Travel insurance for Bali

Whether you’re just focusing on your Balinese holiday or are venturing out to other Indonesian destinations, travel insurance should be an essential part of your trip for your peace of mind. It can cover different instances and costs, including medical treatment expenses, flight cancellations or disruptions, stolen luggage and more.

Without travel insurance, you’d need to pay for any unforeseen expenses entirely out-of-pocket.

You should consider a travel insurance policy covering hospitalisation, medical treatment and emergency evacuation before heading to Bali in case of injury or illness while overseas. Travellers should also consider comprehensive travel insurance coverage for luggage and personal effects, travel delay expenses, trip cancellations and emergency assistance.

Depending on your level of cover, your travel insurance policy could include the following:

Cover for medical expenses

At the bare minimum, you should consider cover that includes medical treatment, hospital expenses, emergency medical evacuation and repatriation.

Illnesses such as dengue fever, malaria and rabies are concerns in Bali, so consider consulting your doctor beforehand on any vaccines you may need and ways to protect yourself while travelling.

You could also catch the infamous Bali belly from drinking tap water in Bali. Bali’s water sanitation levels are different to Australia’s, so only drink bottled or boiled water during your stay and avoid ice cubes in your drinks.1 If you do get sick, having medical cover could save your wallet from expensive treatment.

Coverage on the roads

In Bali and wider Indonesia, roads are often congested, and many drivers are reckless and unpredictable. If you hire a rental vehicle, you should consider rental car excess cover in case you have an accident and need to pay an excess to the rental company.

If you’re interested in driving in Bali with an Australian license, you’ll need either a valid international drivers licence (also known as an International Drivers Permit or an IDP) along with your Australian drivers licence, or an Indonesian drivers licence. IDPs are sanctioned by the United Nations.

You should be eligible for an international driving licence as long as you’re 18 years of age or older and have a valid open or provisional driver’s licence. That being said, some countries have a minimum car rental age of 21, so you may not be able to drive a motorized vehicle overseas if you’re not at least 21.

The application process for an International Driving Permit is simple. You can apply through the Australian Automobile Association (AAA)’s website, or in-person at a branch of your state’s motoring club. You’ll need your current Australian drivers licence, as well as a passport-sized photo for your international driving license.

Theft and loss of belongings

As seen in many tourist hotspots, petty theft is a real and present risk in Bali. When in public, keep an eye on your personal belongings, such as valuables, travel documents, cash and credit cards. You’ll likely want a travel insurance policy that covers loss of luggage, cash theft and more.

Every travel insurance policy has exclusions that they won’t cover. Often, your travel insurance company may not accept claims under the following circumstances:

• You buy travel insurance after the incident. You must hold a policy before an incident happens that you want to claim for; otherwise, the claim will be rejected.
• Pre-existing medical conditions. If you have any significant medical conditions, you should disclose them to your insurer before taking out a policy to ensure you know which conditions are covered and if you need to pay any additional premium.
• Unattended luggage is stolen. While travel insurance policies may cover the loss of personal items, they may not cover luggage and belongings if you’ve left them unattended in public, as you didn’t take appropriate steps to protect your possessions.
• Government travel advice is disregarded. If you go to areas of Indonesia that have a ‘do not travel’ warning from Smartraveller, your policy might not cover you. If in doubt, check the PDS for government-related exclusions.
• Injuries while under the influence. Claims made due to drug- or alcohol-related incidents generally won’t be covered.
• Driving vehicles without a license. Riding on scooters is common in Bali, but unfortunately, so are scooter accidents. Medical costs or personal liability expenses that may arise due to unlicensed driving aren’t likely to be covered. If you do ride a scooter, always wear a helmet.

Always check the policy wording of your PDS for your travel insurance cover to know exactly what can be purchased as optional add-ons, along with the inclusions, exclusions, limits and sub-limits.

The cost of taking out a travel insurance policy for Bali will depend on a number of different factors, including:

• Your age and the age of any other travellers listed on the policy
• The number of travellers listed on your policy
• Any pre-existing health conditions declared by anyone on the policy
• The activities you plan on doing (e.g. scuba diving or other adventurous activities)
• How long you’ll be travelling for
• Your level of cover (e.g. the amount of medical cover, cancellation cover or rental vehicle excess you’ve taken out).

The total cost of your travel insurance will also vary depending on the insurer and policy you go with.

Even though crime, illness and other potential issues exist, travelling to Bali doesn’t have to be anything short of a safe, fun experience for all Australians.

Monitor the Smartraveller website for any active travel warnings before departure, as claims relating to known events usually aren’t covered. You can get travel insurance cover for natural disasters if it occurs after you depart; however, if you choose to travel during an active disaster, usually you won’t be covered.

Bali is home to a few active volcanoes, most notably Mount Agung. Not only are volcanic eruptions dangerous, but the ash clouds they create can also disrupt air traffic and cause mass flight cancellations. Having travel insurance ahead of time can help cover the cost of cancellation in the event of a volcanic eruption.

In an emergency, you can call the Balinese emergency services on 112 and ask for whatever services are required.

When you next have the opportunity, call your insurer and explain what’s happened (ideally within 24 hours). Make sure you keep all documentation about the incident. You can also call the Consular Emergency Centre in Canberra for emergency consular assistance on (+)61 2 6261 3305.

As the symptoms of Bali belly can range from an upset stomach to severe abdominal pain, bloating, stomach cramps, and high fever, it’s typically best avoided. Here are some general tips for avoiding the gastrointestinal trials more generally known as traveller’s diarrhea.
First and foremost, rely on bottled water or filtered water for your hydration needs. Local sources of drinking water may not be sufficiently filtered, and drinking contaminated water is a common way to get food poisoning.
Additionally, you may want to avoid unhygienic buffets, street food and pre-peeled fruits, as these can pose a higher risk of being contaminated with pathogens like e. coli or salmonella.
Maintaining good personal hygiene and routinely using hand sanitiser may also help you avoid falling prey to gastro. That said, if you do get the dreaded Bali belly, rehydration and restoring your electrolytes should be your number one priority.

Travel comes with enough health hazards already, so why risk catching a vaccine-preventable disease? Smartraveller recommends that if you’re making travel plans, you should see your doctor for medical advice and to check if there are any recommended vaccinations you should get.
When it comes to travelling to Indonesia in particular, some specific vaccines you may want to consider getting include a dengue fever vaccine, a rabies vaccination, a polio vaccination, a Japanese Encephalitis vaccination, and an MMR (measles-mumps-rubella) vaccination.
You may also want to look into protecting yourself against mosquito bites in order to avoid Zika virus, and consider anti-malarial drugs to protect against malaria. Insect repellent may come in handy for avoiding these two mosquito-borne diseases.
Fortunately, Smartraveller advises that at the time of writing, there are no cases of Nipah virus or yellow fever in Indonesia.