As the economy starts to pick up again, the number of people travelling overseas this summer is likely to rise.
As the economy starts to pick up again, the number of people travelling overseas this summer is likely to rise. Many holidaymakers assume that the free insurance that comes with their credit card or when travelling as part of a tour group is adequate. However, the truth is that travel insurance will protect you against a much wider range of problems.
As well as providing you with personal accident cover for death or disability, First-Aviva’s travel insurance also covers you for medical treatment received after an accident, hospitalisation as the result of sudden illness abroad, convalescence, and outpatient and emergency treatments. Starting from today, you will now be able to take out First-Aviva travel insurance at any First Bank branch in Taiwan. We therefore recommend that you prepare for your holiday well in advance by purchasing your travel insurance at the same time as you buy your foreign currency at the bank.
First-Aviva general manager Lin Yuan-hui explains: “Usually, travel insurance sold by life insurance companies will insure you for accidental death or disability, medical treatment for injuries, and medical treatment for sudden illness. On the other hand, travel insurance provided by general insurers usually comprises travel liability insurance and travel inconvenience insurance, such as for travel or flight delays and the loss of passports and baggage.”
Lin Yuan-hui warns that, as the risks when travelling are higher than usual, people should at the very minimum top up their personal accident and injury cover as well as associated medical cover. Ideally, this should include cover for medical treatment received after an accident, hospitalisation due to sudden illness abroad, convalescence, and outpatient treatment.
By providing cover for accidental death or disability, medical treatment received for injuries, medical treatment for sudden illness abroad, and also a 24-hour overseas emergency assistance service, First-Aviva’s travel insurance protects you all day every day throughout your entire journey.
Taking a five day trip (for individuals over the age of 15) as an example, a policy worth NTD$5 million with an additional NTD$500,000 cover for both medical treatment after an accident and sudden illness abroad costs only NTD$448, which works out at less than NTD$90 a day. This would insure you for death and disability, hospital treatment after an accident, sudden illness abroad, and even hospitalisation, convalescence, and outpatient and emergency treatments.
Lin Yuan-hui goes on to explain that: “Because the cost of medical treatment varies between different regions, First-Aviva’s sudden illness abroad benefit uses an automatic top-up mechanism that enables you to increase your medical cover based on the relevant adjustment index for a certain region. This will be up to three times higher for the US and Canada, and 1.5 times higher for Europe, Japan, and Australia/New Zealand.
"This means that if you suddenly become ill and require hospital treatment in any of these regions, your maximum benefit for medical costs on each occasion would increase from NTD$500,000 to NTD$1.5 million and NTD$750,000, respectively. In this case, travellers no longer need worry about letting a high medical bill ruin their trip.”
Lin Yuan-hui also advises people purchasing travel insurance to be wary of the following points:
- Additional medical cover for accidents and sudden illness abroad: Most travel insurance master policies will only pay out in the case of accidents that result in death or disability. Therefore, the cost of medical treatment received after an accident or sudden illness will not be covered. The cost of medical treatment abroad can be high and it is also easy to pick up epidemic diseases when you are not accustomed to the local living environment. It is therefore highly advisable to take out additional cover for medical treatment as the result of injury and also for sudden illness abroad. Only then will you have complete, fundamental travel insurance cover, in which case you can start your trip with a peace of mind.
- Does the policy include overseas emergency assistance? Because of language barriers when you are abroad, there are many situations in which you may require professional assistance, such as when you are ill, have lost your personal documents or money, are robbed—or even if you have broken the law. Insurance companies therefore work with professional emergency assistance organisations that provide emergency medical, travel and legal assistance worldwide. With your overseas emergency assistance card or through the relevant hotline, specialists are available 24 hours a day to help you deal with any difficult situations.
- Length of cover: As travel insurance policies are only usually needed for a few days, premiums are actually quite inexpensive. It is therefore recommended that you take out insurance from the day you leave your home until the day you arrive back home from the airport. This will ensure that there are no gaps in the insured period.
Currently, there are several ways of taking out travel insurance, such as through a salesperson, your bank, over the phone, online, by fax and at the airport. Lin Yuan-hui recommends that people buy their travel insurance in advance and through one of the channels listed above.
Alternatively, they can purchase their insurance in the bank at the same time as buying their foreign currency. Not only does this allow the policyholder time to familiarise him or herself with the policy content before the trip, but it also avoids the risk of not having enough time to purchase insurance at the airport.
In addition to this, some credit cards offer free holiday insurance when the card is used to book a holiday or buy a flight. However, this insurance is often subject to the following restrictions:
- Protection is only provided for accidents occurring on mass transportation (defined as fixed flight routes and scheduled flights), or otherwise only includes the duration of the flight or the time that you are getting on/off the plane. Therefore, it is controversial as to whether non-scheduled flights, charter flights, tour buses, and transportation to and from your home are covered.
- Your card must have been used to pay for the flight or at least 80% of the tour group booking. Travellers using free or discounted flights may not be covered.
- Only the cardholder is insured. If the cardholder uses the card to pay for a holiday for family members, those family members do not receive any insurance cover.
- Cover does not include medical treatment after an accident or sudden illness abroad, leaving travellers with a gap in terms of their medical cover.
People travelling with a tour group are also covered by their travel agent’s compulsory general liability insurance. However, the death benefit in such instances is only NTD$2-3 million, the medical cover for accidental injury is very low, and there is no protection against sudden illness abroad. This does not, therefore, constitute a complete travel insurance plan for the public, and some independent travellers that have bought tickets through a travel agency may not be covered at all.
Lin Yuan-hui reminds people that in addition to asking your credit card provider and travel agent to confirm the content of your cover with them, separate travel insurance should also be purchased from an insurance company in order to make sure that your holiday is trouble-free.
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| Travel insurance | Credit card holiday insurance | Travel industry general liability insurance |
| Length of cover | Covered for duration of the policy contract (based on client’s date of departure and date of return) | Usually only covers period spent on mass transportation, or only for duration of flights | In principle, only effective when you are with a tour group in which case it covers you throughout the trip |
| Accidental death or disability benefit | NTD$100,000 to NTD$30 million | Varies according to different cards | NTD$2-3 million |
| Medical treatment for injury benefit | Add-on available, 5-10% of death and permanent disability benefit | Not usually included | NTD$30,000 |
| Sudden illness abroad benefit | Add-on available, 5-10% of death and permanent disability benefit | Not usually included | Not usually included |
| Overseas emergency assistance service | Most companies provide this service by partnering with international professional organisations | Not usually provided | Not provided |
(Company own data)
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Media contacts:
Johnson Lu
First-Aviva
Telephone: (02) 8758 1169
E-mail: johnson_lu@first-aviva.com.tw
Anna Chang
First-Aviva
Telephone: (02) 8758 1067
E-mail: anna_chang@first-aviva.com.tw
Notes to editors:
About First-Aviva
First-Aviva is an insurance company created as a joint venture between First Financial Holding and the Aviva Group.
First Financial Holding made an initial capital contribution of NTD$2.25 billion and holds 51% of shares in the company, while the Aviva Group holds 49%.
First-Aviva has signed an exclusive bank insurance contract with First Bank, First Financial Holding’s flagship subsidiary. This enables First-Aviva to provide life assurance, retirement plans, and other insurance products through First Bank’s 190 branches across Taiwan, thereby bringing innovative products and services to the bank’s clients.
About the Aviva Group
- Aviva is the world’s fifth-largest insurance group (based on gross worldwide premiums at 31 December 2008), the largest insurance services provider in the UK, and one of the leading providers of life and pension products in Europe. It serves around 53 million customers in Europe, North America and the Asia Pacific region.
- Aviva’s main business activities are long-term savings (including life assurance, savings plans and retirement plans), fund management and general insurance, with worldwide total sales of £45.1 billion and funds under management of £379 billion (as at 31 December 2009).
- The Aviva media centre at www.aviva.com/media includes images, company and product information and a news release archive.
- In Asia, Aviva markets its products and services through various sales channels (including direct sales teams, brokers and bank insurance) and has operations throughout Singapore, Hong Kong, mainland China, India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Taiwan, South Korea, Australasia and the Middle East.
About First Financial Holding and First Bank
On 2 January, 2003, First Financial Holding Company was incorporated through a share swap with First Commercial Bank as the flagship entity.
As of the end of 2008, First Financial Holding (Taiwan Stock Exchange code: 2982) had total assets of NTD$1.6 trillion, making it Taiwan’s seventh-largest financial group. The company provides comprehensive financial services to more than five million individuals and businesses.
First Commercial Bank was established in 1899 and is the group’s main source of profit.
First Commercial Bank leads in market areas such as deposits and lending, SME loans, home mortgages and fund sales, serving its clients from 190 outlets (including branches and representative offices) across Taiwan.