Please Note - If you are cruising around Australia you need to select Pacific.
With Regions, variances can apply for Bali, Indonesia, Japan and Middle East.
You are not required to enter stop-over countries if your stop-over is less than 48 hours.
Indonesia's active volcanoes have been rumbling on and off for years. Mount Agung (Bali), Mount Merapi (near Yogyakarta), Mount Rinjani, (Lombok) and Mount Sinabung (North Sumatra) have all been erupting frequently in past years causing dangerous consequences and travel disruptions.
Specifically, on everyone's favourite island, Bali, Mount Agung has seen increased volcanic activity since late September 2017. And with most insurers maintaining their coverage exclusions for the volcano this means that if you purchased a policy for Bali after November 2017, most insurers will not cover you for cancellations, delays, or other claims related to Mount Agung, as it remains an ongoing known-event...So what are your options? And what should you do if no insurers are covering for Mt Agung?General Advice Warning: The contents of this article were accurate at the time of writing. Insurers change their policies and underwriters from time to time, so some information may have changed. You should always read the Product Disclosure Statement of your chosen insurer to understand what is covered and what isn't. The information provided is of a general nature only and does not take into account any personal objectives, financial situation or needs. Before making a decision you should consider the appropriateness of the information having regard to your personal circumstances.
For more information, visit our Bali Volcano Guide.
Previous Volcanic Activity Updates
Travel Insurance Brand | Underwriter | New Cut-off Date |
---|---|---|
1Cover, DUinsure, iTrek, Simply Travel Insurance, Zoom Travel Insurance |
Certain underwriters at Lloyd's | Midday 22 November 2017 |
Insure and Go, Tick Travel Insurance | Mitsui Somotomo | Midnight 21 November 2017 |
TID (Travel Insurance Direct) and Nib Travel Insurance | Certain underwriters at Lloyd's | 8:05pm 21 November 2017 |
Bali's international airport remains open and no schdeuled flights in or out of Bali have been affected so far. The mountain has spewed steam and ash with a plume rising approximately 700 metres from the volcano. The wind is blowing the cloud away from the island and airport.
The airlines continue to monitor Bali flight paths and if any volcanic ash makes it way into Bali airspace planes may be grounded and flights disruptions experienced.
6 November 2017 update
Cover for Mount Agung Bali is Available
Travel Insurance Brand | Underwriter | Date Exclusion Lifted |
---|---|---|
1Cover, DUinsure, iTrek, Simply Travel Insurance, Zoom Travel Insurance |
Certain underwriters at Lloyd's | 9:00am 6 November 2017 |
Travel with Jane | Hollard Insurance Company | 9:00am 31 October 2017 |
Insure and Go, Tick Travel Insurance | Mitsui Somotomo | 3:20pm 31 October 2017 |
TID (Travel Insurance Direct) and Nib Travel Insurance | Certain underwriters at Lloyd's | 3:00pm 30 October 2017 |
Please note that whilst the exclusion for these providers has been lifted. Some limitations may apply. For all new policies purchased, cover is available. However for existing policies purchased prior to 6 November, previous bans in place may still apply.
Please note that this information is current at the time of writing. We continue to monitor the situation and any changes in cover from the various travel insurance brands. We will update this page when new information becomes available.
5 November 2017 update
As the Christmas holiday season fast approaches, comparetravelinsurance.com.au has experienced an influx of queries on cover for Bali. This comes on the back of the threat level of Mount Agung being lowered by Indonesian authorities from level 4, to level 3 on Sunday 29 October 2017.
The exclusion zone for the volcano has been reduced and tremors significantly decreased over the past few weeks.
Importantly for Bali bound travellers, cover for this beast of a mountain is now available. Some insurers have begun to reinstate cover for new travel insurance policies sold, some have lifted their restriction on both new and past policies purchased, while others are sitting tight as they continue to monitor the situation.
Natalie Ball, Director of Comparetravelinsurance.com.au says:
“This is fantastic news for Aussies heading to Bali in the upcoming holiday season as they can now get cover once again. Resultant ash cloud from an eruption has the potential to keep planes grounded for weeks, so now is certainly the time to take cover”.
“From 23 September until now, Bali bound travelers were unable to obtain cover for travel delays or cancellations relating to Mount Agung due to the likelihood of an eruption no longer being unforeseen".
The mounted fears took it's toll on the holiday island's tourism with a reported 70,000 tourists cancelling their plans to travel to Bali in October.
On 30 October, Travel Insurance Direct announced that they were providing cover in the event of any new eruption or volcanic activity regardless of when customers purchased a policy.
Tick Travel Insurance’s exclusion was lifted on the 31st October. This means they would cover for any new event for policies purchased after this date.
InsureandGo is now covering travellers who purchased travel insurance with their natural disaster add-on.
Effective from 6 November, 1Cover and new player in the market Zoom Travel Insurance have lifted their ban, meaning that anyone that purchases a new policy would now be covered for Mount Agung.
Ball says “In the lead up to one of the busiest travel periods of the year, insurers will be keen to keep their customers. It will be interesting to see if any other insurers follow suit in the next few days. Insurers are, in effect, bookmakers on this."
With expert volcanologists adding that eruptions are unpredictable, no one really knows whether or not this beast of a mountain is going to blow.
Volcanologist Janine Krippner, who has been monitoring the situation from the U.S. has praised the work conducted by the Indonesian volcanology monitoring team on twitter. ” I'd again like to express my respect for the great job that the Indonesian volcanology monitoring team has done with #Agung.” Krippner said "The problem with Agung is we can't tell if this is actually, certainly going to erupt. This volcano hasn't stopped. Whether that will continue to go and actually produce an eruption, I'm throwing my hands up in the air with that one."
Ball concludes “Our advice to our customers is to always purchase travel insurance sooner rather than later! As soon as you’ve booked your flights and accommodation, travel insurance should be the next thing on your list to ensure that you are covered for scenarios exactly like this. For policies in place prior to a natural disaster becoming a known event, you’d be covered".
Australians travelling in and around Bali are encouraged to follow Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT)current travel advice for Bali. It is always a good idea to register your details with https://smartraveller.gov.au/ too.
Date published: 20 September 2017
Last updated: 22 September 2017
It’s the season for it, and you can almost time it to the day, Aussie’s annual panic for last minute travel insurance. Rumblings from Indonesia’s Mount Agung is causing chaos for disorganised travellers.
Indonesia has raised the alert level for the Mount Agung volcano on the tourist island of Bali following an increase in seismic activity on Monday, leading authorities to issue a high alert and evacuate areas within 7.5 kilometres.
To date, no flights to and from Bali have been affected. However, Kasbani, the head of the Centre for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation said, “We see that the earthquake frequency is very high, this is worrying when it comes to an eruption."
For droves of travellers heading to Bali for the upcoming school holidays next week, fears mount as an eruption threatens to cause havoc for upcoming holiday makers.
Natalie Ball, Director, Comparetravelinsurance.com.au says:
“When will Aussie’s learn! As a volcano threats to erupt in Bali once again it’s clear that Australian travellers are yet to understand the vital importance of buying travel insurance sooner rather than later!”
“We’ve been inundated with customers queries relating to cancellation cover for travel to Bali, only after news of the increased volcanic activity broke. We hoped that by now travellers would understand the importance of travel insurance for unforeseen events.”
Ball notes, when it comes to travel insurance cancellation cover you'd only be covered for an unknown event.
A ‘known’ event refers to one that is not unforeseen or has been widely broadcast across mainstream media. For instance, once an event has been announced in the media, travellers would not be covered for any losses incurred. Whilst the volcano hasn’t yet erupted, in anticipation of flight disruptions caused by resultant ash cloud, insurers have been quick off the mark to point out that this is a known risk.
Insurers will typically set cut-off dates whereby cover for a specific event would be put on hold and only resumed after a period of restricted cover.
“You’re in luck if you bought travel insurance before Friday 15th September as you would most likely be covered for any trip disruptions or cancellations related to this event.” Says Ball.
Insurers cut off dates
Travel Insurance Brand | Underwriter | Policy purchase cut-off date (AEST) |
---|---|---|
1Cover, DU insure, Simply Travel Insurance, |
Certain underwriters at Lloyds | 10:00am 16 September 2017 |
Go Insurance | Certain underwriters at Lloyds | 10:00am 17 September 2017 |
Zoom Travel Insurance | Certain underwriters at Lloyds | 10:00am 18 September 2017 |
Covermore | Zurich Australia Insurance Ltd | 2:00pm 18 September 2017 |
Australia Post, Virgin Money, Worldcare, Webjet, |
Allianz Australia Limited | 7:00am 19 September 2017 |
Insure and Go, Tick Travel Insurance | Mitsui Somotomo | 11:59pm 20 September 2017 |
Budget Direct | Auto & General | 12:00pm 20 September 2017 |
Fast Cover, Real Insurance, Woolworths, | Hollard Insurance Company | 4:00pm 20 September 2017 |
TID (Travel Insurance Direct) | Certain underwriters at Lloyds | 4:00pm 20 September 2017 |
Easy Travel Insurance, Travel Insurance Saver | QBE | 2:00pm 21 September 2017 |
Southern Cross Travel Insurance (SCTI) | Southern Cross Benefits Ltd | 10:00am 22 September 2017 |
If you took out cover before the dates listed in the table, you may have provision to claim for cancellation and out-of-pocket expenses incurred as a result of travel service disruptions caused by Mount Agung.
If you purchased a policy with your insurer after the date specified in the table above, the travel insurance brand won't pay claims related to Mount Agung as this is when the insurer has classed the event as known.
However, this doesn't mean you won't be able to claim for any unrelated natural disasters. For example, if there was a different mountain eruption in Bali such as Mount Ruang or Mount Rinjani, and flights were grounded due to resultant ash cloud, you would be covered.
Ball says that a thorough understanding of your policy is key to peace of mind.
“While we strongly recommend obtaining travel insurance no matter where you’re headed to, you should always read your policy to understand any relevant exclusions that could blow your cover.”
For example, Columbus Direct (underwritten by certain underwriters at Lloyds) will not cover for natural disasters surrounding volcanic activity at all. And No Worries (also underwritten by certain underwriters at Lloyds) only covers natural disasters in Australia.
See our comprehensive guide on travel insurance and natural disasters for more information.
Having travelled to over 40 countries, studied tourism management and worked as a flight attendant for over three years, Natalie knows more than a thing or two about travel! She’s an adventure-lover, whose favourite trips have been trekking Machu Picchu and volunteering in an animal shelter in the Amazon. Qualified in Tier 2 General Insurance General Advice and specialising in travel insurance for the last five years, she in passionate about helping travellers get the most out of their holiday.
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