Travelcard Reviews 3

Super excellent

I recently had a bad experience with TravelCard travel insurance in Australia. TravelCard is part of a global network in which TCA Insurance Services Pty Ltd is part of PassportCard Ltd, a UK based company. They have also partnered with an Australian insurer - The Hollard Insurance Company Pty Ltd.

I took out TravelCard travel insurance for the first time to travel to Bali for a recent holiday. Unfortunately, I was bitten by a stray dog on leaving the beach there one afternoon. I went to a Bali doctor and got limited information and advice. I was also informed that only the hospital stores rabies vaccine there and that it could be very expensive to purchase there.

As I was returning to Australia a few days later while still in the treatment window for rabies, I consulted a Cairns doctor who recommended that I get two rabies injections to be on the safe side. At the time, I called TravelCard and was informed that even though the policy was soon expiring, I would be covered as the incident occurred whilst I was overseas and the treatment necessarily has to occur later.

The Doctor provided me with a repeat prescription for two rabies injections of which I had the first one in Cairns following my consultation. The second one was required three days later. As I was travelling to NZ at this time, I found a GP clinic who administered the second injection on the basis of the information I provided and my vaccination booklet. The cost of the injection in NZ was $165 and the cost of it in Australia was $98.

In Australia the doctor's fee was covered by Medicare as was the nurse's fee to administer the injection. In NZ, the cost included a $25 nurses fee to administer the injection.

I found that TravelCard was difficult to deal with on the claim and they put up hurdles and hoops to delay the claim and put me off making the claim. They required me to get a letter from the Cairns Doctor stating that in his professional judgement I needed the two post bite injections. This is pathetic given his review of the rabies guidelines for post bite treatment and the fact that he wrote a prescription for two injections.

The clinic in Cairns charged $55 for the letter, which turned out to be the Doctor's notes on the consultation. I queried the $55 cost with TravelCard before making the request to the Cairns clinic and their telephone representative informed me that they would cover this cost.

When I submitted the claim with the letter from the Doctor, TravelCard rejected my claim including for the $55 for the doctor’s letter that they requested and said they would cover.

TravelCard did all it could to avoid paying this claim and I think they thought they achieved something by seeking to be too smart by half in doing so. I think TravelCard has questionable business practices and has not conducted itself in a reasonable and professional manner on a genuine and reasonable claim.

I am currently contacting consumer protection agencies in Australia about my concerns on TravelCard including the ACCC, NSW Department of Fair Trading, Qld Fair Trading and the Australian Financial Complaints Authority. I will soon be making formal complaints to these organisations about TravelCard.

I have also requested that TravelCard maintains tapes of the telephone calls I had with their representatives so that that they can be reviewed by the external agencies.

I am not happy with the TravelCard travel insurance and would not recommend them to travellers. TravelCard certainly needs to lift its game and level of professionalism. They are good with their PR advertising and spin in which they state they are different and better than other insurance companies but I found them less than trustworthy, professional and straightforward in their dealings with me.