NRMA Travel Insurance. What’s on offer and how does it work?

If, like so many Aussies, you love to travel overseas and enjoy new places and experiences, ensuring that you’re properly insured while travelling is a must - no matter your age or health.

Indeed, as one insurer BUPA discovered when reviewing data covering the 12 months following January 2022, lost or stolen luggage and personal items were most frequently claimed.¹ Demonstrating travel insurance is helpful for more than just medical emergencies.

In this guide, we’ll take a look at options for travel insurance with one provider, NRMA. Covering what's included and the benefits of choosing NRMA as well as types of coverage available and more so you can make an informed choice before heading overseas.

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What is travel insurance with NRMA

In operation for over 90 years, NRMA is a well-known insurer within Australia that offers a variety of insurance types including policies for travel.²

This insurance is intended to offer coverage for unexpected emergencies, theft, loss and other events for Australians travelling overseas.

NRMA travel insurance package(s)

Currently, NRMA offers both domestic and international travel insurance with the latter being split into three categories.³

For this guide, we are focusing on international travel insurance.

1. International Essentials

Designed to give coverage on a single trip for a wide range of events but with a lesser claim limit, this policy provides basic travel insurance at a lower price point.

1. International Comprehensive

Ideal for a single planned trip, this policy type offers comprehensive coverage for a nominated travel period with higher claim limits than the essentials policy.

2. Annual Multi-trip

Providing comprehensive cover, this policy allows you to go overseas and return to Australia multiple times within 12 months for a selected period of 30, 45 or 60 days per trip.³

Who administers travel insurance on behalf of NRMA

NRMA Insurance is issued by Zurich Australian Insurance Limited and is arranged and administered by Cover-More Insurance Services.³

What are the main benefits of travel insurance with NRMA

Unsure whether NRMA is a good fit for your travel needs? Here are some key benefits offered through them when taking out a comprehensive policy³:

• 24-hour emergency assistance from a multi-lingual team
• Unlimited medical coverage
• Cover for luggage and personal items
• Option to tailor coverage for cancellations and changes
• Rental vehicle excess cover
• Optional coverage for moped/motorbike cover, skiing and snowboarding cover and cruising can be added
• Option to add cover for pre-existing medical conditions not covered in the base policy

Types of coverage offered by NRMA travel insurance

The following is a table comparing the key coverage and claim limits for NRMA’s overseas travel insurance policies.

Please note the comprehensive policy coverage also applies to their multi-trip policy.³

Prices in AUD	Essentials Cover³	International Comprehensive/Multi-Trip cover³
Medical and hospital expenses	$10,000,000	Unlimited
Emergency dental	$2,000	$2,000
Cancellation or changes pre-departure	Limits vary based on the selected level of cover	Limits vary based on the selected level of cover
Baggage and personal items	$5,000	$12,000
Accidental disability	No coverage listed	$30,000
Accidental death	$10,000	$30,000
Personal liability	$1,000,000	$2,500,000
Rental vehicle excess	$5,000	$10,000

As seen on 10 April 2024

NRMA travel insurance main fees

Due to the unique nature of each individual’s trip, there is no one–size–fits–all pricing model or fee structure.

With NRMA, as with most insurers, your final policy costs will be tailored to reflect a variety of factors such as:

• Your destination/s
• Travel duration
• Selected coverage for cancellations
• Added cover for higher-risk activities or pre-existing health conditions

You can obtain a quote tailored to meet your trip specifics and needs via NRMA’s website.³

What’s not covered under this travel insurance

Even with a comprehensive NRMA travel policy in place, some things cannot be covered.

These include claims arising from:

• Incidents involving illicit drugs or the excessive consumption of alcohol
• Breaking the law in a destination
• Events related to or caused by a pandemic
• Travel against official advice or warnings
• The theft or loss of unattended/unsecured belongings
• Undeclared, pre-existing medical conditions
• Incidents involving an activity such as skiing or moped use for which no additional cover was selected

Eligibility for NRMA travel insurance

To be eligible for any of the travel insurance options offered by NRMA, it is a condition of their policies that you⁴:

• Be a resident of Australia either as a citizen or as holder of an appropriate visa
• Be eligible for funded treatment under Medicare, Australia’s public health system
• Are in Australia at the time the policy is purchased, if overseas, a 3 day exclusion period applies before cover is confirmed
• Must be returning to Australia at the conclusion of your travel
• Are unaware of any circumstances prior to travel that may give rise to a claim
• Have not misrepresented yourself, been denied cover previously, had a claim declined or had a policy cancelled or voided due to fraud

How to get travel insurance with NRMA

The easiest way to obtain travel insurance with NRMA is via their website using the online quotation tool.

Simply input your trip details, review the quote and then, if desired you can proceed to purchase the policy.

Alternatively, or if you have further questions regarding the policy and coverage limits, you can contact their customer care team to discuss this further.

Remember, if you have pre-existing medical conditions, you’ll need to check these against those that are automatically included.

Where unlisted you must declare these and receive approval before finalising your policy purchase. An additional premium may apply for coverage if approved.⁵

Once you have paid for the policy, a certificate of insurance will then be provided to you by NRMA.⁴

Making a claim with NRMA travel insurance

Travel insurance claims with NRMA can be made online or by calling their customer care team.⁶

While NRMA advise that the documents needed to make a claim may differ depending on the nature of your claim, you should be prepared to provide:

• Your policy number
• Any receipts
• Medical or police reports/documents related to your claim
• Your bank account details for depositing any approved claim amounts

At the time of writing, NRMA does not advise on their website regarding claims processing timelines.

They do request that all claims be made as early as possible, however, and that some expenses must be approved by them in advance such as medical or legal costs.⁶

A word on NRMA travel insurance and COVID-19

Yes, as per NRMA’s website, coverage for COVID-19 is offered with their international travel policies.⁴

Currently, this includes medical and additional expenses coverage in line with standard policy limits.

However, it must be noted that Covid-19 cover is not offered:

• If you travel against the advice provided on the Australian Government’s Smartraveller website
• If you ignore a destination’s government pandemic restrictions or directives

Additional things to keep in mind

While NRMA may make it easy to access travel insurance and provide adequate coverage, it may not necessarily be well-suited to your needs. We advise keeping in mind that:

• An excess may be applied to your claim and be payable upfront
• Any pre-existing medical conditions not provided for within the policy wording require declaration and approval from the insurer to also be covered.
• If added cover for moped or motorbike use, skiing or other listed activities is not chosen then you participate in these at your own risk
• Where moped or motorcycle cover is in place, you must also comply with local laws and licensing requirements for this or you may breach your cover
• Any alterations to your destinations, departure and return dates must be communicated with the insurer so that where required, adjustments can be made to ensure coverage is upheld

Contacting NRMA

To speak with NRMA regarding their travel insurance options you can contact them at:

• 1300 305 790 8 am–8 pm within Australia or
• +61 8 6298 5837 from overseas

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Sources:

1. BUPA/Karryon - Australian Travel Claims
2. NRMA - About
3. NRMA - International Travel Insurance
4. NRMA - Travel Insurance PDS pg. 3, 19, 36
5. NRMA - Pre-existing Conditions
6. NRMA - Making A Claim

Sources checked on: 10 April 2024