Mount Agung's long-awaited eruption has finally occurred – and for any Bali-bound Australian travellers who still haven't purchased travel insurance, it could spell trouble.
The Bali volcano stirred to life 8.05pm AEDT on Tuesday, spewing ash and steam as high as 800m above its summit. So far, flights going to and out of Bali's Denpasar airport have not yet been affected by the eruption. Should the situation get worse, however, some 250,000 Australians expected to visit Bali between now and the end of January could be left in a lurch.
Australians who haven't insured their Bali trip would find themselves without cover against volcano-related disasters – especially as some insurers have already restricted coverage for the event right when the eruption started.
As this wasn't the first time that insurers imposed a cut-off time for the Mount Agung eruption, Australian travellers were confused about what the volcano means for their insurance, as indicated by a spike of calls to travel insurers Wednesday morning, news.com.au reported.
Back in September, Australian travel insurers set deadlines for Bali insurance policies when everyone feared Mount Agung's 'imminent' eruption.
Those who took out insurance before the cut-off date would be covered for volcano-related claims; while those who missed the deadline would be without coverage as the event was no longer considered an unforeseen event.
In October, some insurers lifted their coverage restriction when the alert status for the volcano was downgraded. But now that the volcano erupted, those insurers who lifted their deadline have imposed a new one – which makes the situation confusing.
“Some insurers have retained the ban they imposed a few weeks ago and that will have prohibited travellers from taking out insurance to Bali,” Bessie Hassan, a travel insurance expert at finder.com.au, told the news agency. “However, other insurers have lifted their bans within the last fortnight so anyone who took out a policy within that period from those brands should be eligible to claim.”
Hassan urged policyholders to verify whether their policy covers them for the event.
“Remember that not all insurers have lifted their restrictions so contact them directly to confirm whether you’ll be eligible to claim,” she told news.com.au. “Those confused should check directly with their insurer to ensure that cover was taken out within dates that weren’t restricted.”
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Bali volcano threat highlights importance of travel insurance
