your trip.

    To claim for cancellation of your trip, you’ll need to have a policy in place at the time that the issue which causes you to cancel arises. Cancellation cover is limited to specific reasons, including serious illness or injury, and redundancy.

• How can I pay for this insurance?

  • You can pay with Visa or MasterCard online or over the phone.

    If you would prefer to pay by cheque or money order, our Customer Care team can help. Call them on 1300 669 999 for details.

• Is your website secure for online purchase?

  • Absolutely. We ensure that all sensitive information is encrypted during the payment process.

• What if I decide the policy isn't right for me once I've paid?

  • After you buy a policy from us you have 19 days to decide if the cover is right for you. If you decide that the cover is not suitable – for any reason – you can ask us to cancel the policy.  As long as you haven’t travelled or made a claim, we’ll be able to give you a full refund.

• How do I cancel my policy inside the 19 day cooling off period?

  • You can cancel the policy within the cooling off period provided no claims have been made and you have not commenced your trip.  To do this simply email us your policy documents stating that you wish to cancel the policy, that you have not travelled under the policy and that you haven’t and won’t be lodging any claims. We will email you confirming the cancellation and that a refund has been issued. From here, the money takes 3-5 working days to show in your account.

• Do we get a discount if more than one person takes the policy?

  • Our rates have a built-in discount if there's more than one adult on the policy.

    On top of this, you can name up to three children aged 2-18 and up to two children under 2 on your policy for free when travelling with you as their parent or grandparent. You may, however, be required to pay a premium to cover any pre-existing medical conditions. 

    If you are travelling with 9 or more people, call us to organise an extra 10% off your policy. See our Group Travel Insurance page for more details.

• What am I covered for under your policies?

  • You can find a full list of policy benefits here.

• Can I buy-out the excess on your policy?

  • Unfortunately, no. However, you can reduce your excess from $150 to $100 by upgrading from the Standard to Premier level of cover.

    Upgrading to your policy has other benefits too - you can find a comparison of Standard and Premier cover here. 

• What if a family member becomes ill or dies before I travel?

  • If you need to cancel your trip, our policy provides for irrecoverable travel and accommodation costs. There are terms and conditions that apply. These can be found in our PDS, they include that:

    - Your family member must be under 85 and living in Australia.

    - They must be your spouse, fiancé, parent, parent-in-law, child, child-in-law, grandparent, grandchild or sibling.

    - Their illness, injury or death must be unforeseeable, and cannot have resulted from a pre-existing medical condition.

• What if a family member becomes ill or dies while I am overseas?

  • If you need to come home early, our policy covers your additional transport and accommodation costs. It also provides a proportional refund for irrecoverable trip costs. There are terms and conditions that apply. These can be found in our PDS, they include that:

    - Your family member must be under 85 and living in Australia.

    
    - They must be your spouse, fiancé, parent, parent-in-law, child, child-in-law, grandparent, grandchild or sibling.

    
    - Their illness, injury or death must be unforeseeable, and cannot have resulted from a pre-existing medical condition.

• What is the maximum cover for my personal things when travelling overseas?

  • Our Premier policies provide cover for Personal Baggage up to a maximum of $10,000 per person. With our Standard policies it’s $7,500.

    On both policies the most you can claim for a single item, or set (eg. golf clubs), is $750. The most you can claim all-up for items that the policy defines as a valuable is $750.

    We make an exception for laptops, cameras and video recorders, where you are covered for up to $3,000 in total for these items.

• What is the maximum cover for my personal things when travelling domestically?

  • Our Premier Domestic policies provide cover for Personal Baggage up to a maximum of $7,500 per person. This maximum you can claim for a single item, or set (eg. golf clubs), is $750. The most you can claim all-up for items that the policy defines as Valuables is $750. 

    Our Standard Domestic policies provide cover for Personal Baggage up to a maximum of $5000 per person. This maximum you can claim for a single item, or set (eg. golf clubs), is $500. The most you can claim all-up for items that the policy defines as Valuables is $500.

    On both policies we make an exception for laptops, cameras and video recorders, where you are covered for up to $2,000 in total.

    If you have an Annual Multi-trip policy and are on a covered domestic trip, then you will receive the same cover for personal baggage and valuables that you receive when travelling internationally.

• Can you cover my camera and other valuable items when travelling overseas?

  • On international trips you have up to $3,000 cover in total for lost, damaged or stolen laptops, cameras and video recorders. You can apply the full $3,000 cover limit to just one of these items if necessary.

    Other Valuables and electronics, such as mobile phones, jewellery and sunglasses are insured up to $750 in total on international trips.

• Can you cover my camera and other valuables when travelling domestically?

  • On Domestic trips you have up to $2,000 cover in total per person for lost, damaged or stolen laptops, cameras and video recorders. You can apply the full $2,000 cover limit to just one of these items if necessary.

    Other Valuables and electronics, such as mobile phones, jewellery and sunglasses are insured up to $750 in total per person on Premier Domestic policies and $500 in total per person on Standard Domestic Policies.

    If you have an Annual Multi-trip policy and are on a covered domestic trip, then you will receive the same cover for personal baggage and valuables that you receive when travelling internationally.

• Is my travel money covered when I am overseas?

  • Our policy includes certain cover for Personal Money when it is stolen from your person or from a locked safe or safety deposit box.

    Personal Money is a defined term in our policy and can include: cash (bank notes and coins), travellers cheques, cheques, postal and money orders. There is no cover for stolen debit or credit cards.

    Our Standard policy covers each insured traveller for up to $250 for cash and up to $2000 in total for all Personal Money and Travel Documents. Our Premier policy covers each insured traveller up to $500 for cash and up to $3000 in total for Personal Money and Travel Documents.

• What happens if my passport or travel tickets are lost or stolen overseas?

  • Our policy provides certain cover for passports, visas or travel tickets when they are on your person or in a locked safe or safety deposit box. The cover is available for lost, damaged or stolen items and includes necessary and reasonable costs associated with obtaining replacements.

    Our Standard policy covers up to $2000 per person for Personal Money and Travel Documents, our Premier policy covers up to $3000.

• What happens if my passport or travel tickets are lost or stolen when I am travelling domestically?

  • Our Domestic policies provide certain cover for travel documents when they are on your person or in a locked safe or safety deposit box. The cover is available for lost, damaged or stolen tickets and passports. Cover can include costs associated with obtaining a replacement for these items when it is necessary and reasonable to do so on your trip.

    If you have an Annual Multi-Trip policy and are on a covered domestic trip, then you will receive the same cover for Travel Documents that you receive when travelling overseas.

• What items do you consider Valuables?

  • Under the policy wording Valuables is a defined term which includes:

    • Electronics and Gadgets. This includes computers, mobile phones, photography and video equipment, audio players, video players and headphones

    • Discs, tapes, cassettes, telescopes, binoculars

    • Jewellery, watches, spectacles and sunglasses

    • Sports equipment

    • Antiques, artworks, items made of precious or semi‐ precious stones and metals

• Do your cover limits apply in total or per person?

  • We consider each individual named on the insurance as being separately insured.  This means that policy cover limits and excesses apply per person.  However, the price that you can see when you get an online quote is the total price for all those to be insured.

• Do child travellers have lower cover limits?

  • No. The cover limits are the same for everyone listed on the policy.

    There is one exception: A person under 16 years old at the time the policy is purchased is limited to 20% of the full Personal Accident Benefit in the case of Accidental Death overseas.   

• Does your policy cover yachting and boating?

  • Our policies cover yachting and boating in coastal waters within 10km of shore at no extra cost. With our Sports / Adventure Pack A we can cover yachting and boating in coastal waters within 20km of shore.

    We don’t, however, offer cover where competitive racing or professional sports are involved and, there is no Personal Liability cover related to the ownership or use of water craft, for whatever purpose.

• Can you cover international cruises?

  • Yes. Our policies automatically provide cover for international cruises.  It is important to select a region that includes all countries you will stop at or enter the national waters of. 

    Find out more about our cruise cover on our cruise travel insurance page.  See below for information on covering Domestic cruises.

• Can you cover domestic cruises?

  • Yes, but you will need to purchase a South Pacific region policy. 

    This is because Domestic policies (including policies where only ‘Australia’ is selected as a destination) do not provide cover for medical treatment that may be required on the ship, or for medical evacuation from the ship to shore. 

    Please note that we do not cover the cost of medical treatment received on land in Australia. 

    Find out more about our cruise cover on our cruise travel insurance page. See the above question for information on covering international cruises.

• Do your policies include volcanic ash cloud cover?

  • Our Travel Delay cover can apply in cases where a flight is delayed as a result of a volcanic ash cloud event.  The delay must be more than 6 hours and the event must not have taken place before you took out your insurance or booked your trip.  If your outbound flight is delayed for more than 12 hours certain cover for trip abandonment may also apply. 

    If you would like information about a specific ongoing volcanic ash event then please contact our customer care team for more information.

• Am I covered in the event of an act of terrorism?

  • Acts of terrorism are a general exclusion under the policy. There is an exception with regards to claims made under

    • Section 2: Overseas Medical Expenses and Emergency Repatriation where cover will apply up to a maximum of $250,000 per insured person

    • Section 3: Hospital Cash Allowance

    • Section 13: Hijack

    We would not provide any cover for someone who had travelled to (or opted to remain in) an area marked “Do not travel” by the Australian Government.

• With a Family Annual Multi-Trip policy are we covered when travelling alone?

  • Yes.  The people named on your policy are covered when travelling alone or, as a group. 

    Travellers under 18 will need to be with a responsible adult at all times. The adult does not need to be named on the policy and can include teachers, extended family and/or airline cabin crew.

• Does your Annual Multi Trip policy cover me on domestic trips?

  • Yes, as long as you are staying in third party accommodation for at least two nights and your destination is at least 500km away from your home.

    For domestic trips, Section 2 – Overseas Medical Expenses, Emergency Repatriation and Other Expenses does not apply, as it specifically provides cover for international trips only.

• Once I've started my trip can I extend the policy?

  • We are often able to offer a policy extension. Extensions are granted at the discretion of the insurers. To issue an extension, we need to have everything in place before your existing policy expires. We also need to have confirmation that you’re intending to return to Australia at the end of the extension period.

    If you’d like to extend your policy, please contact us for an extension form. To process your extension we’ll need your completed form returned to us at least 5 working days before your policy expires.

• Can you cover one-way trips?

  • Yes, if you are planning to permanently move overseas, we can cover your trip from your current country of residence to your destination country.

    One-Way cover will start when you leave your current home and end when you enter the country you are moving to. When necessary, repatriation will be to the most appropriate country as determined by us. This could either be your final country of destination, your current country of residence or your country of citizenship.

    One-Way trip cover can only be taken out over the phone, so please give us a call if you would like to apply or get a quote.

• How do I make a claim?

  • To make a claim, you need to get in touch with our claims handlers. Please visit our claims page for their contact details and further information. 

• I am away for 5 months - do I have to wait until I'm back in Australia to claim?

  • You can submit a claim upon your return to Australia or whilst still on your trip. Our claims administrators are able to email claims forms to you. Depending on circumstances, we may require you to provide original supporting documentation (e.g. receipts) by post.

• How do I contact you from abroad?

  • Our offices are open Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm (Sydney time). From overseas you’ll need to call +61 2 9463 3399. You can also email us on admin@columbusdirect.com.au or fax +61 2 9966 4484.

    You can find our emergency assistance numbers here.

• What do I do to dispute a denied claim or file a general complaint?

  • Contact us. We are committed to handling disputes and complaints fairly and within a reasonable time frame.  Our Customer Care team can help you raise a formal complaint and explain our dispute resolution process to you.

    If your dispute does not have a satisfactory outcome, you have the option of contacting the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA). AFCA is an independent body that aims to resolve Australian insurance disputes lodged on or after 1 Nov 2018. AFCA is free of charge and can be reached on 1800 931 678.

• Who underwrites your policies?

  • The insurers are certain underwriters at Lloyd's of London. Lloyd's is the world's leading insurance market and covers all classes of business from more than 190 countries worldwide. To view the current Insurer Financial Strength Ratings of the Lloyd's market see Lloyd's Market Ratings. Lloyd's are members of the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) and the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA.)

    For further information about Lloyd's in Australia see Lloyd's Worldwide - Australia.

Medical

• What is a Pre-Existing Medical Condition?

  • Pre-Existing Medical Condition is a defined term in our policy.  It includes any medical condition, dental condition, injury, defect or disease for which one or more of the following apply.

    • • You have had advice, treatment, medication or investigation for the condition the 12 months prior to purchasing your Single Trip policy.
    • • You have an Annual Multi-Trip policy and have had advice, treatment, medication or investigation for the condition in the 12 months prior to booking your trip.
    • • The condition, or a complication directly attributable to it, is of a recurring or ongoing nature.
    • • You are aware of the conditions (or the symptoms of the condition) at the time of applying for your insurance or, could reasonably be expected to have been aware.

• Do I have to declare my Pre-Existing Medical Condition?

  • Yes.  You are required to declare all conditions that meet the above criteria.

• What Pre-Existing Medical Conditions are automatically covered?

  • None. A Pre-Existing Medical Condition will only be covered if you have declared ALL your conditions to us and we have agreed to cover them with a written endorsement on your policy documents.

• How do I declare my Pre-Existing Medical Conditions?

  • You can declare your condition by completing a simple medical screening questionnaire online or over the phone.
    

    To access the screening questionnaire online follow these simple steps:

    1. Proceed through our regular online quote process to Step 4
    2. Read the information provided about Pre-Existing Medical Conditions
    3. Tick to confirm whether anyone on the policy has a condition to declare
    4. Click the ‘Add a Medical Condition’ button under the name of each traveller you wish to declare a condition for.

• What happens after I have declared my Pre-Existing Medical Conditions?

  • Once you have completed medical screening, we will tell you straight away whether your Pre-Existing Medical Conditions can be covered. 

    If your Pre-Existing Medical Conditions can be covered - the policy price will be updated to show two prices: one with Pre-Existing Medical Conditions included and one with them excluded.  If you chose to take the policy with your conditions excluded, it is important to understand that claims related directly or indirectly to them will not be covered.

    If your Pre-Existing Medical Conditions cannot be covered – you are still able to take out a policy. However, it is important to understand that claims related to your Pre-Existing Medical Conditions will not be covered.

• What if I don’t want my Pre-Existing Medical Conditions to be covered?

  • If you do not want to be covered for Pre-Existing Medical Conditions on your policy you will still need to declare them.  After the declaration is made you will be given the option to exclude them from cover. 

• Can I choose to just cover some of my Pre-Existing Medical Conditions?

  • Unfortunately, no.  Pre-Existing Medical Condition cover must be included for all conditions or, excluded for all conditions. 

• Can I be covered for the Pre-Existing Medical Condition of someone who is not named on my policy?

  • Unfortunately no, there is no cover for claims relating to the Pre-Existing Medical condition of another person. This includes cancellation or curtailment claims that relate to the Pre-Existing Medical Condition of a Close Relative, travelling companion or Close Business Colleague.

• Do you cover pregnancy?

  • Our policies include certain cover for pregnancy up to the end of the 25th week in respect of medical expenses, cancellation and curtailment costs if you meet all of the following criteria:

    • • no complications exist with the pregnancy at the time the insurance is purchased or the Trip is booked, whichever is the later
    • • the pregnancy did not result from assisted reproductive programmes
    • • you are not travelling against doctor's advice, have not been given a terminal prognosis and are not planning to get medical treatment or convalescent care on your trip
    • • it is not a multiple pregnancy

    However this cover excludes childbirth or care of newborn.

    Pregnancy Extension Option - Where you have applied for and paid the appropriate additional premium, this policy extends to provide certain cover for unexpected costs (including childbirth and care of a newborn born during a trip after the 25th week) for a pregnancy where:

    • • your trip does not extend beyond the 30th week of pregnancy (use our Pregnancy Calculator to calculate this)
    • • no complications exist with the pregnancy at the time the insurance is purchased or the Trip is booked, whichever is the later
    • • you are not travelling against doctor's advice, have not been given a terminal prognosis and are not planning to get medical treatment or convalescent care on your trip
    • • it is not a multiple pregnancy.
    • • the pregnancy did not result from assisted reproductive programmes

• Why don't you offer unlimited cover for Overseas Medical Expenses?

  • We provide cover of up to $25 million for Overseas Medical Expenses and Emergency Repatriation.  In our experience this is effectively equivalent to having unlimited cover. 

• What's the difference between Overseas Medical Expenses and Hospital Cash Allowance?

  • The Overseas Medical Expenses section provides cover for your medical costs, including doctors’ fees, scans, surgery, hospital and nursing costs.

    The Hospital Cash Allowance is simply a daily amount we will reimburse you to cover personal comfort things such as phone calls, snacks or TV access, should you be hospitalised whilst away.

• For medical claims, do I have to pay the bill and claim when I get back?

  • It depends on the size and nature of your claim.

    While overseas you will have access to Intana Global’s 24 hour Emergency Medical Assistance helpline.  They need to be contacted if you require

    • Inpatient care

    • Emergency repatriation

    • Curtailment of your trip

    • Help with a medical bill which is too large to pay upfront.

    It is best to contact Intana as soon as possible when one of the above situations occurs. In any case, they must be contacted within 48 hours of admission to hospital for inpatient care and before arrangements for curtailment of your trip or emergency repatriation are made.

    For medical costs which do not meet the above criteria, the usual process is to pay the bill as usual and lodge a claim within 31 days of your return to Australia.

• I will be lodging a medical claim when I get home, what do I need to collect from my overseas treatment provider?

  • If medical attention has been received you should obtain

    • •A medical certificate showing the treatment you received and what you received it for.
    • •A copy of the bill with confirmation that it has been paid.
    • •A copy of your receipt for the payment.