Review: Worldcare travel insurance

Introduction

While a relatively unknown brand, Worldcare travel insurance comes with the backing of Allianz, and gives customers a choice between bare basics cover through to comprehensive annual multi-trip insurance.

Like many insurers, Worldcare isn't currently selling new travel insurance plans due to COVID-19, but here's how Worldcare normally stacks up, for when travel gets back to business.

Worldcare travel insurance plans

Worldcare offers a variety of travel insurance plans to suit different circumstances, ranging from single-trip domestic and international policies through to annual multi-trip cover.

Here are Worldcare's various travel insurance plans, and the basics you need to know.

Annual Multi-Trip Plan

When you'll be taking several trips throughout the year, it could make sense to maintain a single Annual Multi-Trip policy: paying for one policy that covers multiple journeys.

Although multi-trip plans are more expensive than insurance coverage for a single trip, once you consider the cost of taking out several 'single trip' policies each year, you're likely to come out ahead with a multi-trip plan.

International travel insurance: Comprehensive Plan

Worldcare's international Comprehensive travel insurance policy broadly aligns with the Annual Multi-Trip plan in terms of coverage, but for a single trip only.

Comprehensive is the company's highest level of cover, and provides the most generous coverage levels and payout limits of all Worldcare plans, together with Multi-Trip.

International travel insurance: Essentials Plan

For better-than-basics cover but without the broad level of cover under the Comprehensive Plan, Worldcare's Essentials plan balances coverage and policy price, and may be suitable for travellers who don't need all the bells and whistles.

As an example, Essentials includes cover for things like travel delays, cancellation, lost luggage – and of course, unlimited medical cover overseas – but lacks cover for things like accidental death, permanent disability and loss of income.

International travel insurance: Basics Plan

When you only need staples like medical cover and personal liability insurance, Worldcare's Basics Plan gives you just that.

There's no cover for anything else, so if your luggage goes missing or you miss your flight, you won't be able to claim.

Domestic travel insurance

For cover on a single domestic trip, Worldcover's domestic travel insurance offers a much better level of protection compared to the international Basics Plan.

There's cover against travel delays, cancellation, accidental death, lost luggage, rental vehicle excess and more.

With only the one level of cover for single domestic-only trips, this plan is akin to comprehensive cover, but only within Australia, and with no medical cover (as that's for Medicare or your private health insurer).

What does Worldcare travel insurance cover?

Exactly what's covered – and to what extent – depends on the policy you choose.

Here's what Worldcare covers across a range of popular claim types, but as always, for the full details (including information about important exclusions and conditions), refer to the relevant Product Disclosure Statement.

Worldcare medical cover

From a quick visit to a doctor to a night or more in hospital, here's what Worldcare may cover on eligible claims, by policy type. All figures list here, and elsewhere in this review, are based on policies held by a single adult traveller.

Coverage for some pre-existing medical conditions may be available, subject to Worldcare's approval. An additional charge or higher-priced policy premium may apply.

In some respects, Worldcare's medical cover is more generous than other insurers, and in other respects, it's less so.

For instance, Worldcare's payouts on total permanent disability (TPD) claims are $25,000 on eligible plans, whereas on some insurers, the levels are half that. However, some other policy providers include accidental death cover on international basics plans, which Worldcare does not.

As above, for the full details, refer to the relevant Product Disclosure Statement or speak with the insurer.

Worldcare delay, cancellation and inconvenience cover

If your trip doesn't go to plan, Worldcare may cover things like travel delays and cancellations up to the limits below on eligible claims.

Like medical cover, Worldcare is more generous in some ways, and less generous in others. For instance, some insurers cover up to $250 per day in travel delay expenses, whereas Worldcare covers only up to $200 on eligible plans.

On the other hand, when it comes to trip cancellation, Worldcare's highest-tiered policies provide unlimited cover, albeit with sub limits of $1,500 for travel agent cancellation fees, and $2,000 for relatives with a pre-existing medical condition.

Worldcare luggage and property cover

If your baggage doesn't arrive when you do, or grows legs and begins its own journey elsewhere, Worldcare may pay eligible claims up to these limits.

It's again a case of ups and downs, with Worldcare covering theft of cash on domestic-only policies – which insurers like NIB don't cover – although claims for eligible items after a luggage delay aren't accepted until you've been without your bag for 12 hours, versus 10 (also NIB).

Read: NIB travel insurance review

Worldcare liability cover

For personal liability and rental car accidents, here are Worldcare's liability limits.

The Worldcare domestic plan again proves to be more generous than some others (which don't offer rental vehiche excess cover at all), although with a $3,000 limit across the board, this may not cover all excess amounts with all car hire providers.

Of course, as we regularly remind, cover against rental vehicle 'excess' isn't full insurance coverage for car hire: it simply covers any excess payable on another insurance policy, in the event that a claim needs to be filed under that other policy.

In countries where no excess applies – and you're either covered, or you aren't – if you only have such 'excess' cover, you may find you're not covered at all: so check the cover carefully.

Worldcare snow, cruise, golf add-ons

In addition to your domestic or international travel insurance plan, you also have the option of adding cover for snow sports, cruising, and golf activities.

Worldcare's 'Snow and Skiing' pack, for example, covers things like snow sport equipment hire, bad weather and avalanche closure, piste closure and more.

Separately, the Cruise pack extends unlimited medical cover while cruising, compensation for cabin confinement, cover for formal cruise attire, and more.

Under the 'Golf Option' add-on, you'll get cover for both your own golf equipment and hired equipment, as well as for any pre-paid golf green fees if you're unable to play due to injury or sickness.

As an added bonus, if you've purchased the Golf Option and subsequently play during a covered trip, Worldcare will give you a $250 payout if you score a hole in one, at any 18-hole golf course with a course par score of 65 or above.

Worldcare travel insurance claim excess

Many travel insurance claims are subject to an excess: typically an amount the insurer withholds from any reimbursement payout, or which you must pay directly to the insurer if they are handling the expenses.

By example, if you submit a $1,000 claim for reimbursement and your policy excess if $800, the insurer would typically cover $800 if an excess applied to that claim.

You may be given the option to change or remove your policy excess, but which may affect the policy price.

Worldcare key exclusions

All insurance policies have with exclusions, and Worldcare's suite of insurance offers no exception.

Among the many exclusions in play, there's no cover for claims where you operate a motor vehicle (including a moped or scooter) without a valid Australian licence that's recognised in the country you're driving in, even if that country doesn't normally require a licence for the type of vehicle being driven or ridden.

There's also no cover relating to snow sport activities (for example, medical cover while skiing), unless the relevant snow sport add-on has been purchased with the policy.

For the full details, refer to the Product Disclosure Statement.

Worldcare coronavirus cover

Worldcare's Product Disclosure Statement outlines that "to the extent permitted by law we will not pay if your claim arises from, is related to or associated with an actual or likely epidemic or pandemic."

This would include the COVID-19 coronavirus, which has been declared a pandemic by the Australian Government and the World Health Organisation.

The PDS also states that claims will not be paid "if your claim arises from, is related to or associated with the threat of an epidemic or pandemic" (italics ours), which means the mere future possibility of an undeclared epidemic or pandemic could be enough for the insurer to deny your claim.

Worldcare travel insurance: the verdict

Offering bare basics cover right through to fully comprehensive insurance and annual multi-trip plans, Worldcare offers a surprisingly decent suite of insurance policies.

Despite the relatively unknown Worldcare brand, the policy is underwritten by Allianz Australia Insurance Limited, which is much better known.

Of course, limits, exceptions and exclusions always apply, only some of which have been named in this review. For full information, read to the Product Disclosure Statement.

Also read: Allianz travel insurance review

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The above is intended as a general guide only, drawn from information published by the insurer as available at the time of writing. Insurance policies can change over time. Executive Traveller makes no guarantee to the validity of any claim, or that the information published here remains up-to-date.

Conditions, exclusions, limits and policy terms and conditions apply to all travel insurance products, and may differ between policy types, plans and add-ons. Refer to the relevant policy documents for more specific information about the coverage available, and to determine whether a product adequately meets your needs. All questions regarding insurance policies and products must be directed to the insurer, and cannot be answered here or elsewhere by Executive Traveller staff.