RACV Travel Insurance

Be warned. RACV only facilitate travel insurance by Tokio Marine insurance. Our Jetstar flight was delayed by 1.5 hours causing us to be unable to board our cruise ship. Even though the ship was still docked, we were unable to board due to the port authority closing at 3.00pm. We had to find accommodation in Brisbane and change our flight home.… Read more

All good we had paid over $600 for travel insurance which we believed would cover our costs, or so we thought. What an absolute joke.

Here is their reason for denying our claim: We also note that we are unable to consider your missed Crown Princess Cruise under Section 1: 

Cancellation Fees and Lost Deposits, as your flight was delayed due to operational reasons. Since the 

delay was caused by the Transport Provider, Exclusion 1.7 applies to your cancelled arrangements.

Additionally, Section 4: Emergency Expenses provides coverage for seven defined events. Unfortunately, 

delays or cancellations due to operational reasons are not among the covered events. As a result, your claim 

for emergency expenses (taxi and accommodation) is not covered under this section of the policy also.

Furthermore, we understand that your Jetstar flight was delayed by 1 hour and 15 minutes, which caused you 

to arrive late to board your Crown Princess Cruise. To be eligible for cover under Section 13: Travel Delay, 

your scheduled transport must be delayed by more than six hours. Unfortunately, as your flight was not 

delayed by more than six hours, your claim for the taxi fare and additional accommodation falls outside the 

scope of this section of the policy

Be Warned...

Perhaps one of the worst (if not "The Worst") travel insurance experience that I have encountered. Horrible service, disconnected teams, rubbish rationale (i.e. they love to get your money upfront, but discard your receipts as they do not wish to pay back). Don't even bother talking to them, even a one star review is too generous. Show details

I have used RACV Travel Insurance on a trip before, and while it's quite easy to purchase a policy, making a claim is a completely different story. I submitted a claim in September 2024, and as of now, I am still waiting for it to be finalised. I suffered a horrific accident while travelling in Portugal last year. RACV made it extremely difficult… Read more

to contact them from overseas. As echoed in other reviews, they don’t respond to emails in a timely manner, you cannot call them via WhatsApp, and they don’t accept any other forms of calls that are not from an Australian number.

If you don’t have family in Australia to help you contact RACV, I strongly advise against purchasing their policies, they genuinely do not care. It took an excessive number of calls and emails just to get me back to Australia. RACV resists assisting you every step of the way, even when you're at your most vulnerable. Though they did finally budge and arrange a flight home.

Additionally, the underwriter and third parties RACV works with are far from ethical and employ the same stalling tactics to delay the claims process. Things were so bad that I had to involve the Australian embassy to help get me home. Despite that, RACV still delayed for two weeks while I remained in hospital.

To this day, RACV has not confirmed whether they paid for my surgery overseas, nor will they address the lost income that were both covered under policy. They consistently delay the process by requesting unnecessary information and impose an automatic two-week delay on all email responses.

I have never had to make a claim before and have had many trips. This time a few things went wrong and my claim was Prompt claim with no hassles. I totally will buy insurance from RACV again Show details

I bought travel insurance for our upcoming holiday in Qld at the end of March and due to my wife's cancer treatment our oncologist advised us not to travel. I was lucky I spoke to a lovely lady, Caroline who was very understanding and went through the whole refund process. What a lovely person and a credit to RACV. Thank you Caroline!! Show details ·  1

Friendly, professional and knowledgeable are the adjectives that spring to mind when I think about the service we received for organising and purchasing our travel insurance. Good job RACV. Show details ·  1

I was months and months out from our trip when I bought RACV travel insurance. It was expensive. Saw insurance offered by Insure and Go whom I'd used before and decided to swap. RACV charged us $1000 to cancel our plan. Bit of a costly exercise, hey? Show details

Never again. Six months to have claim settled and less than half considered. They wanted receipts for old items including one purchased in 1950! Who keeps a life time of purchase receipts. Had to call every two weeks to try and get anything done. Worst customer service ever. Why can’t we give NO STARS. Show details

Very disillusioned and disappointed with our treatment by RACV travel insurance. We rang for help and advice re travelling home after suffering a broken bone overseas. We were told we needed a Fit to Fly certificate and had great difficulty in getting to see a doctor. After calling for assistance, we were offloaded onto two other companies , and… Read more

had to repeat all information multiple times with different operators. We were then given conflicting information and the entire experience was very stressful , long winded and distressing. I mistakenly assumed that we would get help but the experience was anything but helpful. Eventually gave up on them and sorted out the issue ourselves. Have insured with them before but never had to contact them or use the insurance. Will never insure with them again. How can you tell how good your insurance company is begore you need them to help you ?

My mother flat-lined after a standard operation due to an unrelated illness so we decided to cancel our trip and fly to where she is. We gave RACV the medical abstract, death certificate, test results, xrays, and yet 7 months after filing they are still requesting for further documents that cannot be obtained due to the time passing and the… Read more

hospital being overseas, we cannot simply fly back to get what they ask for. Mind you, they reply once a month even after multiple follow ups. This is so distressing to re-live every time they ask for something new and they have shown no humanity at all. The amount is just 7000 AUD and yet they choose to be cruel.

To start with - I would not give them one star. As frequent travelers, we started using RACV a few years ago. So for our next two trips, we booked our insurance again with RACV. I had what I thought was just a stomach upset that we seem to have from time to time due to various reasons. This was six days before we purchased the policy. After… Read more

visiting the doctor, he suggested I do some tests - which unfortunately came back with a gut condition (that I had never heard of before). I was then hospitalized a 10 days later due to the condition, and the doctor advised that I do not take the trip, until I saw specialists and obtained a diet. Much to our disappointment we did not go on our cruise.

The underwriter for RACV (Tokio Marine) after taking 2 months and requesting the same documentation multiple times, refused my claim using some obscure ambiguous clause in the fine print. This clause does not have anything to do with my condition! They take ages to respond and do not return phone calls.

While I understand that the RACV is just selling their policies for which they receive a commission, they need to ensure that their members are treated fairly in times of difficulty. I look forward to the RACV reviewing this case, as we should not have to go through these lengths.

23/04: So after lodging a complaint with the RACV about the insurance, I received a reasonably call from an RACV representative. She was pretty sympathetic to start with, but all she had to say in effect was they would forward my feedback to Tokio Marine, and that would be the end of it as the RACV does not have a "claims license" - they only sell this insurance, and that's it. If I felt that the response I receive from Tokio Marine is unacceptable, I would have to approach AFCA. LESSON LEARNT: RACV put a name and a face to this insurance, but one is at the mercy of Tokio Marine!

13/05: So another month has almost passed, I have received an email from Tokio Marine indicating they are going to take another month. As you can see this unacceptable situation still continues. They seem to be determined to spend their resources in time and money uselessly trying to defend claims and losing goodwill, rather that of maintaining the RACV customer base.

17/05: So after sending them an email admonishing them for delaying, they responded on time, denying the claim. I'm now off to AFCA. Proceed with CAUTION with RACV insurance. Don't say you have not been warned!

I will update any progress on the status.

Not Happy as due to my husbands sudden health issue before leaving on our Cruise we could not travel. After providing all the relevant documents. Two months later they tell us it is was a pre-existing condition and refuse the claim. It wasn't as we were not even aware of the condition. Tried to call back and left msgs to call back. No response.… Read more

Please Call us, we have taken insurance on several of our trips and this is the 1st claim. Very very disappointed.

had an utterly disgraceful experience with RACV. When I reached out regarding a policy that was no longer valid, they flatly refused to assist me, declined to alter the policy, and wouldn’t even consider a refund. Their actions were nothing short of predatory. It is appalling to see a company resort to tactics that can only be described as those… Read more

of thugs and standover men—solely interested in filling their wallets at the expense of their customers. I strongly advise anyone considering their services to steer clear of RACV if you value fair treatment and honest customer service.

I lodged a claim with RACV Travel Insurance in September 2024 however when I call for updates, they always say, someone will call me next week however after 5 months, I am still awaiting for their next week to come. Poor Service. Show details

My agent Caroline was so helpful first she advised me on the best policy for my travel and then due to the pending cyclone situation I had to reschedule and she helped revise my travel dates Show details

I lodged my claim Dec 2024. I was sent an email stating that my payment 'bounced back' and to update my bank details via the portal. Even though my bank details were correct, I 'updated' them anyway. I have messaged via the portal and via email multiple times since then, asking for an update and have had silence. It is now March 2025! Super dodgy company, will be going to the ombudsman next. DO NOT USE RACV TRAVEL INSURANCE! Show details

No response – It's been over one months no response, send my documents, this company is hopeless won't be using Racv again for my travel insurance stay away not worth the hassle Show details

No coverage for leg injury! – Very disappointed in RACV ! After trying to help my Son’s Physiotherapy claim. (Currently in Japan) I was passed around to 8 different people. All over the USA and Asia Dealing with unwritten companies. Tokyo Marine and Oncall international. Having provided all documentation on 3 separate occasions. The claim of just under $2000 AUD was… Read more

rejected! The reason given. “ That Physiotherapy aids the recovery process. Most mild to moderate soft tissue injuries (As in this case) will most likely recover over a period of 6 weeks. So soft tissue treatments abroad are not medically necessary. Therefore there will be no coverage for the treatment” What a load of nonsense. Tell me RACV what ‘medical conditions are covered ??

Tough on worlds (and charging) but not on claims and service – I have taken RACV Comprehensive Travel insurance. During my travels, I had a minor dental issue (accident), which I repaired during my stay. It was urgent to be able to enjoy my holiday. On my return 4 months ago, I submitted the claim and am still awaiting a decision despite sending all the relevant documents and photos. No excuses, no further… Read more

information... Not fair. PS. After more than 4 months, I got approved claim (after submitting everything I could), but my compensation was 10% of the claim I submitted, placed under the basis type, even though I have paid for comprehensive insurance. Mistake or??? I didn't even include any related charges; ONLY urgent medical attention. VERY, VERY DISAPPOINTED.

20 for a few key-strokes on computer – Had to change a date on upcoming trip. Went into a RACV store where it took a few seconds for a date to be changed. They charged $20!!!! Show details

RACV travel insurance DON'T BOTHER – Never again Insurance not recognised in Egypt yet 100' including Bupa, Covermore etc are Had to pay out of pocket On return tried to claim online several times site is useless apparently I don't know my birthday??? Had forms emailed returned by express post on 6th told 5 to 10 bus days. 27th I rang "Just got it" Rubbish Half hour answering… Read more

questions , will e mail you later? 7Th rang again , put on hold, need to answer same questions, will process in 5 to 10 days excuse AGAIN. This is a pathetic way treat customers. I have several RACV policies Time for a change Policy states will process in 5 to 10 bus days which is totally misleading

stick with RACV to get the best service – I have been a member for over 50 years and always extremely happy with the service from RACV. From Travel insurance, car insurance, road side assist and contents insurance. Show details ·  1

Successful outcome with 2 very friendly operators – Excellent assistance officers. Quick pleasant and effective. I can’t remember how often I have used RACV insurance. However, it is now the insurance of my choice. Show details ·  2

Extremely unhappy – Extremely unhappy that when I enquired about adding a medical condition to the policy all previously declared medical conditions became uncovered. This seems extremely unfair as new condition is not related to previously declared. I believe they have broken the contract that we had. This new condition was diagnosed after the policy was taken out. I have used this company several times before and been happy but not now. Show details

Not worth it – Travel insurance is not worth it! I’d rather travel with no insurance. It’s been 3 months since my flights were cancelled unexpectedly and I haven’t had any response in relation to my claim. Show details

30+ business days, vague responses and still no outcome – Reading through the other reviews within this last week, there is a common theme here RACV. It's been 30 business days since I've raised my claim, contacted more than 8 times, through multiple channels and forever been told it's been personally escalated and that I will get an update and call back. I have not once received a call back or any sign… Read more

of outcome, just that "someone is looking at it and will call you back". I have multiple other insurance policies with RACV, and been a member for many years. My trust has greatly diminished and I will be taking my insurances elsewhere. Your "within 10 business days" of claim assessment is absolutely false and misleading.