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Speaker 1 (00:00):
And after a spate of overseas accidents involving Aussies, travel injury compensation lawyer Peter Carter has issued a fresh warning to travelers. Hi Peter.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Good morning, Geva.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
One of the recent cases, there was a Perth man, wasn’t there, who crashed a motorbike in Romania. Now, is that one of those cases where insurers call it a high-risk activity?
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Yes, it’ll be an excluded event under the policy. So it’s always important for travelers to read the conditions of the policy and know what’s in and what’s out so that they can avoid those activities or approach the insurer to pay an additional sum to get cover for that type of activity if it’s available.
Speaker 1 (00:46):
Always seems a bit rich to me though when, you know, part of the point of traveling is sometimes to engage in behavior that’s a little bit risky, if you want to call riding a motorbike risky. But, you know, just doing things, having a bit of an adventure overseas, yet, you know, we probably won’t be covered if something goes wrong.
Speaker 2 (01:03):
Well, the range of activities that are excluded and considered risky is quite large. It includes things like abseiling. It can include diving and other activities which people might regard as otherwise quite safe.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
What about alcohol? That pops into the news a fair bit. And you know, obviously you can’t, you know, there are road rules, you can’t drink and drive, but just the consumption of alcohol before anything going wrong off the roads. What are the rules usually around that?
Speaker 2 (01:39):
Well, it depends. It depends on the policy, but some policies are quite unfair in that they say that if you’re affected by alcohol, you’re not covered at all, regardless of whether or not it has any relationship to why you were injured. So I think that’s a very unfair term and something that should be challenged.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
So talk to me about the fine print, because I think that’s often the advice from people like you, Peter, is, you know, read the fine print of your policy before you head overseas. But is that enough? Because sometimes some of the ambiguities are not even really mentioned in the fine print, are they?
Speaker 2 (02:18):
Well, everything has to be mentioned there. Okay. All the activities that are excluded must be mentioned there, otherwise the traveler can contest what the insurer has to say. The alcohol one is the most controversial for the reason I just explained. I can understand why they want to exclude it if, because of alcohol consumption, someone is so badly affected that they caused the injury. But the exclusion can still apply even if you’re affected by alcohol and you’re run over by someone else’s fault. So it’s really very unfair.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
Yeah. Alright, Peter, if you don’t mind, I’m just going to take a call because Pam’s got a question. She’s had an experience, she’s on the line. Hello, Pam.
Speaker 3 (03:01):
Hi, good morning.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
What would you like to tell Peter?
Speaker 3 (03:05):
Um, very important to read the fine print. I had an experience in June. I was involved in a major car crash in Kenya. My travel insurance covered all of my expenses. That’s air ambulance lifts into Nairobi, being transported back to Perth. My insurance company then informed me the moment I stepped back into Perth, my travel insurance covered nothing. I have surgeries that I am going through at the moment and it will all be at my expense.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
Pam, do you mind me asking what sort of bill you’re looking at? What do you reckon this is going to cost you?
Speaker 3 (03:50):
Well, I have a broken nose, which I will be having surgery for very soon. I’m still waiting to see orthopedic surgeons for fractures in my patellas and a broken bone, probably in my ankle. I have no idea of the expenses. I do have private insurance, but that never covers anything anyway.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
Peter, what’s your reaction to that?
Speaker 2 (04:18):
Well, the travel insurance always stops the moment you set foot back in Australia, so there’s nothing unusual about that. What Pam is saying is that she’s got to foot all these bills herself, but what she needs to look at is perhaps whether there’s any recourse in Kenya under their legal system for recovery. And so my advice to travelers is always ask that question. When you get back to Australia, you can consult a travel lawyer who can give some advice in that regard. The other thing is that I always recommend to travelers to book as much of the tour from Australia as is possible because there’s a far greater likelihood of legal recourse if you’ve booked all of the elements of the travel, including the excursions, the safari, whatever from Australia.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
So Pam, you’ll be out of pocket for what you have to spend back here in Australia, as Peter says. That’s usually the way it goes. What about what happened in Kenya? Do you think you’ve got any recourse with your experience there?
Speaker 3 (05:24):
Um, everything has been, is being covered. I believe I’m still trying to actually complete my claim because I’m still waiting for evidence, but I’ve got almost everything now. But this is like nearly eight weeks after the event. But all the money that I outlaid for hospitals and accommodation and what have you, whilst I was waiting for an airlift out, it’s quite extensive. But I do believe that that is covered. I have been told that that is all covered.
Speaker 1 (05:58):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (05:59):
The insurance company also have just written me a letter now to say that they are going to try and recover the expenses actually in Kenya. I did book everything through Australia, but I did not read the fine print in the insurance policy. And that’s where it states, and that’s unknown to me and I’ve been traveling for many years, that the cover ceases the moment you step back into Australia.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
Yes. Yes, Pam. Look, that’s your message I’m sure is to read the fine print then before something happens. Let’s hope you do get that money reimbursed to you from what happened in Kenya because it sounds like you’re out of pocket an awful lot. Thank you for your call. Um, Peter, if I move on to some of the questions coming through on the text line, a few of them are about age, so I’ve got this one from Julia. Please explain why travel insurance is so expensive for people over 70, even if they have no medical condition, are fit and healthy. Some are even competing athletes, but there appears to be age discrimination. What can you say about that?
Speaker 2 (07:08):
Well, insurers have different policies in regard to their customers in that area. And some insurers will charge a higher premium because they consider the risk to be higher. So, it’s, shop around. My advice is to shop around among insurers to see what competitive prices you can get from another insurer.
Speaker 1 (07:32):
Yes. Do some just put a limit on age? Is there a certain age where they say, that’s it, we won’t insure you?
Speaker 2 (07:39):
Um, I have not come across that.
Speaker 1 (07:44):
Alright. Um, look, I’m sorry to do this to you. I’m just reading off the text line this morning because so many people have got questions for you. Um, Mark, would you ask your expert about the complimentary insurance provided by your credit card, asks Linda. Is that any good?
Speaker 2 (07:59):
Speaker 1 (08:41):
Yeah, it is a good question though, because just that whole issue of who you go with I think is so important to discuss because these days, uh, look, no offense to travel agents, they do a great job, but a lot of people book their own holidays these days, don’t they? Online. You try to do it yourself and then suddenly it’s, you know, tick a box whether or not you want travel insurance. And of course, I know I’m not the expert, but my advice always is, if you’re going overseas, definitely get travel insurance. But then, you know, who do you go with? It’s hard to know.
Speaker 2 (09:11):
Well just, I just want to say something about the credit card insurance. Mm-hmm
Speaker 1 (09:27):
Right. Of…
Speaker 2 (09:28):
the loss before the insurer will step in. But getting back to that other comment, yes, it is hard to decide what policy to take, but again, you have to do the research and come up with the best arrangement that will suit your plans.
Speaker 1 (09:45):
Mm. Alright. That can be hard unless you have got the time to read through all that fine print. Lou’s got a question. My adult son is going to Asia next month and doing a three-day motorcycle tour with an organized tour group. He doesn’t have a motorcycle license. Will he be able to get coverage for this activity? I would’ve thought you’d need a motorcycle license, wouldn’t you, to do that?
Speaker 2 (10:06):
Well, I suppose it depends on the country he’s traveling to. Mm-hmm
Speaker 1 (10:20):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (10:21):
what the arrangement is for insurance.
Speaker 1 (10:23):
Yeah, good point. I mean, if you’re upfront with what it is you’re about to be doing, you find out whether or not you’re covered. Stefano’s on the line. G’day Stefano.
Speaker 4 (10:30):
Good morning. Um, just regarding the free insurance with your credit card, I’m with the big blue bank. I believe with their insurance, probably the same with the others, if you don’t disclose exactly when you’re going to travel, then there’s no policy at all. So don’t think it’s just automatically loaded because you bought your tickets with your credit card.
Speaker 1 (10:50):
Oh, okay. So you’ve got to disclose your dates and where you’re going and all that. Nothing is automatic about it.
Speaker 4 (10:55):
Yeah. I don’t think you have to disclose where you’re going, but the dates certainly. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (10:58):
Okay. Peter, does that sound right?
Speaker 2 (11:01):
Well that’s new to me, but it’s certainly possible they’re entitled to impose whatever terms they want for their card members. So that’s another thing that travelers need to be aware of. I can’t answer that as to whether it applies to other insurance companies, not to other credit card issuers because I’ve not come across it. I haven’t seen it, but it’s quite possible that the caller’s bank imposes that condition.
Speaker 1 (11:27):
Okay. I’ve got another one about motorcycles. This is more a comment than a question because this person’s jumped on to say they went to Vietnam on a motorbike tour, had to shop around for insurance, ended up getting insured, but had to choose a policy with a level three risk specifically for motorcycle tours. It cost $550 for 10 days, but my friend fell off and broke four ribs. We ended up being fully covered and they covered the $16,000 hospital bill. So that’s, not great that your friend broke their ribs, but that’s a pretty good outcome, I would’ve thought.
Speaker 2 (11:58):
I think so too. Well it just goes to show that some forethought into the travel plans cover is well worthwhile and travel insurance is always worthwhile, but make sure it suits your travel plans.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
Peter, I know I’ve spoken to you before but I’m going to have to get you back on I think because I didn’t anticipate this sort of reaction from our listeners. So many questions and comments and everything else. So, um, will you make some time? We’ll do this again I think because, you know, post-COVID, the world we live in, people are back out and traveling and want to know all these sorts of things. So, can you leave us with any final tips?
Speaker 2 (12:29):
Well, as I said before, it’s always important that you book as much of your travel in Australia as possible. If I get someone call me and say I was staying in an Airbnb in Bali and something happened, it’s very difficult for me to give them advice because they’re usually subject to the law of Indonesia. But if you’ve booked in Australia, there’s a much higher chance of getting legal recourse and that includes all your excursions and all the activities you intend to partake in while you’re away.
Speaker 1 (13:00):
Yes, Peter. Alright. Thank you for all the advice and we’ll do it again. No doubt. Thank you very much. Travel injury compensation lawyer Peter Carter there on 7:30 ABC Perth. Thank you for all those messages and calls.