Claims tips – travel insurance

A: Generally speaking, as soon as you buy travel insurance, the coverage of the policy will start at the inception date, ending on the scheduled return date of your trip.

A: Yes. If you are diagnosed with serious illness or injury that requires hospitalization 90 days prior to your trip, with your doctor certifying that you are no longer fit to travel, you will be entitled to trip cancellation benefits. ^*

^*Excluding “pre-existing condition”.

A: No. Our travel insurance policy does not cover any circumstance which existed or announced before the effective date, or any pre-existing condition.

A: You could call Zurich 24-hour Emergency Assistance at +852 2886 3977 immediately. Our experienced coordinators will help based on your actual circumstances. To make a medical claim, please remember to obtain all the relevant documents to prove your medical expenses, such as medical reports and receipts.

A: Yes. If you are accidentally injured or become ill during the insured trip, the follow-up medical expenses within three months from returning to Hong Kong will also be covered.

However, please keep in mind that you must consult a doctor during the trip and obtain relevant supporting documents (eg. referral letter) and medical receipts to prove the need for follow-up medical treatment. Otherwise, there may be no coverage for medical expenses.

A: Yes. You can make a claim on Travel Delay through “e-Claim” if your overseas flight has been delayed^* due to the following covered causes:

• Strike or other industrial action;
• Riot, civil commotion, hijack, terrorism;
• Adverse weather conditions, natural disaster;
• Mechanical and/or electrical breakdown of the public common carrier;
• Airport closure, etc.

Furthermore, if your flight is delayed or canceled, we will reimburse the prepaid and unused expenses due to the journey interruption, which cannot be refunded from any other sources.

In addition, we will reimburse you for any reasonable and necessary expenses incurred for additional transportation and/or accommodation when you are returning to Hong Kong or traveling to your next scheduled travel destination.**

*Minimum flight delay hours required may vary depending on the policy, please refer to the policy terms and conditions for details.

** This benefit can be claimed once only for any one insured journey.

A: Yes. Our travel insurance will provide you with the coverage even if you visit multiple countries during your journey. But please remember to declare your travel destinations during the application.

If you have enrolled for an Annual Travel Plan, the maximum duration of the coverage for each trip is 90 days. It will recalculate if you return to Hong Kong and set off again (immigration procedures is required).

On the other hand, if you have enrolled for the Single Trip Travel Plan, the maximum duration of coverage will be 180 days.

Please note that whether it is a Single Trip Travel Plan or Annual Travel Plan, each trip must depart and return to Hong Kong.

A: An act of “terrorism” must be confirmed and announced to the public by the relevant government. However, it doesn’t include war, invasion, act of foreign enemy, hostilities (whether war is declared or not), civil war, rebellion, insurrection, military force or coup, or any act with the use of nuclear engineering.

A: Unless you are directly participating in the terrorist activities, in general, our travel insurance will cover the accidental losses caused by the terrorist attack, including:

• Medical expenses
• Personal accident
• Damage of personal property
• Travel delay
• Trip curtailment
• Trip cancellation, etc.

A: If the affected location is your only planned destination of the trip:

You can cancel the whole trip and make a claim for Trip Cancellation. But your departure day has to be within one week after the terrorist attack occurred.

If the affected location is one of your planned destinations of the trip:

You can make a claim for Trip Cancellation for the city where the terrorist attack occurred (i.e. the forfeited travel ticket and/or accommodation). Your departure day also must be within one week after the terrorist attack occurred.

For example, if you have planned a trip to Europe but a terrorist attack occurs in Paris, we will compensate for the forfeited and non-recoverable travel ticket to and accommodation in Paris only. The travel fares for travelling to other cities in Europe will not be compensated even if you decide to cancel the whole trip.

For exact arrangement, please call our customer service hotline for further clarity.

A: Yes. If you encounter the following situations due to a terrorist attack, you can be reimbursed for the resulting losses and expenses:^*

1. You need to pay for additional traveling expenses due to trip interruption

If your original itinerary is affected by the terrorist attack and you decide to cut the journey short and return to Hong Kong, the additional traveling expenses will be covered under Trip curtailment.

2. You need to pay for additional hotel expenses due to travel delay

If the terrorist attack causes a delay in the public common carrier that you have booked, you can make a claim for the Travel delay allowance and the additional hotel costs or re-routing costs.

3. Your policy expires as you are unable to return to Hong Kong on schedule

If you cannot return to Hong Kong on schedule due to the terrorist attack, the travel insurance policy can be extended for maximum ten days without additional fee.

4. Your personal belongings are lost or damaged

If there is a loss of or damage to your personal belongings during the terrorist attack, we will compensate for the losses subject to the sub-limits of different types of personal belongings.

5. Your travel document or travel ticket is lost

If your travel document or travel ticket was lost accidentally during the terrorist attack, we will compensate you for the replacement cost of the relevant documents, and/or the additional travelling expenses and/or accommodation expenses incurred.

6. You are accidentally injured

If you are unfortunately injured, you will be eligible for compensation under the Medical and Personal accident coverage, along with additional benefits such as emergency medical evacuation, repatriation services, and more:

i. If you are injured in a terrorist attack, we will compensate for the medically necessary expenses incurred overseas and the follow-up medical expenses within three months after you return to Hong Kong from the insured journey;

ii. If the injury results in accidental death or permanent disablement within 12 months after the date of the accident, we will pay out the accidental death benefit or a lump sum benefit to the insured person based on different extents of disablement;

iii. If the insured person suffers from a serious injury during the terrorist attack and requests for emergency medical evacuation or repatriation to return to Hong Kong, at our doctor’s advice, please immediately contact our 24-hour Emergency hotline at +852 2886 3977. Our experienced coordinators will offer assistance based on your actual circumstances.

^*Subject to the terms, conditions and exclusions of the Policy.

A: It depends. Generally speaking, war, invasion, act of foreign enemy, hostilities, civil war, rebellion, insurrection, military force or coup are excluded from the policy coverage. However, if the Hong Kong Security Bureau raised an Outbound Travel Alert (OTA) for your planned destination to Red or Black due to terrorist activity, you will be covered by our extension policy for OTA.

For details, please click here.

A: You must report to the local police within 24 hours upon discovery of the loss. If the luggage or personal belongings were lost or damaged while in the custody of a hotel or public common carrier, you must immediately notify the respective staff or organization.

Please also remember to obtain a written report from the local police or the relevant organization. Otherwise, the loss may not be covered.

A: The following are the required supporting documents for different claim items:

Medical expenses

1. Original / certified true copy of medical bills showing the medical expenses and diagnosis;
2. Copy of medical report;
3. Copy of letter of hospital admission and discharge summary.

Personal accident

1. Copy of overseas police report or incident report issued by relevant authority (if applicable);
2. Copy of medical report / coroner's report;
3. Copy of death certificate (if applicable);
4. Copy of relationship proof to the insured e.g. birth certificate, marriage certificate (if applicable);
5. Original / certified true copy for the Letters of Administration / grant of probate (if applicable).

Loss / damage to personal baggage or personal belongings

1. Copy of photos showing the extent of damage(s) to the claim item(s);
2. Copy of overseas police report / property irregularity report (if applicable);
3. Copy of repair quotation of the damaged items(s) (if applicable);
4. Original / copy of purchase receipts of the lost / damaged item(s) (if applicable).

Loss of personal money / travel document / travel ticket / unauthorized use of lost credit card

1. Copy of overseas police report / property irregularity report (if applicable);
2. Original / copy of receipts for extra accommodation fee, traveling expenses, replacement of lost travel documents and / or travel tickets (if applicable);
3. Copy of statement(s) and investigation report issued by the credit card company showing the details of unauthorized use of credit card (if applicable);
4. Copy of notification to the credit card company in relation to the incident of unauthorized use of credit card (if applicable).

Extra re-routing cost due to travel delay

1. Copy of written report from the related public common carrier with reason(s) and duration for the travel delay or baggage delay;
2. Copy of scheduled and actual itinerary flight boarding pass / electronic boarding pass (if applicable);
3. Original / copy of receipts for additional hotel accommodation, travel ticket due to travel delay.

Baggage delay

1. Copy of written report from the related public common carrier with delay reason(s) and duration.

Cancellation of trip / curtailment of trip / cruise tour interruption cover missed event

1. Trip cancellation / curtailment proof e.g. copy of medical report or death certificate;
2. Copy of refund confirmation issued by public common carrier or travel agency (if applicable);
3. Copy of relationship proof to the insured e.g. birth certificate, marriage certificate (if applicable);
4. Original / copy of paid travel expense / accommodation fee and / or tour fee and / or sightseeing event receipt (if applicable);
5. Original / copy of booked ticket cost to overseas theme park or sports events or music or performance events (receipt or payment details) (if applicable);
6. If travel cancellation / curtailment is due to death, serious physical injury or serious illness of the insured person, immediate family members or travel companion, please provide their copy of death/medical certificates and relationship proof (if applicable).

Personal liability

1. Copy of overseas police report or incident report issued by relevant authority (if applicable)
2. Original / copy of compensation invoice and payment receipt for the damaged item(s) (if applicable)
3. Copy of other related documents e.g. summons, all court documents, solicitors' correspondences (if applicable)

Rental vehicle excess

1. Copy of rental vehicle's comprehensive insurance policy
2. Copy of vehicle rental agreement
3. Original / copy of excess receipt and / or rental receipt
4. Copy of damage incident report

Satellite phone on cruise ship

1. Copy of medical report
2. Copy of satellite telephone receipt issued by service provider

Damage of evening wear for formal dinner on cruise ship

1. Copy of written documents issued by the cruise company stating the damage of evening wear for formal dinner on cruise ship while using the laundry service (other than damage due to the use of self-service laundry on the cruise ship) with details of the permanent damage
2. Proof (e.g. photos) showing that the evening wear was worn during the "dinner with the captain"

Extra hotel cost / pet care cost / park and fly cost due to involuntary journey extension in Cruise tour

1. Copy of written report issued by the related public common carrier with reason(s) and duration for the delay
2. Original / copy of the daily extra accommodation fee, check in and out date receipt issued by the hotel (only applicable to involuntary journey extension)
3. Original / copy of the daily extra accommodation fee, check in and out date receipt issued by the pet hotel company (only applicable to involuntary journey extension)
4. Original / copy of the extra parking fee, parking and departing date receipt issued by the car parks of Hong Kong International Airport (only applicable to involuntary journey extension)

Course tuition fee

1. Original / copy of receipt for tuition fee for course(s) enrolled before working holiday or during the trip
2. Copy of medical report (if applicable)
3. Copy of incident report of insured person's principal home related to the fire, flood or burglary incident within one week before the commencement date of the course (if applicable)

A: Once you have submitted your claim, we will register your claim in 1 working day, and you will receive an acknowledgement SMS and/or email.

Once registered, our claims handler will review your claim submission together with the supporting documents and may contact you to request additional information or documents via telephone, email or letter as soon as possible.

However, under adverse weather conditions, we may experience a higher volume of claims, and it may take us longer than usual to process your claim. Thank you for your understanding.

A: If your scheduled flight in Hong Kong has been cancelled without any rearrangements by airline due to adverse weather (e.g. T8/Black Rainstorm)^* , you can claim the costs of flight rearrangement.

To make the claim, you will need the cancellation report issued by the airline, along with the proof that the airport or airline officials announced the cancellation of your flight.

^*Subject to policy terms and conditions.

Claims Tips
What documents should I provide?

Please report your claim via “eClaim” or OneZurich customer portal together with the delay confirmation report issued by your airline, as well as the original receipt issued by the hotel for the cost of the accommodation.

A: It depends on the actual duration of the flight delay. If the number of delayed hours meets the minimum number of hours allowed^*, you are entitled to make a claim under the Travel delay section.

If your travel insurance plan covers extra re-routing costs due to travel delay, you only need to provide the receipt for the additional costs incurred, along with the original ticket and boarding pass as evidence of actual boarding. We will reimburse the actual additional expenses paid (subject to the maximum benefit limit as stated in the Table of Benefits of the policy).

^*Minimum flight delay hours required may vary depending on the policy, please refer to the policy terms and conditions for details.

Claims Tips
What documents should I provide?

Please report your claim via eClaim or OneZurich customer portal together with the delay confirmation report issued by your airline, as well as the original receipt issued by the hotel for the cost of the accommodation.

A: If your scheduled returning flight to Hong Kong is delayed^* due to adverse weather (e.g. T8/Black Rainstorm), we will cover the additional hotel costs incurred overseas.

However, if such costs have already been paid by the airline or relevant parties, you will not be reimbursed for these expenses again.

^*Minimum flight delay hours required may vary depending on the policy, please refer to the policy terms and conditions for details.

Claims Tips
What documents should I provide?

Please report your claim via eClaim or OneZurich customer portal together with the delay confirmation report issued by your airline, as well as the original receipt issued by the hotel for the cost of the accommodation.

A: Yes. We will automatically extend your coverage period until you can safely and reasonably complete your trip. However, there must be unforeseen circumstances that stop you from returning to Hong Kong on the original return date. There will be no additional charges for this extension, but with a maximum duration of 10 days^*.

These covered events include adverse weather conditions, sickness/injury of the insured, and riots in your destination which affect the return trip, etc.

^*Subject to policy terms and conditions.

A: As the above incident(s) happened in Hong Kong but not the planned destination of the insured journey, there is no coverage for such expenses.^*

^*Subject to policy terms and conditions.

A: As the adverse weather happened in Hong Kong but not the overseas destination of the insured journey, there is no coverage for such expenses.

A: Yes. If you return to Hong Kong from overseas earlier than the scheduled time due to the adverse weather happening overseas, you can make a claim on the unused travel fare and accommodation expenses^* due to trip curtailment.

^*Subject to policy terms and conditions.

Is such coverage limited to flights only?
Our coverage extends beyond flights, it includes all the scheduled public common carriers such as trains and ships.