Okay I have pondered for a while wondering whether to write this experience as I don't want to be flamed or have any negative responses....
This recent trip was just to R&R after my recent surgery. It was a short trip (well to us it was a short trip as we usually go for 4 - 6 weeks) We have had a sad experience in the past with travel insurance so we always said we would stick with covermore. Since this trip was a quick short trip we had paid it with our Earth Gold card which gave us FREE TRAVEL INSURANCE. I rang them a few times and got lots of information they even sent me the brochure. I did as they had advised and copied my visa statement that showed the transaction of our travel. I still wanted to take out a separate cover with covermore, I was scared. I never got around to doing it and I thought oh well it's a quick short trip and all we had planned on lots of R&R. Well unfortunately we needed to use the travel insurance for an emergency the travel insurance was called we faxed the statement through and our experience was fantastic - excellent. I am still shocked at what good service we had, everything was "please this is our job" "You don't need to thank us this is our job" They kept saying sorry to us... Nothing was a problem..... I can't speak highly enough about them. We had to pay for the drs visit during the day which was $181 (as there is a $200 excess, so really i guess it is just like paying for your policy, if you need it) They paid for everything else, they wouldn't let us ring them they kept ringing us (although they said PLEASE do NOT hestiate to ring us - reverse charges always)We spoke to many drs from Sydney, (The drs always gave us their full title and names and then asked us to call them by their first name) they phoned us many times, saying "sorry to annoy you on your holiday..." "We hope you don't mind us calling you..." "We would just like to monitor and offer support to you and see how things are going..." even to the point of having SOS International (This is the one they prefer) on stand by for the rest of our trip. They even offered to get us on the next available flight back to Australia do the procedure and fly us back straight away or at a later date finish our holiday. They kept saying "It is yours and your husbands choice" They allowed us to make the choices. They said it was safe to stay and finish our trip or return. They were not only worried about the patient but also the carer/traveling companion. With their support and guidance we finished our trip and had lots of R&R, we even managed to do some shopping to cargo home. They even phoned us the afternoon we got home to make sure we were okay and arrived home safe. I would never hesitate to use them again in the future.
Our next trip is with frequent flyers my husband and I were so impressed with them we decided to ring them and see if we could purchase travel insurance with them, but to my suprise if you pay the taxes for your FF flights to and from your nearest capital city with your visa you are covered. It didn't matter that we were going on a cruise in between our travels all they take into account is the departure and arrival flights. Earth Gold is Westpac they use Zurich assist. I will definitely be using them in the future....and not because it is for free(I am more than willing to pay for it) but because of our recent experience.
I have always said you never know what a travel insurance is like until you need them.