Medibank Travel Insurance - International Comprehensive Plan (Annual Multi Trip)

Went to look at renewing this annual policy however it was the WORST customer service experience possible. Will NOT be renewing. Show details

MEDIBANK TRAVEL INSURANCE – I purchased travel insurance for my trip to the USA early 2024 for a trip to the USA. As a Type 1 diabetic for over 25 years i always choose to purchase premium products for the "incase" something bad happens to me when i am away. I am very careful with my health and do not take any risks when it comes to traveling. I traveled in March 2024 and… Read more

needed medical assistance at a hospital in Los Angeles. When I arrived back from the USA i completed the necessary documentation. Medibank acknowledged and reimbursed my added expenses promptly, but the hospital's medical bills for an unknown reason remain unpaid. (it has taken 9 months and I am still waiting for a Medical Travel Insurance Resolution Officer to take care of this claim)

We are now in December 2024 and a debt collector is now contacting me to pay a bill of over $20,000 USD ($31,000 AUD). The duty of care is appalling and this situation has caused me extreme and unnecessary stress.

When I call the customer service line for an update (over the last 9 months) every agent is shocked, we go through the same process, they "escalate", phone somehow "disconnects" and after hours of waiting on hold, talking to agents i am still at the end of day not even one step closer to having my claim finalized.

The bill (for the past 9 months) is currently being "negotiated" with Covermore however it seems no one internally is actually working to get this bill cleared. It all appears overwhelmingly difficult for everyone, and the quality of communication and reassurance is truly appalling. I cannot even travel back to USA as this bill is not paid for. I would NOT recommend buying Travel Insurance from Medibank. I am now waiting for a "call back" we shall see what happens.

Incompetant impossible to deal with – Update. This was never resolved under the fine print. We gave up and now insure with another company. Sent my claim 24 April registered mail. By mid June started calling and emailing many times as had heard nothing. Yesterday I provided proof that they had physically received the paperwork 28 April 2023. Today get a claim number to my husbands… Read more

email ( not mine as requested over and over)..look up online that states the claim is from 2022 ( it is from 2023). I am beyond frustrated. This is our 2nd year of annual multi and both medibank members. PLEASE contact me as it is now almost 3 months since you received my claim and I cannot get sense out of anyone re the status of my medical and delays claims. HELP!!! I can count the phone calls and emails sent as i have it all documented.

Medibank Travel Insurance/Covermore – Follow up to previous review December 2023. After lodging a claim with Medibank Travel Insurance which was denied we lodged as recommended an internal dispute. All we are receiving now is an automated generic email from COVERMORE! Show details

Claim denied despite all evidence provided – I held a full coverage plan with Medibank Private and was attacked and mugged resulting in broken teeth and stolen items. It has been two months since my claim with all information provided and yet all I get is an automatic email every 10 days saying my claim is being investigated. EH the case manager won’t respond to any emails; nor will their… Read more

IDR suffice to say that they won’t deny the claim either leaving my in limbo. The claim is under $5K and I have been a loyal client with medical reports, credit card bills, police reports and original receipts for all claims and yet they do not assist. Steer clear and I can only imagine what would happen if you needed urgent assistance. Disgusting service and their underwriter CoverMore is just as useless.

Big mistake choosing Medibank Private for Travel Insurance – In the midst of an emergency situation in France, with my wife in intensive care with Covid and receiving no help whatsoever from Medibank. Their emergency assist phone line is a joke, taken up to 45 minutes for them answer and then they give me a case number and not much else. They did agree that they’d deal direct with the hospital in terms of… Read more

payment but the hospital has not heard from them, 3 days later. Also spoke with their health team who have done nothing, saying they need to speak directly to my wife, who is in intensive care hooked up to numerous medical devices and on oxygen. They too told me they’d call the hospital and get back to me - three days later and I’ve heard nothing. I can see that I’m going to have to manage everything myself including rearranging flights back to Oz. Then no doubt there will be a battle at home seeking reimbursement of our costs which are going to be substantial. Update 2 months later. Still getting the run around from Medibank Travel. Despite saying they would cover the hospital costs 10 weeks later the hospital has not been contacted by MT despite having given MT their estimate of cost whilst my wife was in hospital. The hospital has now sent me the bill for payment, over $22k. I have sent numerous emails to the claims department without any response. Phone calls to customer care are stonewalled with no advice other than to send another email to claims as it’s not policy to give a phone number to customers to phone the claims department. Customer care operator told me claims are delayed due to lack of staff who are also covering the emergency assist phone line!! In frustration I’ve lodged a complaint with Medibank Travel only to receive an auto response saying their complaint process takes 30 days!

I’ve also discovered that MT are just agents for Covermore Insurance. I tried calling them directly but they wouldn’t assist and referred me back to MT.

I can’t think of one good thing to say about Medibank Travel

DO NOT BUY!! The most PATHETIC travel insurance service I’ve ever experienced – On a recent overseas holidays I had three claims I submitted. The first, luggage didn’t make it to the destination The second, sunglasses stolen at the hotel The third, jetstar cancelled our flight I submitted three claims. They claim to respond to claims in 10 business days, However, it took at least 20 to hear back from them. Regarding… Read more

the first claim, I provided proof from the airline that the luggage was delayed, however they requested proof that it was also returned. Which of course the airline didn’t provide. But luckily I had a picture of the luggage being delivered. Submitted the additional information requested but still haven’t heard from them, 2 weeks later.

For my return flight that Jetstar cancelled I submitted documentation from Jetstar. 20 days later they’ve now requested I get a written letter from Jetstar stating WHY the flight was cancelled!!

This is seriously the worst customer experience and Medibank should be ashamed. I’ll be going to the ombudsman shortly.

Claim experience has been good - sort of – I have taken out Medibank Travel Insurance several times due to competitive pricing and very good level of coverage. This year I made a claim for airfares, a cruise and accommodation following the COVID outbreak. My policy allows for unlimited cancellation expenses and predates any hint of the pandemic. I emailed my claim form 2 months after… Read more ·  1

the date of the trip when the only refunds that I had been able to obtain were from two of the accommodation providers. Other service providers were either silent or offering unsatisfactory limited forward credit rather than refunds. My claim included every available document relating to the trip, and a letter detailing my efforts at obtaining refunds. Communication was understandably slow in the early stages due to the overwhelming numbers of enquiries. The first response seemed to just be a delaying tactic in requesting further (non-existent) documentation. When I complained by email a couple of months later about the lack of progress, I did receive a personal phone call to explain that my claim could not be settled while the refund situation remained unclear. I understand perfectly that the company was concerned that I might receive at some future date, a refund for something that had been paid out in insurance. My question is, can some mechanism be put in place whereby a claim can be settled within a reasonable period – say 6 months – after the claimant has signed over to the insurance company, the rights to any future refunds? In my case, some service providers have eventually succumbed to pressure and refunds have trickled in. The latest of these was 9 months after the cancellation. As refunds were received and the information passed on, the company has acted promptly to pay out any shortfall to the original amount paid. My claim remains active with one component still outstanding, 10 months after cancellation. That particular supplier has always said that a refund will be made, but after changing the expected date 3 times, is no longer even giving an estimation. Surely it would be more efficient for the insurance company to finalise claims than to have (presumably thousands) sitting on the books.

Experience of Claiming due to COVID-19 – This past year I have been insured with Medibank Travel and have unfortunately had to claim for losses due to cancellations brought about by travel restrictions. Medibank Travel offer several methods to submit a claim. They were very efficient in dealing with the claims and were very fair in refunding once all the required details and… Read more ·  1

confirmations were provided. They were happy to communicate by email both to myself and my travel agent to get all relevant information to satisfy the claims. I will most likely renew my insurance with Medibank as soon as travel becomes safe again.

Thank you for a great customer experience with my claim – Thank you to all the team who assisted me with my claim, especially in such difficult circumstances for everyone during COVID-19. Everyone was very polite, helpful and informative. It was a very smooth experience. Thank you Kylie, who was my first interaction and guided me with me initial claim, then Brittany, Carol, Nick, Thomas and Ruth C. Very appreciated and I hope to travel again in 2021/2022.  Show details ·  1

We are so pleased that we had all of our Travel covered by Medibank Travel Insurance – Not only was the policy of good value and moderately priced but it covered us for the unexpected COVID-19 crisis. Our claims were dealt with within 6 weeks which was great considering the demand on them. We have use Medibank Travel on three occassions and in each case we have taken out the Annual Multi Travel package Show details ·  1

Medibank Travel Insurance Policy purchase in 2019 – Easy to purchase our Multi-trip Travel Insurance Policy in 2019 never thinking in 2020 because of COVID-19 we would need to make a claim. Our first claim ever - the staff were professional, kept us informed along the way and refund was received within a short time of making our claim. We have used Medibank Travel Insurance in the past and intend to do the same in the future once we can travel again safely. Show details ·  1

A good outcome – Although I have been a member of MP for a long time this was the first time I purchased their international multi trip travel policy in early February. The service, the features, benefits and savings were excellent at the time. Unfortunately all our plans were cancelled due to covid-19. I recently contacted MP to cancel my unused policy and… Read more ·  1

ask for a refund when it became obvious that we would not be travelling internationally for some time.

I was delighted to receive a full refund from MB for the total amount paid for this policy. I am looking forward to taking out a new policy with MB when we can travel internationally again.

Took long but it’s Covid time – Took an absolute months and months and multiple emails and communications back and forth but we got there and let’s say I recover about 75% of the costs incurred from not being able to travel due to Covid. In one claim they dare to ask me to request a letter from the airline on the reasons why the flight was cancelled? Hello! Covid! No one can leave Australia the borders are closed and the airlines are not flying. Show details ·  1

Excellent outcome in difficult times – Have used Medibank Travel Insurance in the past and they are generally competitive in price terms, although maybe not as much for older travellers. But used them most recently as travel included Iran and they were the most competitive of companies offering coverage for there. Initial travel insurance taken out in early 2019, and there were… Read more ·  1

several changes to dates and cover required along the way. These were all handled courteously and professionally. And then came 2020 and travel bans. The process of claiming through Medibank Travel was well handled and help was always available and responses were timely. Travel, and insurance for same, will be very different when we emerge from this pandemic, but will certainly look at using Medibank in the future.

We feel that we have been treated fairly and we appreciate having dealt with this insurance – We appreciate the Medibank Travel Insurance, and it was a good value and easy to set it up. We have lodged a claim and it was solved longer, because of the pandemic situation. We have used this insurance company twice. Show details ·  1

Refund on policy – We purchased an annual multi trip policy with Medibank Travel Insurance which we could not use due to covid 19 - both trips were cancelled. We were very pleased that after consultation with the specialist travel team, 100% of the policy amount paid will be refunded. We will definitely be using Medibank Travel Insurance in the future, when we have the opportunity to holiday once again. Show details ·  2

CoVid cancellation claim paid ,Yippee – We are experienced travellers but this was the first time we used Medibank Travel Insurance and along came CoVid .Lucky we took our cover out last year before that was a known event .Arranging the policy was quick and easy and not a bad price. Once travel bans started to bite our Travel Company delayed , didn't answer emails, didn't supply an… Read more ·  1

itinerary etc .Medibank and Covermore took 3 months to settle our claim for everything which was about$8500 less the excess and the cost of a hotel in Russia which is still promising a refund. The delay seemed ,understandable given the CoVid rush. Our Claims Officer was polite and professional when dealing with us. It was still a worrying time given the games being played by the travel company and that our Insurance claim through Mastercard was not possible due to their pandemic exclusion clause.

Medibank paid when ASMOF travel insurance rejected claim – As a member of Australian Salaried Medical Officers Federation with "complimentary" travel insurance I expected them to cover my stolen camera, they did not but Medibank did! Thanks Medibank for your fare assessment, makes me think never trust "complimentary" travel insurance, go with Medibank! Show details ·  1

Absolute RORT ! Refuses to pay substantiated Claim. AVOID Medibank Travel Insurance – I purchased a Annual Multi-trip overseas travel insurance with Medibank. My return flights from overseas were confirmed for 28th March back to Australia and then were cancelled by Jetstar at the last minute. This was no fault of mine and I was stranded and will be until May. Medibank claim that due to some wording in the policy that unless it was… Read more

due to Natural Disaster, Strike, War blah blah they have the right to refuse my claim for travel disruptions. What an absolute joke this company is. I have been a fully paid Medibank policy holder for over twenty years and never thought a company like this would screw a policy holder like this. I will be cancelling all my policies when I return home and seeking other insurers for all my families insurance needs. I urge all AVOID MEDIBANK INSURANCE if you want peace of mind !

A very long wait on the phone but the issue was resolved – The rental car insurance excess is below the amount charged by most car companies. I waited on the phone for over an hour wanting to confirm what the limit is and if I could increase. I am still waiting 1hr 10 mins later. Once I got a sales agent they were very helpful and increased the limit with a slight increase in premiums. I had called medibank when the corona virus pandemic had just hit therefore the long wait time. Show details

Skiing accident with delayed charges – I've been on the annual policy with snow cover for few years now, as I found the cover is comprehensive for my peace of mind. Glad I did, someone in the family unfortunately had an accident skiing during our latest holiday to Canada. One of the service providers is unbelievably very slow in issuing invoice whilst the 60 days period to lodge a… Read more ·  1

claim after the incident was only few days away. I called in a couple of times to make sure that Medibank Claims team knows our situation, I was impressed with both staff that I spoke to - knowledgeable, understanding and reassuring. I've just received the news that my claim has been successfully processed, and fingers crossed, the same with the charge that is yet to arrive in the future. Thank you, Medibank!

Avoid Medibank - Cancellation Costs – I purchased a Annual Multi-trip overseas travel insurance with Medibank. My domestic flights in overseas destination were cancelled by the airlines for no fault of mine and I was stranded. I had to buy much expensive tickets at short notice to continue with the journey. I thought i had cover with medibank travel insurance for cancellation costs.… Read more

After I made the claim i was advised by Medibank that they do not pay for cancellation by transport service provider unless its due to a strike/industrial action. When I bought this travel insurance, the sales guy said we pay more claims than anyone else as they are part of Zurich Insurance. That was crap, I realize now that was sales talk, when it comes to being fair & reasonable - Medibank you need to learn a lot from other insurers - who pay for cancellation costs even if caused by Airlines for no fault off the traveler. I was not at fault and I had a significant out of pocket for cancellation costs which you expect any reasonable & fair insurer would pay as it was not due to my fault. But not medibank. If you are looking for travel Insurance (Domestic & Overseas), my advice is Stay away from Medibank (Zurich). First time and last time I bought travel cover with medibank / Zurich Insurance. I now realise why ratings for Medibank travel insurance is 2.8. I will give them minus 10 if I can. Medibank/Zurich Stop Selling travel insurance and exclude Cancellation costs completely - that will be fair & reasonable as it will not lead people to believe that they are covered and find that when you make a claim, the most basic risk of cancellation costs due to airlines changing their mind is not covered. It is abhorrent and untrust worthy. Will any one rely on the Brand "MEDIBANK/ZURICH" any more.

Easy to claim, need lots of Evidence – Was easy to make a claim, asked for lots of supporting docs so make sure to read terms & conditions. The claim was resolved in a timely manner. Customer service could be better. However everything else was good. Show details ·  1

You have to have a go (at a leg break) to get a go (at insurance claims) – We have been a customer of this product every year for 4 years. We have had 2 claims; one for missed flights and one for a medical emergency. Both times we were refunded for our out of pocket expenses, methodically and systematically. It is a good value product for global travellers and Medibank Our last claim was for my breaking a leg in… Read more ·  1

Iceland. Just bad luck . A small slide down a glacial rubble embankment and 1 leg hit a rock and twisted it to a funny angle I've not seen before. . A quick drive (2 hours) down the road to a local village and the doctor splinted it and supplied arm crutches ($$$). A very swollen broken ankle needing surgery. I sat in the back of our 4WD for the next 4 days taking pain killers while the swelling went down and we completed the drive arround Iceland. Glorius , mystical country! How do we resolve this? Never had a break before and needed my travelling partners every assistance.

The moment things come undone like this, start your own archive of doctors reports/ receipts/ names and locations. (Get emailed copies sent to you.) Keep track of your hotel cancellations or date changes. Most importantly, make contact with the claims deprtment of tyhe Travel Insurer. Give them your comms details that you may be using in your host country. Iceland is expensive for everything incluing phone and data..

So, After we got th the Reykjavik Main A&E hospital for assessment we were advised to get home asap otherwise an operation would result in me suffering post operative DVT problems with air travell. Reports were written by doctors and emailed to the insurers medical team. In 2 days we flew out of Rejkyavik howeward bound to OZ. The moment I landed I presented at A&E in Mater Hospital Brisbane. 2 days later I had surgery with more pins than a tailor could use. Medical/ Hospital expenses in OZ are not covered.. Thank you Medibank Travel Insurance for your care and cover.

Being a loyal customer with them meant nothing, very disappointed at their service – I am a loyal customer who has been with Medibank Private insurance for more than 5 years. With that into account, for the first time ever (and will be the last time) I bought myself a year worth of comprehensive travel insurance since I'll be overseas twice this year. On my first trip of the year to Japan, I have to pay for lounge area because… Read more

the airlines didn't provide accommodation due to their mistake (late) and delayed arrival (bad weather)

The first flight from Japan to Guang Zhou was late and arrived late due to bad weather which caused us to miss the next flight from Guang Zhou to Sydney.

We arrived in Guang Zhou on Saturday, 14th April at 11.38pm when we meant to land at 7.20pm to catch our next flight to Sydney at 9.20pm.

Because of the delayed, we have to wait in Guang Zhou airport until Sunday, 15th April at 3am for the airlines to find us a seat for the next flight which not until Sunday, 15th April at 9.20pm.

With a peace of mind, I thought my travel insurance will let me claim my 6 hours lounge fee as I need to rest and have a quick nap until my next flight.

I gave all the evidence, which include the delayed certificate from the airlines, the boarding pass and all the receipts.

They didn't bother to look at the whole situation (total delayed for more than 4 hours) but just looking at the first delayed (3 hours) and insisted I can't get anything back.

If you are with Medibank, don't even bother to buy their travel insurance. I'll surely suggest to go with Aust Post which I should have done.

Look elsewhere - don't bother buying this – The price seemed reasonable and service was good until you had to call for help and from then on it went downhill. I have purchased Travel Insurance with Medibank Private mainly for peace of mind. I used to have Private Health Cover with this company. I should have remembered my reasons for ceasing to buy from them! I felt that the worldwide… Read more

coverage for 12 months was the best value when I was presented with various offers. It covers for multiple trips for either of the two names traveling for up to 30 days.

On the last trip, in Bali, my friend got bitten by a dog. Being a medical doctor, I made sure he got the wound seen to. I emailed Medibank as I didn't think it was Emergency urgent but didn't get a reply for OVER 48 hours! After a second email, the Customer Service Officer calls me and then puts me on hold and gets a Nurse, to whom I had to relate the whole matter to once again. (I had emailed in detail which I suspect NO ONE read), I related the matter to the Customer Service Officer and now the Nurse! The phone bill alone racked up to over $70 and they won't pay that because the Telstra bill doesn't state it was a call from Medibank!

The Nurse didn't tell me anything more than I already knew being myself a medical professional. She just read if off the Australian Immunisation Handbook She didn't give me a sense of security that comes when you talk to someone with experience. I think people who purchase Travel Insurance should get the best care and advise from qualified personnel.

Because my friend was never immunised for Rabies, he needed, Rabies Immunoglobulin, in addition to a series of (expensive) Rabies vaccines. This wasn't available in Bali but we were going to be in Singapore within the suitable time frame and we were told to go to Raffles Medical to obtain it there. It also cost over $3500 and prior to paying for it I rechecked with Medibank if I should pay and get reimbursed or to get pre-payment from Medibank. Apparently if you couldn't pay for it upfront, you could get a 'guarantee of payment' from Medibank Travel Insurance. Raffles Hospital staff weren't keen on that as it meant paperwork and delays in payment for them. From the sound of it, in the past, it has taken a long time for them to get payment from Medibank. We were also running out of time as the Immunoglobulins were needed to be given as soon as possible. To get a guarantee of payment, we would have to get the doctor in Singapore to write a report of the diagnosis and proposed treatment and fax it all off to Medibank and no one could tell us how long it would actually take to get a reply.

We were encouraged to pay first and submit a claim. Medibank staff told us the process of claiming was simple.

When I got back, trying to lodge a claim was so hard. Their website and any attempt to contact a Claims Officer is designed to frustrate you such that you would give up. For instance they say the best way is to do an online claim. You go through as series of questions and it gets you to scan your receipts and upload them. It took me a total of 4 hours to get it all done and it was just ten sheets of paper. Mainly because after you get halfway or three quarters of the way, something would freeze up and you find that none of your documents were saved. You had to re-log on and do it all over again. I found out that it was best to save each page as if you were going to exit and resume at a later stage! I am a very methodical person bordering on OCD and I made sure they were given all the documents.

When I called to ensure they got all of it, I got a disgruntled Customer Service Officer who told me to wait the necessary 10 working days before you even 'expect to hear anything'. Ten days passed and I got a simple email saying that attached was their 'response'. I got a shock to find out that they left out the most expensive part of the treatment ie the $3682 for the Rabies Immunoglobulin and they cost to inject them!

When I called and finally got hold of a Customer Service Officer, after a lengthy wait, I was told that they saw that I had put in a claim but 'couldn't find attached a proper tax invoice'.n So they simply didn't pay!

I do NOT believe they didn't get that paperwork. How convenient that the MOST EXPENSIVE tax invoice, goes missing. Why did they NOT attempt to call me or email me when they could see a claim for that amount was lodged but they couldn't find the paperwork?? They couldn't answer why they didn't bother verifying the claim.

The Claims Officer wouldn't speak to me directly. I was told to 'resubmit' the 'missing' tax invoices and then be prepared to wait for the necessary "lag time - everything here involves a lag time of at least ten working days". (Quoted directly from their Customer Service Officer who expressed very little empathy working for an Medical Insurance company). There is no Senior Officer whom you can ask to speak to - to escalate the case. There is no complaints or feedback line according to the CSO when I specifically asked her.

The system is fraught with warnings that if they don't get the necessary paperwork the claims won't be paid and you won't be told either. They will just simply ignore it. There is no way to find out and confirm whether they received the paperwork as they will just to tell you to wait for the 'outcome'. You find that you can't trust when they say they didn't receive something. It is your word against theirs! I have been told by my friends it is generally the case with Insurance companies and this is not new. However I have had dealings with Home Insurance and Car Insurance and generally I have found access to advise and claims experience to be very reasonable.

Medibank however is only interested in selling you the insurance. In fact they are quite aggressive about it - they will call you constantly during the period after quote and before you make the final decision! The girl that sold me the insurance very nice to deal with.

Thereafter the support is terrible should you require assistance. I urge people to consider this and shop around. Overseas medical incidents and costs are stressful and with Medibank Travel Insurance you find that you don't get any peace of mind. The stress is compounded when you return and try to lodge a claim! You also don't get some sort of security as the person on the other end of the Emergency Helpline isn't as qualified as you would expect.

I should have remembered why I chose to cease Private Health Insurance with Medibank some years ago! Service is non-existent.