International travel insurance

Travel insurance is a type of policy that can cover unexpected events, emergencies, accidents, lost or stolen luggage, delays or cancellations that might occur whilst travelling. Cancellation cover may also be available pre-trip. The level of cover provided will depend on the type of policy chosen.

There are many factors that can determine the cost of an international travel insurance policy such as trip duration, the number of countries visited, trip type and activities involved. A person’s age, pre-existing medical conditions and the level of cover required can also affect the final cost.

One way to reduce the cost of travel insurance is to choose a policy that covers the things that you would like to cover without extras that you might not need (for example, for some trips you might not need cover for winter sports). If travelling overseas frequently, an International Comprehensive Annual Multi-Trip travel insurance policy could work out cheaper compared to several single policies.

Getting stuck in a foreign country with lost luggage or a broken arm may not be part of the holiday plan, but accidents, delays and lost luggage can easily happen when travelling. For a small investment, you can receive peace of mind that you and your family can be protected if things do go wrong.

Typically, customers purchase travel insurance policies to cover them from the time they leave home until the time they return. Maximum trip durations often apply. A single trip insurance policy covers a traveller for the dates selected when purchasing a policy, whilst a Comprehensive Annual Multi-Trip policy provides coverage for multiple trips within the one year, but a maximum duration per trip applies. NRMA Insurance's International Comprehensive Annual Multi-Trip policy provides coverage with a choice of maximum trip durations of 30, 45 or 60 days.

The International Comprehensive Plan and the International Essentials Plan provide you with a choice of excess options. The excess is the amount of a claim that you contribute to. You can view your excess on the Certificate of Insurance and only applies in the event of a claim.

If during the period of insurance you suffer an injury caused solely and directly by violent, accidental, visible and external means (not caused by a sickness or disease) resulting in you losing income because you were unable to return to your usual place of employment in Australia, NRMA Insurance's International Comprehensive Plan may provide cover up to $1,500 per month for your monthly net of income tax wage, but not in respect of the first 30 days after you originally planned to resume your work in Australia, and only if your disability occurs within 30 days of the accident.

Yes, you may be able to get travel insurance when pregnant, but there are restrictions around this and cover is limited. Cover is only provided for serious, unexpected pregnancy complications that occur up until the 24th week of pregnancy i.e. up to 23 weeks, 6 days.

If you know you are pregnant at the time of purchasing a policy, you will need to apply for cover of your pregnancy if:

• there have been complications with this pregnancy or a previous pregnancy;
• you have a multiple pregnancy e.g. twins or triplets; or
• the conception was medically assisted e.g. using assisted fertility treatment including hormone therapies or IVF

There is no cover for childbirth or costs relating to the health or care of a newborn child are not covered, irrespective of the stage of pregnancy when the child is born.

The International travel insurance plans with NRMA Insurance automatically cover a comprehensive list of activities to cater for a wide range of tastes. Activities include:

• Abseiling
• Archery
• Ballooning
• Bungy jumping
• Flying fox
• Horse riding
• Jet boating
• Jet skiing
• Kayaking
• Paragliding
• Parasailing
• Snorkelling
• Surfing
• Trekking
• White water rafting
• Working holidays

To receive coverage for a different activity such as snow skiing, snowboarding and snowmobiling, an extra premium must be paid.