Frequently asked questions about iTrek travel insurance
Q1. Who can apply for itrek Travel Insurance?
Travel insurance policies from itrek are available to Australian residents under 65 years of age, who will begin and end their trip in Australia and buy the policy before leaving. Children or grandchildren under the age of 21, who are not in full time employment and are travelling with you for the entire trip are covered for free.
itrek travel insurance policies are designed for young adventurers and thrill seekers, but if you’re over the age threshold, there’s still effective cover available to you. Check out Mozo’s guide to travel insurance for over 55s.
Q2. What sports and adventure activities are covered under an itrek travel insurance policy?
Heaps! itrek cover is designed to let you experience all the adventure activities you want to, so the list of included activities is extensive, covering 108 activities, like gorge walking, abseiling, bungee jumping and zorbing.
The better question is, which sports and activities are not covered. Hunting, racing, sailing more than 10 nautical miles from land, polo, mountaineering or rock climbing, parachuting and hang gliding are all excluded from cover. Skydiving, or any activity in a plane where you are not just a passenger are excluded, as are any professional or competitive sporting activities. Diving or driving a motorcycle or moped aren’t covered unless you have the appropriate license.
You can still take part in these activities, you just won’t be able to make a claim that relates to any of them.
Q3. Does itrek travel insurance cover pre-existing medical conditions?
Yes! itrek travel insurance policies automatically cover over 33 pre-existing medical conditions, provided that you haven’t been hospitalised for the condition in the last 12 months, it has been stable for this time, and you aren’t planning to undergo surgery or special medical treatment for it.
Epilepsy, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and asthma are all on the list of included conditions but do have special considerations. For example, to be covered for epilepsy, you can't have had a seizure in the last 12 months, or be on more than one anticonvulsant medication.
Q4. Can I extend my itrek Travel Insurance policy while I am travelling?
If your trip is extended due to delays from your travel provider, for example if your flight is delayed, your itrek travel insurance can be extended free of charge. You need to contact itrek as soon as possible to ensure an extension in this case, because it is not automatic.
In any other case, you need to contact itrek at least 7 days before your policy expires to request an extension. If they agree to extend the policy you will pay an extra premium, and can extend the policy for up to 18 months.
Q5. Which destination should I choose for my policy?
When you take out a travel insurance policy with itrek, you’ll need to nominate the countries you’ll be visiting. It’s important to choose the right ones, because otherwise, you won’t be covered fully.
This sometimes gets tricky if you’re on a cruise or if you’ll be making stopovers on your flight. If you’re making a stopover of up to two days in any country except the USA, you’ll be automatically covered there without including it on your nominated destinations. If you’ll be having a stopover in the USA, you’ll have to nominate it as a destination when you buy your policy.
If you’re on a cruise, you need to nominate all the countries you’ll be stopping in to ensure you’ll be covered for the entire trip. Check out our guide, for more information on travel insurance for cruises.
Q6. Can I cancel my itrek Travel Insurance policy?
You have 14 days to cancel your itrek policy for a full refund. If you’ve already started your trip, made or are planning to make a claim on your policy, or if it’s after the 14 day period, you can still cancel your policy, but you won’t receive any refund.
itrek Travel Insurance: the fine print
Although itrek will cover you while you’re off the beaten track, there are still a number of exclusions and conditions that apply to your travel insurance policy. Make sure your claim runs smoothly by paying attention to the fine print and keeping these things in mind:
- If you’re under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of an incident, your travel insurance policy won’t cover you
- If you are committing a crime when your claim arises you won’t be covered under any of your policy benefits
- itrek won’t cover any pre-existing medical conditions except those explicitly stated in your PDS. Make sure you check the list carefully, because if you don’t disclose medical conditions, they could affect your claim
- Pregnancy isn’t covered under itrek travel insurance. Check out our guide on travel insurance for pregnancy, for more information.
- If there are travel warnings for the location you're travelling to or if there is unrest while you’re there and you put yourself in danger by ignoring warnings, you won’t be covered
- If you make a mistake when booking your trip or if you don’t have all the necessary documents, like passports and visas, you aren’t covered for things like cancellation or delay
- If you can claim compensation for loss, damage, delay or cancellation from someone else - like a transport or tour company - then itrek won’t pay a claim for the same thing
- If an act or threat of terrorism is responsible for your claim it will usually be denied
- If you have to cancel or delay your trip because your employer cancels your leave time you aren’t covered for cancellation. The exception to this rule is if you are employed full time by the Australian Defence Force or other emergency services
- If you have to cancel your trip because of the death or illness of a family member, you’ll only be covered if you can prove you were unaware - and that it was reasonable for you to be unaware - of the likelihood that this would become a problem.
- You are responsible for your own safety on your trip. If itrek determines that your claim arises from any circumstance where you needlessly endangered yourself, they may deny your claim
Making a claim with itrek Travel Insurance
Any claims on your itrek travel insurance policy need to be made within 30 days of your return home. Here are a few quick steps you can follow to make claiming easy:
Step 1. Make sure you have the receipts, police or hospital statements, or statements from your transport service that are relevant to your claim. These might be needed to prove ownership, value or to prove that an incident happened the way you said it did.
Step 2. Call or email itrek to let them know you’re making a claim. Now is a good time to check what documents or details your particular claim might need.
Step 3. Dowload the claims form from the itrek website and fill it out completely. If you send in an uncompleted form, your claim may take longer to process or the amount you're entitled to be paid may be reduced.
Step 4. Post the form and supporting documents to itrek. Make sure you keep a copy of everything in case something goes wrong along the way.
Sometimes, itrek might need to contact you for further information, in which case your claim will take a little longer than usual, but if all goes smoothly, your claim should be processed within 15 business days.
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