Travel Insurance and Medical Cover

February 17, 2025

At InsureandGo, we understand the importance of having the right medical cover while traveling. Understanding how medical coverage works with your travel insurance can be tricky. However, it is important for a stress-free vacation.

Why Travel Insurance is Essential?

Travel insurance ensures you stay relaxed and stress-free during your vacation. Here's why medical cover is a crucial part of your travel insurance:

Comprehensive Medical Cover

If you get sick or hurt while traveling, medical insurance can help pay for your treatment. This includes visits to a doctor or a hospital. With the right medical cover, you can claim back the costs of your treatment up to your policy's maximum limit.

Deciding What Medical Cover You Need

The medical cover you will need for your trip will depend on your personal health, what type of holiday you are planning and how much safety and care you want your insurance to provide.

It is generally beneficial to consider whether you need cover for:

• General medical treatments and surgical treatments
• Hospital treatments and cash benefits
• Ambulance expenses and other emergency medical expenses
• Repatriation or medical evacuation
• Pregnancy or childbirth complications
• Compensation for severe injury or death
• Accommodation and/or travel expenses if you cannot travel home for medical reasons or if you require someone to stay/travel with you due to medical necessity

Understanding Pre-Existing Medical Conditions

Pre-existing medical conditions are conditions that you have or have had in the past few years. Some pre-existing medical conditions can preclude you from obtaining reimbursement for costs related to that condition while you are travelling.

If you do have a pre-existing medical condition, try searching for a provider who is open to assessing all conditions or who offers competitive premiums for covering your condition.

Making a Medical Travel Insurance Claim

Claims processes will differ slightly from provider to provider. In general, however, you will need to provide documentation when making your claim. This can include:

• Medical certificates or statements outlining the treatment you received overseas and the costs involved
• Receipts to prove you have paid for the treatment
• Medical certificates for any pre-existing conditions you have

Medical Cover & Exclusions

There are some circumstances when you won’t be protected by your travel insurance medical cover. While you can still be treated for these incidents overseas, you usually won’t be able to claim back the costs of these treatments or services via your travel insurance. Some common examples can include:

• Search and rescue assistance
• Private hospital rooms (unless medically necessary)
• Any treatments you need due to an attempted suicide or an act of deliberate self harm
• Any treatments you received that were not immediately and medically necessary
• Pregnancy or childbirth treatments, unless due to a diagnosed complication
• Any treatments you receive after a doctor has deemed you are fit to travel or return home

Always make sure you read your Product Disclosure Statement and gain an understanding of what is excluded from your medical cover.