What is a Policy Excess? | Travel Insurance Direct (TID)

• How it works
• Contact Emergency Assistance if you need help overseas

We all know that travel comes an element of risk. A policy excess is a way of accepting a small portion of the risk yourself – it’s an amount you must pay for each claim you make for certain benefits, as detailed in the Product Disclosure Statement.

How it works

When you buy your policy, whichever you choose - The Works, The Basics and the Annual Multi Trip plans, the team at Travel Insurance Direct will offer you to choose the excess you want to apply to your claims and the applicable premium you have to pay.

So, for example if you have an excess of $100 this means that if you claim with us, we'll deduct $100 from your claim before we make any payment to you. The excess is payable for each event; it's not a once-off payment.

You can reduce the excess to $0 when you buy your policy by selecting this option and paying an additional premium. You can't change your excess once you have bought your policy. 

Your chosen excess will be shown on your Certificate of Insurance. Make sure you note this amount before you make a claim. 

Here are some examples of how we apply the excess when you do opt to claim:

Example 1: You need to see a GP for treatment of an ear infection. The consultation fee and medication come to $120. Your policy has an excess of $100 per claim. After applying your excess, we will pay you $20.

Example 2: On one day of your trip your phone is stolen; on another day you fall ill and need to see a doctor and get medication. You originally paid $700 for your stolen phone, and the medical bill to $310. We will deduct the excess from each claim, as they are two different events. If your policy excess is $200, we will pay you $500 for the phone and $110 for your doctor's visit.

Example 3: You are bitten by a monkey and need to go to outpatients at the hospital for a rabies shot. A week later you need a follow up shot. The total charge for both visits come to $220. These are part of the same event, so after applying the $200 policy excess, we will pay you $20.

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 back to Australia as planned for medical reasons, and help you access medical attention or hospitalisation if you’re sick or injured.

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.

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

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