Every different type of insurance is necessary, or at least advisable, for different categories of people. Homeowners should take out home and contents insurance, car owners will need third-party damage cover at a minimum, and sole income earners in a family should have income protection insurance. Overseas travelers should have travel insurance – however, if you are a generally well-insured person, you may not need as much travel insurance as the general spiel would have you believe. Today we are looking at the insurance policies you may already have that cover adverse overseas events and the associated costs. We also look at the events that travel insurance is the only way to cover, and the circumstances when you should still get more than the base level of cover. Please note that in all of the following, you should speak with representatives of your current insurers for assurance that you have cover.

Health insurance policies
If you already have health insurance, you may be covered for emergency procedures while you are overseas – one of the biggest benefits of travel insurance. In addition, some health insurance policies are more flexible than cheaper travel insurance policies, where accidents resulting from adventure sports and emergencies arising from having elective procedures overseas may not be covered by travel insurance. You do need to consider that costs associated with cancelling or cutting short your trip (such as non-refundable accommodation expenses, airline or cruise tickets) will probably not be covered by your health insurance policy, but would be covered under travel insurance.

Home and contents insurance policies
These can cover you for some circumstances that travel insurance also protects you from, including loss or damage of your personal belongings while you are away from home. However, if the lost or stolen item is your passport or other travel documents, travel insurance offers much greater flexibility to replace these. For example, if your bag containing accommodation booking confirmations and your identity documents, and you need to pay for other accommodation out of your own pocket, your homeowner’s insurance would not pay for anything except the replacement of your identity documents. Travel insurance would probably cover the new accommodation costs.

Credit cards
When you charge your overseas travel expenses on your credit card, sometimes your card company will offer you a small extra fee to insure yourself against risks associated with the activity. For example, when you pay for airline tickets on your card, you may have the option to add flight insurance (which pays out if you are killed in a plane crash). When you pay for a rental car on your credit card, you may have the option to insure yourself for personal liability caused by car accidents, as well as damage to the car and possibly your medical expenses. If you pay an anuual fee for your credit card you might get travel insurance included for a certain number of days. Some Australian insurers will allow you to add on their insurance after your credit card cover has lapsed.

Superannuation
Many superannuation policies include payouts for death and total and permanent disablement, and in some cases these may apply when you are out of the country also.

Rented items
Some consumer electronics, like laptop computers and video cameras, if these are rented rather than owned outright by you, come with their own insurance policies. Part of your rental fee each month often goes to insuring the item, separate from your home and contents or travel insurance. Not making a claim on these will also save you from paying higher premiums in the future.

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