Great Eastern Travel Insurance Malaysia Review - A guide on price, coverage, eligibility, and how to make claims

Travel insurance is important whenever you’re away from home - domestically or overseas. It can help you access the emergency and medical support you need, and also repay losses if you’re a victim of theft for example. Great Eastern Travel Insurance Malaysia¹ offers a couple of different packages: Travel for More, and the Great Voyager policies. This guide explores these options, and looks at extras like what they cover and cost, and how to make a Great Eastern travel insurance claim.

Plus, to help you make more of your international travel we’ll also touch on Wise, for easy ways to spend and withdraw overseas with low fees and the mid-market rate².

What is Great Eastern Travel Insurance Malaysia?

Great Eastern travel insurance is offered through Great Eastern Life Assurance (Malaysia) Berhad, and offers a couple of different policies which have their own focus areas and customer niches. You can choose Great Eastern annual travel insurance or get insured on a single trip basis, and either pick a policy which has a very broad range of cover for travel inconveniences, or a slightly more basic package which has more of a focus on emergencies and specific losses while travelling.

This Great Eastern travel insurance review takes a look at some of the most important points about the options available, including cover levels, premiums and how to make a claim.

Great Eastern Travel Insurance eligibility

Before you can buy travel insurance you’ll need to make sure you’re eligible for the policy you prefer. Eligibility rules apply to all policies, including the following general requirements:

• You must be a Malaysian citizen, or Permanent Resident, or you must be legally residing in Malaysia with an Employment Pass or similar document
• Cover is available for people from 18 to 80
• Children can be insured on a family plan from 3 months to 18 years, or 23 if they’re in tertiary education

Types of Great Eastern insurance packages available

Great Eastern travel insurance broadly splits into 2 different package types:

• Travel for More³
• Great Voyager⁴

Within each package there are also other choices to make. You can choose domestic or international cover, and you may also be able to pick different cover levels depending on what you need. This gives great flexibility to access the services you need, without paying extras for things you’re not so concerned about.

Great Eastern Travel Insurance plans

Great Eastern travel insurance splits into the Travel for more and Great Voyager options. Within each of these options there are also different levels of cover. You can choose international use, or domestic only, and may be able to pick different plans, or add in covid extensions. We can’t show all the different packages here, so we’ve picked out the key international options for each insurance type. There’s more in the different product brochures which you can browse online, to pick the right one for you.

Great Eastern travel insurance medical coverage

To give a flavour of the cover levels available from the different flagship Great Eastern travel insurance products, we’ve highlighted some of the most important cover areas across medical and travel inconvenience.

Other issues and situations are also covered, and there may be limits which apply aside from those we’ve highlighted here, too. Because insurance is a pretty complex area, it’s important that you read the documents carefully before you sign up. Here are some headlines.

Great Eastern travel insurance travel-related coverage

Travel inconvenience cover is available on all packages, but the type of claims you can submit can depend on the package you pick. The great Voyager Essential plan has many overlaps with the Travel for More Plan A - but overall, the number of types of issue covered is far more limited with the Voyager package. Here are some headlines.

Other cover items can include:

• Home content cover
• Rental car excess
• Hijacking
• Insolvency of travel agent
• Unexpected phone charges

Great Eastern Travel Insurance price

The cost of your insurance varies a lot based on the policy you pick, the duration of your cover and how many people need to be insured. You can get an individual quote from Great Eastern, and there are also helpful tables in the insurance brochures which give an idea of potential costs based on destination.

To give an idea, here are some ranges for the Travel More policy, for one adult individual, with varied prices based on where in the world you’re going, and which policy level you prefer:

• Trip of 1 - 7 days: 29 MYR - 79 MYR
• Trip of 8 - 14 days: 45 MYR - 122 MYR
• Trip of 15 - 21 days: 58 MYR - 164 MYR
• Trip of 22 - 28 days: 65 MYR - 189 MYR

Add-ons for Great Eastern insurance plans

Great Eastern insurance policies come with different cover levels, plus you can also add on extra elements of cover if you want to. Covid cover is available under only the highest tier of insurance, for example - and on all policies you can also add on adventurous activity cover if you’re taking part in any risky or extreme activities during your trip.

Making a Great Eastern Travel Insurance claim

In the unlucky event you need to make a claim against a Great Eastern insurance policy, you’ll need to gather some documents and information and then submit your claim directly to the company. Because some of the paperwork you need will have to be collected while you’re abroad, it makes sense to call the insurer to check exactly what documents are required to support your specific claim. Then once you’re back, you’ll be able to make your claim more conveniently.

To submit a claim, you’ll need to download the travel claim form online and submit it with your required documents. In all cases you must provide:

• Travel claim form
• E-payment form
• Top of bank statement showing account details

There are comprehensive lists of the other documents needed based on the specific claim type, on the Great Eastern travel claim form⁷. What you need to hand over can vary. So, you’ll need a medical report or diagnosis, and supporting invoices for a medical claim, or a police report if you have items stolen, for example.

Great Eastern contact details

You can contact Great Eastern through their branch network, online and by phone. If you’ve got a specific query, you can use the general phone number to be directed to the department or individual you need to speak to. Here are the Great Eastern contact details you need⁸:

• Calls from Malaysia: +603 4259 8888
• International calls: 1300-1300 88
• Email: gicare-my@greateasterngeneral.com

Safeguard yourself against high foreign transaction and currency conversion fees with Wise

While you’re finalising your travel insurance, check out the Wise card for seamless international spending and withdrawals which could save you money.

Open a Wise account online or in app and order a Wise card which is linked to your digital Wise account. You can then add money in MYR from your bank, and spend seamlessly with the mid-market rate and low, transparent fees. Manage your card and your account in the Wise app, to freeze and unfreeze your card, get instant transaction reports and add more money if you need to. All Wise accounts have up to two free overseas ATM withdrawals each month so you’ll always have the currency you need in your wallet, wherever you are.

💳 Get the travel card with no hidden fees