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Travel/emigration insurance


Rosa1035

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Hi all,

 

We will be flying out to Adelaide on 27 Nov, via Hong Kong. We will be there for 4 days visiting friends and family, before commencing our travels and leaving for Aus on 1 Dec 2016. 

 

We purchased our tickets on the credit card, but when I tried to get the standard travel insurance I was told we couldn't get it, as our tickets are 1 way. The bank suggested we get an emigration travel policy through TIC (Santam) instead. 

 

I have now spoken to them, and they say that their emigration policy will only cover us for medical expenses from when we land in Aus, which is pointless as we will sign up to Medicare the day we arrive. They say that they cannot cover anything in HK. 

 

I was wondering whether anyone has any experience with this? We literally only want to be covered for any medical emergencies in HK, as well as  flight cancellations whilst in 'transit'. Does anyone know of any transit policies perhaps?

 

Thanks so much!

Ros :)

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Just an update in case anyone finds themselves in the same situation. After contacting 4 major travel insurance companies, most won't even entertain the idea of issuing a policy without a return flight booked to the departing country. However, I suspect this is more to do with the ignorance of the call centre agents as opposed to it being policy. I was able to get hold of a very knowledgable individual by the name of Ryan at Easy Travel Insurance (website of same name). Within a few minutes he contacted me, advised me on how to go about it, and within the hour I had the policy, underwritten by Regent, in my hands. Effectively you need to add an endorsement to the policy, and this he did with Regent immediately. 

 

So if you find yourself needing travel insurance, and you arent having luck through the standard channels, I would highly recommend contacting Ryan (he is the director/owner) . :)

 

 

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Hi @Rosa1035 could you please send me the contact details. I need cover for three days in sa and 3 days in aus. 

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This is great to know @Rosa1035, thanks. If we book return tickets (we may just book a return to come back for the first Christmas for a visit), then we can go through our usual travel insurance, there's no issue, even though emigrating?

 

Thanks for the info.

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@JoVincent I believe so, yes. As long as the departure and return leg of the flight is booked when you request the policy, and you return to SA as the final destination on the ticket, then they will issue it. I am not sure if they have restrictions on the length the time they will insure you for (i.e. you might have to upgrade to 'better' policy of you are out the country for more than a few months), but they will let you know when you request the policy documents. That booked return flight seems to the most important factor to them. 

 

Good luck with your application! :)

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  • 3 months later...

@Rosa1035 finally getting organized and booking our travel insurance. Thank goodness I remembered to look back on this thread. I also tried TIC, they do have an emigration option, but I am not happy with the coverage as it excludes any luggage cover (what if bags never arrive, or come very late!). Rosa - did Easy Travel Insurance have any luggage cover included in their policies? I have sent them an email to get quotes, but thought I would ask you as you have been through this already. We just want basic medical cover for about a week (Medicare is quick to register, but we won't get to it for a few days while travelling etc), and flight cancellation/delay/luggage cover options.

 

Thanks!

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@JoVincent Yes, it did cover lost/damaged luggage, flight cancellations/delays, assistance cover etc. Basically everything you would get on a normal travel policy.

 

Good luck and enjoy! We've been here 2 months tomorrow, and *LOVE* our new lives. We haven't looked back for a moment. :D 

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Thanks @Rosa1035! I just received the quotes and info now. I am so impressed with their rates! I got crazy high quotes for the exact same offering by other insurance companies. We only need it for a week so was reluctant to spend too much. Have taken out policies with Easy Travel Insurance, thanks so much for passing on their details :).

 

Ah wonderful - so glad you are settling in. I like to hear positive stories - especially at the moment, where I am feeling so overwhelmed and panicky! And people think we are totally mad for going. So this is great to hear :) 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Thanks for this post. It helped not having to call around speaking to clueless staff about one way travel insurance.

 

I called Easy Travel and was issued a policy within 10 minutes. The policy covers medical emergencies for 10 days post arrival as well as lost baggage... And a bunch of other stuff I don't care too much for. It was R600.00 for one person (partner is only joining me in June)

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I know, thank goodness for this post! Easy Travel Insurance were fantastic. It was R700 for our policy for the WHOLE family, and it had huge amounts of coverage and exactly what we needed. One other company had given me a quote for over R4,000, for almost exactly the same, didn't make much sense. Hope this thread helps many others as its helped us.

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