I agree with "Bitter Pills" (Tip-o-meter, January) regarding travel insurance and have a recent experience that everyone should be aware of. A year ago we booked a "Voyages of Discovery", Singapore to Cape Town cruise and flights package.

Concurrently we booked travel insurance with NRMA – our long-time insurers for travel, home, contents and two vehicles. After lengthy discussions and several calls with two NRMA representatives about the appropriate and highest level plans – the "International Comprehensive Plan" was recommended.

We agreed and paid the required total of $1700 over the phone. Confirmation documents, receipt and product disclosure were emailed subsequently, so we thought all was good with our "unlimited cancellation" policy. Then the shock a month ago – the parent company, Swan Hellenic, had gone into administration.

Our subsequent claim for compensation for the $32,000 paid has been knocked back by NRMA and Cover-More Insurance because "insolvency" was not covered (second last clause on page 45 of a 46 page document) – which we hadn't picked up. They are still refusing to refund anything.  Lucky British citizens are covered by their government and member associations – not so in Australia.

Our advice is to only insure with those companies that are open and upfront about the insolvency cover offered.

Dru Daly, Surfers Paradise, QLD

SITE FOR SORE EYES

Be wary when booking accommodation through one of the many best-price accommodation websites like Trivago. I needed to travel from northern NSW to Sydney for a week and used Trivago to search for an accommodation deal.

Having found a good price on a CBD hotel, I clicked on the link to go to the website for the applicable accommodation vendor. It wasn't until later that I realised that I had been charged an additional $50.45 on my credit card.

It seems the vendor was located in Europe and so I was charged an international transaction fee by my bank. So when using Trivago and the like, some deals may not be as good as they seem.

Check whether or not the accommodation vendor is local or determine whether you may be subject to international transaction fees on top of your accommodation.

Drew Hayes, Coffs Harbour, NSW

EMOTIONAL BAGGAGE

A word of warning. If your bag is damaged in flight make sure you get a written report on the spot from the airline when you report it. Last September I flew Qantas from Sydney to Adelaide. Upon arrival in Adelaide my bag had one broken wheel and a large black skid mark on the front.

I reported this to a customer service representative who advised me Qantas would be in touch. After waiting four months I contacted them and was told they had no record so no compensation, simple as that. Because a Qantas employee was too lazy or too busy to file a report I now have a damaged bag and a bad impression of an airline.

Christopher O'Connor, Murray Bridge, SA

DEFLATING EXPERIENCE

A few years ago while driving a medium-size hire car in the UK one of the tyres had an irreparable puncture; no big deal I thought until I went to change the tyre and found a repair kit where the spare is usually found.

Phone calls to the hire company, more calls to a tyre repair company, four hours and a day-trip missed later I was on my way with a new tyre (I now always check the hire car I choose has a real spare tyre).

On returning home my credit card was billed several hundreds of dollars for the replacement tyre – much more than I considered reasonable.

Thankfully I had taken out comprehensive travel insurance with Worldcare; which for about $10 a day included rental vehicle excess up to $6000.

Within a week Worldcare fully refunded me the amount less the excess. With the price of the travel insurance significantly less than the cost of what hire car companies charge to reduce the excess I now happily pay the insurance every time.

Martin Bartlett, Hornsby, NSW

PAPER TRAIL

As tourists we are hungry for information.  There are brochures and pamphlets everywhere, even in this digital age. Before you know it, you've grabbed 20 pamphlets.

At the end of the trip, all this material is often then put into luggage, because there hasn't been enough time to actually read it and one feels an obligation not to throw it away.

This accumulation then adds a lot of unnecessary weight to your luggage. The key is to read, record then recycle.  The 3 Rs are vital for a clutter-freer holiday.  Store interesting facts and websites via the pamphlets in your phone for easy on-the-spot access.

Carol Nathaniel, Riverview, NSW 

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