Guide: If You Become Sick or Injured Whilst Travelling

• What am I covered for?
• Do your pre-trip research
• What's covered?
• What you will need to do
• About reciprocal health care agreements
• What's not covered?

Falling ill or suffering an injury while away from home on that trip of a lifetime is not the experience travellers expect when on vacation, but even the most anticipated holidays can be derailed, often without warning. 

What am I covered for?

With a TID insurance policy - The Works, The Basics and the Annual Multi Trip plans – policy holders are afforded an unlimited dollar amount of cover for up to 12 months for unforeseen emergency medical expenses incurred overseas. Of course, medical cover is subject to all policy terms, conditions, limitations, and exclusions (see the PDS for details).

There is limited cover for claims relating to existing medical conditions experienced by you, anyone on your policy and close relatives at home in Australia or New Zealand who are not travelling with you. So, please refer to the Existing Medical Conditions section in the PDS for more information. 

Do your Pre-Trip research 

Before you set off on your trip, it’s only sensible that you check with your GP and smartraveller.gov.au to find out if there are any vaccinations required for your destination, and if your destination country requires proof of vaccination against specific disease as a condition of entry. Many vaccinations need to be administered well in advance of your departure.

What’s covered?

• Visits to a GP or other registered medical practitioner
• Ambulance by road or air and treatment by paramedics
• Any prescribed medication while on your trip
• Hospital or outpatient fees
• Any prescribed treatment in hospital such as physiotherapy, anaesthetics and medication
• Out of pocket costs, where you are hospitalised for more than 48 hours you are entitled to $50/day, up to the applicable benefit limit, for any out-of-pocket costs.
• Where medically necessary and approved by our emergency assistance team, we’ll arrange for a close relative or friend to be with you while you are hospitalised and to escort you home in the place of a medical escort. This includes the costs of flying someone from Australia to be with you
• Repatriation to Australia, including a medical escort and air ambulance if medically necessary and pre-approved by us
• Where you can no longer continue your trip, the policy will cover your non-refundable portion of your, pre-paid travel arrangements
• Once you’re fit to travel, we will cover the costs of additional travel and accommodation expenses to get you on the road again.

Get a quote to get your next domestic or international adventure underway today. 

What you will need to do:

• Where you have been hospitalised or expect your medical expenses to be more than $2,000, please contact our emergency assistance team to arrange for a guarantee of payment to the hospital or medical facility, where possible
• Obtain copies of your medical reports and clinical notes from your treating doctor detailing the diagnosis and treatment; copies of hospital admission and discharge papers; copies of all tests and results
• Keep receipts for medication, doctors’ fees, hospital services.
• Keep any costs to a minimum.

About Reciprocal Health Care Agreements

The Australian government has Reciprocal Health Care Agreements with New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Sweden, the Netherlands, Finland, Italy, Belgium, Malta, Slovenia and Norway. These agreements mean: Australian residents can get help with the cost of essential medical treatment when visiting these countries.

More information is available from the Department of Human Services website.

What's not covered?

• Medical expenses in Australia even if the illness or injury was sustained overseas and we paid for the overseas medical expenses. Under the Private Health Insurance Act 2007 we are prevented from covering medical expenses in Australia.
• Private hospital treatment when public-funded treatment was available.
• You travel even though you know you are unfit to travel or have been advised against travel by a medical professional.
• Travelling to obtain medical or dental treatment.
• A claim related to a metastatic or terminal prognosis made prior to the issue of the Certificate of Insurance.
• Pregnancy after 26 weeks’ gestation
• Any claims where you have not taken the appropriate vaccinations, malaria prophylaxis and hygiene measures according to the World Health Organisation.
• Any claim which is recoverable through workers compensation, transport accident laws or by any government sponsored fund, plan or medical benefit scheme.
• Any claim due to an act of war (whether war is declared or not), rebellion, revolution, insurrection or taking of power by the military.
• Any claim due to a nuclear reaction or contamination from nuclear weapons or radioactivity; biological and/or chemical materials.
• A loss that arises because you did not follow a government or other official body’s warning
• You are injured doing an activity that is excluded from our policy.
• You are injured while doing a snow sport and you haven’t purchased the Snow sports option for an additional premium.
• A loss arising from your, any of your travelling party intentionally and recklessly placing themselves in circumstances or undertaking activities which pose a risk to their personal safety (except in an attempt to save a human life.
• Elective or cosmetic surgery that is not medically necessary (and any complications that arise from surgery).
• If you, your close relative or a member of your travelling party deliberately injures himself or herself; is under the influence of, or is addicted to, intoxicating liquor or a drug, except a drug taken in accordance with the advice of a registered medical practitioner.
• The cost of medication in use at the time the trip began or for maintaining a course of treatment you were on prior to the trip.
• Existing medical conditions except as specified under Existing medical conditions.
• Any government prohibition, regulation or intervention.

Contact Emergency Assistance if you need help overseas

If you’re already travelling, contact our Emergency Assistance Team. They can help navigate what to do if you can’t travel home as planned for medical reasons, and help you access medical attention or hospitalisation if you’re sick.

Need a hand?

Our Customer Service team is always available to help you to understand the policy, what you may be covered for and any documentation you need to pick up along the way. Our travel safety team at TID work to keep customers informed and publish information on major travel events on our website.

This is a brief summary of cover only. Cover is subject to the full terms, conditions, limitations and exclusions outlined in the Product Disclosure Statement.