Medibank has revealed the top travel insurance claims and destinations for 2023, with the most expensive claim totalling nearly $200,0000.
Indonesia was the most popular international destination that Medibank travel insurance customers travelled to in 2023, followed by USA, Europe, New Zealand and Japan. The top destinations where claims were made were Australia*, USA, Singapore, Indonesia and Canada.
The most common reasons for claims were cancelled flights, hospital and medical expenses, additional expenses, luggage and personal effects, and delayed luggage allowance.
The most expensive claim was a cancelled international trip worth nearly $200,000, with the customer having to cancel their family holiday before departure date.
Ahead of the holiday season, Medibank Chief Customer Officer, Milosh Milisavljevic, encouraged Australians to ensure they have travel insurance for any upcoming trips.
Australians love to travel especially at this time of year, and I encourage anyone going on a trip on this summer to ensure you’ve got travel insurance to cover you for the unexpected.
“Unfortunately, things can sometimes go wrong on holidays, but your travel insurance policy can cover you for things like lost luggage, cancelled flights, right through to medical coverage in international hospitals.
“Our top claims destination is Australia, which may surprise people but the reason itself may not be what you expect. Many of these trips are cancelled before departure, and that means the claim “event”, or the reason for not being able to travel, is based in Australia. This highlights the importance of taking out insurance when you start paying for your trip.”
Every Medibank Travel Insurance policy comes with 24 hour emergency assistance. Our team of experienced doctors, nurses, travel consultants and case managers are available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. They can help support finding appropriate medical treatment, organise medical evacuation, or assist replacing lost travel documents and credit cards.
Other examples of travel insurance claims in 2023:
Claim Amount Paid - $81,000
Country of Incident - United States of America – International policy
Brief description - Customer was holidaying in the USA when they started experiencing abdominal pain. When presenting to a medical facility it turned out to be appendicitis. The customer was admitted to hospital in the US and surgery required to remove perforated appendix.
Claim Amount Paid - $41,000
Country of Incident - Indonesia – International policy
Brief description - Customer was unwell with acute Gastroenteritis and suffered a head injury after slipping over, requiring hospitalisation and surgery. A family member was flown over to provide support and to accompany the customer home after they were released from hospital.
Amount Paid - $18,000
Country of Incident - Australia – Domestic policy
Brief description - Customer arrived at the airport to commence their holiday. Waiting to board their flight, they purchased food at the airport which resulted them going into anaphylactic shock. An ambulance was called, and customer was admitted to hospital, with their holiday having to be cancelled.
__Top 10 travel (insurance) destinations by policy count for 2023: __
Indonesia
USA
Europe
New Zealand
Japan
Thailand
Australia
Vietnam
Fiji
UK
Top 5 most claimed against destinations:
(Based on claim payout. Destination is where the claimable incident occurred)
Australia (*note: many of these are likely to be international trips, they aren’t all be domestic trips. Many of these trips are cancelled before departure, and that means the claim “event”, or the reason for not being able to travel, is based in Australia)
