Yes. A Go Insurance leisure travel insurance policy covers you on a coach tour, escorted tour, small-group adventure or guided trip exactly as it covers any other overseas holiday — there’s no separate tour product or tour add-on to select. Overseas medical expenses, emergency evacuation, cancellation, curtailment, luggage and 24/7 emergency assistance all apply, subject to the limits, conditions and exclusions in the PDS. The one thing to watch is that a cruise segment inside a tour itinerary isn’t automatic — cruise cover has to be selected and paid for when you quote.

On the day you pay your deposit. Cancellation cover only responds to events that arise after your policy is in place, and anything you already knew about or could reasonably have expected at the time of purchase isn’t covered. Because tours are typically booked six to twelve months ahead with a non-refundable deposit, waiting until closer to departure leaves your largest single prepayment exposed for the longest period. Buying early doesn’t cost more, and it’s the only way that deposit is protected.

That situation isn’t covered by this policy, and it’s important you know that before you book. The PDS specifically excludes the financial default of a travel agent, tour wholesaler, tour operator or booking agent, and it also excludes cancellation where a group tour can’t proceed because it didn’t attract the minimum number of passengers. Cover for the financial default of a Travel Service Provider — an airline or accommodation provider supplying services directly — is a separate benefit that may apply in some circumstances. Your protection against operator failure itself sits with the operator’s booking terms, your payment method’s chargeback rights and any accreditation scheme they belong to, so read those terms before paying a deposit.

Enough to cover every non-refundable dollar you’ve committed to the trip. When you quote, you choose a cancellation cover level, and that level applies across everyone listed on the Certificate of Insurance. Add up the tour fare and any single supplement, international and domestic airfares, pre- and post-tour accommodation, optional excursions, event tickets, car hire and any cruise or rail segments — then select a level that covers the total. If you pay your balance later and the figure rises, contact us before you travel. Under-insuring is the most common cause of a shortfall on an otherwise valid tour claim.

Most standard tour-itinerary activities are automatically covered on an amateur, recreational basis — but not all of them, and some carry conditions. Trekking is covered to defined altitude limits, scuba diving is covered subject to qualification, depth and buddy conditions, and riding a scooter or motorbike is only covered if you meet the licence, helmet and clothing requirements in the PDS. There’s no cover for racing of any kind other than on foot, or for ocean yachting more than twelve nautical miles from land. Check the full list on our sports and leisure cover page against your itinerary before you depart, and call us if anything on the tour isn’t listed.

Possibly — but the conditions around this catch a lot of tour travellers out. There’s no cover for property left behind or unattended in a public place, and the PDS makes clear that includes while you’re asleep, which matters in shared or dorm-style accommodation. Valuables and electronic equipment such as jewellery, cameras and laptops aren’t covered if you check them in rather than carry them. You also need to have taken reasonable care and to have reported the loss or theft to police or the relevant authority. On a coach tour, keep valuables on you rather than in the overhead rack or hold, and get a written report from local police as soon as you can.

Contact our 24/7 emergency assistance team before you change any travel arrangements — on +61 7 3481 9880 or sos@goinsurance.com.au. Curtailment cover can pick up reasonable travel costs to get you home early, along with a pro-rata refund of the pre-booked tours, excursions, accommodation and car hire you no longer get to use. There’s an important condition attached: if you return home early without contacting us first and without medical evidence that the early return was necessary, the claim can be declined. One call before you book a flight home protects the claim.

Start any time through our claims support page, or email claims@goinsurance.com.au. Tour claims run more smoothly when you keep the paperwork, so hold on to your operator’s booking confirmation and invoice, receipts for anything booked separately, medical reports, police reports and any written correspondence with the operator or your agent. Where a cost is recoverable from the tour operator, airline or your travel agent, you’ll need to have made reasonable efforts to recover it from them first — so lodge with them, keep the response, and send it through with your claim.