Insurance sting can be sharper than the mozzies

TRAVELLING in Uganda, Kate Webster was bitten by two mosquitoes – each one carrying a separate strain of malaria.

At the time, she did not even know she had been bitten and thanks to a seven-day incubation period, it was not until she was in midair on her plane journey back to Australia that the travel journalist began to feel sick.

“I wasn’t feeling the best on the plane and by the time we had stopped over at Johannesburg, I had deteriorated,” Ms Webster said.

“When we touched down in Brisbane, I was so sick I had to be taken off the plane in a wheelchair.”

Originally thinking it was a nasty strain of the flu, Ms Webster returned to her home on the Gold Coast, but by the next day, she was so sick she had to be taken to hospital.

She remained there for two weeks. “I had the deadly strain of malaria,” she said.

“I went home after the two weeks, but by the third week I was sick again. It turned out I had been bitten by a second mosquito and while this strain was non-deadly, I spent more time in hospital.”

All up Ms Webster missed two months of work, which was costly as she works in a freelance capacity.

She intended to claim for loss of income with her travel insurance provider, but because she had been treated in Australia she was told she was ineligible for compensation.

“It didn’t matter that I was sick with a disease that can’t be contracted in Australia,” she said.

The wording in her cover’s product disclosure statement meant the insurance company was not obliged to pay a claim.

“The ironic thing is that if I had gone to hospital in Uganda, it would have cost the insurers a lot more money,” Ms Webster said.

“I spoke to them a number of times but was told not to bother. The outcome was a flow-on effect. I fell behind on bills and I still can’t travel internationally because there is a six-month recovery period.”

Ms Webster’s story comes as Finder.com.au research reveals there has been a 28 per cent spike in the number of travel insurance claims declined in the last 12 months. The declined claims made up 11 per cent of all travel claims lodged up from 9.6 per cent the previous year.

Claims were most commonly rejected because they exceeded the cover’s limit, or for pre-existing illnesses and unsupervised luggage.

Insurers are now watching claims closely amid reports of fraudulent or reckless behaviour, Finder.com.au spokeswoman Bessie Hassan said. “Travel insurers are second least likely to pay a claim, behind only consumer credit claims,” she said. “If insurance companies can wriggle out of claims via a clause, they will.

“It’s so important to read the fine print of your insurance policy before engaging in any risky behaviour or activities overseas.”