Travel agents get a kickback for every insurance product they sell. This is precisely how airlines pressure people into making poor decisions.īuying travel insurance through a travel agent is just as problematic. But if you don't make your decision within 10 minutes, you may lose your seats. We've found it takes an average adult more than one hour to read this document. QANTAS gives you just 10 minutes to read the terms and conditions for a document that's more than 15,000 words longįor instance, QANTAS gives you just 10 minutes to read the terms and conditions for a document that's more than 15,000 words long. Airlines give you no time to consider any of this. It covers critical terms and conditions about coverage, exclusions, and pre-existing medical conditions, including the type of healthcare support you'll be entitled to during a pandemic. People need time to read and review the PDS. But we believe that travel insurance is too essential to be subject to these kinds of marketing ploys, as the current pandemic starkly highlights. An insurance company will cram this contract (known in the industry as a product disclosure statement, or PDS) with opaque legal jargon that makes comparing policies difficult for most people.Īs the name suggests, 'add-on' travel insurance products are always tacked on to the end of a purchase, when you're eager to finish buying – and therefore lock in – your flight or holiday. Travel insurance contracts are complex legal documents that often run to more than 50 pages.
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How to cancel your holiday plans affected by COVID-19 Such action would also lower the risk of Australians being stranded overseas if a similar crisis arises in the future. It has an important role to play in improving the travel insurance sector and preventing Australians being sold poor-value insurance. When we re-emerge from the COVID-19 crisis, the government must act on this recommendation. This would give you reasonable time to compare insurance providers and work out which policy would suit you best. If the federal government turns this recommendation into law, airlines and travel agents would only be able to contact you to offer travel insurance four days after you've secured your flights. In recognition of these issues, the Banking Royal Commission recommended a new 'deferred sales model' for add-on insurance. Nor do airlines give you enough time to decide whether the insurance they're offering is right for you and your trip. Our research has found that buying travel insurance through an airline is up to 3.5 times more expensive than buying it directly from the same provider, and that there are policies with better coverage available to people who buy directly. We recommend searching directly for the best policy and not relying on the default cover provided by an airline or agent.ĬOVID-19 travel cancellations: can you get your money back? The quality of travel insurance sold through add-on channels simply isn't good enough.
Now, more than ever, it's essential that people get good-quality travel insurance and understand exactly what they're covered for. Second, they underline the shortcomings of buying travel insurance through 'add on' channels such as airlines and travel agents, who care more about making a quick buck than ensuring you have the right cover in place. First, they show that companies don't do enough to make sure you understand exactly what you're covered for.
These concerns lay bare underlying problems within the travel insurance sector. So despite doing the right thing and taking out a policy, these people are now totally exposed. We're hearing from desperate people stranded overseas, in countries such as Bali, whose travel insurance company has suddenly moved the goalposts and stopped offering cover. Here at CHOICE we've been overwhelmed recently by people contacting us, concerned about whether their travel insurance will cover them for pandemics, including coronavirus COVID-19.
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