Travel insurance for natural disasters
AXA Insurance has announced the launch of a new travel insurance product in Singapore – the first of its kind in the country, AXA claims, to cover trip cancellation or curtailment caused by a natural disaster.
The product, called Wanderlust, can be customised based on the individual traveller’s budget, destination and planned activities. There are three levels of cover available – Lite, Easy and Pro – but each includes coverage for overseas hospitalisation, accidental death / permanent disability, emergency medical evacuation / repatriation and travel inconveniences (such as natural disasters) as standard.
“AXA understands that customers today have increasingly diverse travel needs and require more than a one-size-fits-all travel insurance plan,” said AXA Insurance’s Chief Customer Officer and Managing Director of Retail Leo Costes. “With Wanderlust, we are offering more coverage options so our customers can choose and only pay for the protection they need.”
Customers can choose from a variety of add-on coverages, such as an overseas wedding photoshoot benefit, which will cover any non-refundable pre-paid expenses or administrative fees incurred if such a photoshoot is cancelled, curtailed or postponed for ‘unavoidable’ reasons. Adventure cover can also be added – or if a customer purchases the Pro plan it comes as a default feature – in order to cover policyholders for any injuries sustained while undertaking specific activities, such as bungee jumping and snow sports.
However, the policy does not cover any behaviour engaged in while under the influence of alcohol or recreational drugs; pre-existing medical conditions; sexually transmitted diseases; professional or competitive sports; circumstances such as war, government action or nuclear risks; or travel to or through Afghanistan, Crimea, Cuba, Democratic Republic of Congo, Iran, Iraq, Liberia, North Korea, Sudan or Syria.
“We know the realities of travel,” Costes added, “that it can be often unpredictable and stressful, which is why we want to allay potential worries of our customers in simple but important ways such as by offering a travel delay benefit which is claimable for any reason, as long as it’s not due to the fault of the insured, and by providing a cover to purchase essential items in the event their baggage is stolen while on an overseas trip.”