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Australian Long Distance Cruisers: Useful Services that are hard to find

Published 10 years ago, updated 5 years ago

This information is only relevant to Australian cruisers.  Since we began cruising 12 months ago for the first time we have been using two services back in Australia which have been particularly useful and seem often talked about by yachties as hard to find.

Health Insurance

One is we managed to find a travel health insurance scheme especially tailored to cruising sailors offshore which was reasonably priced.  This was through insure4less.com.au and by contacting them they will point you to their sailing endorsement.  We can personally vouch for them as we recently went to Cambodia resulting in a leptospirosis contraction and a $17 000 USD hospital bill and this company was fantastic to deal with without us having to foot the bill and waiting for reimbursement.  We now appreciate the value of insurance.

Mail Forwarding

The other is a mail forwarding service which has been fantastic, very affordable and provides a mail opening and scanning service which for people who don’t have family at home who can take this on, is a perfect solution.  This is through passthepost.com.au and their website will explain all.

Bec Caskey

Infinity V

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  1. January 30, 2019 at 5:38 AM
    Data Entry2 says:

    An update on Insured4Less – they only cover up to Age 65 so if you are older than that you are out of luck. I am in the process of exploring World Nomads whom I have used before and allow you to renew while out of the country, do not require a return ticket to Australia (which many insurers do – we found out the hard way!) and also cover for a number of adventure activities that other insurance companies do not.

    Will also take a look at Travel Insurance Direct and Pantaenius UK Long-Term Sailor as we will be on our boat for at least a year from May 2017 as we cross the Atlantic.

    Pass the Post still doing a great job as we have now used them for three consecutive years!

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  2. January 30, 2019 at 5:34 AM
    Data Entry2 says:

    We have our travel insurance with Travel Insurance Direct, who also cover sailing and we can get our policy reissued whilst overseas. I think they may all be part of the same group, basically underwritten by Lloyds. I will certainly look at the Pantaenius option as that looks interesting

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  3. January 30, 2019 at 5:34 AM
    Data Entry2 says:

    Posted on behalf of James Ellingford
    I had a major issue being an Australian trying to get medical insurance for a five-year voyage. As an Aussie, I had to return home every 12 months to renew policy (don’t ask!). Anyway, I came across Pantaenius who have a Policy called a “Long Term Sailor” policy, which is a Private Medical Insurance policy and not a travel policy (so it doesn’t cover things like lost baggage, cancellation, repatriation etc.).

    This is available to basically everyone using the following link – Pantaenius UK Long-Term Sailor Plan. All the details, forms and premiums are on the site and you do not need to be a client of the UK office to access this. Anyway thought others may like to know.

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  4. January 30, 2019 at 5:30 AM
    Data Entry2 says:

    Thanks for your great advice and suggestions Bec. We are registered with Pass The Post and speaking with Jo on the phone I feel very reassured that we will be able to keep on top of our mail while away (through scanning and emailing rather than mail forwarding!).

    In addition, interestingly SureSave travel insurance is the company we are insured with and they seem to be the same company as Insure4less. For StrangetraderII I think you will find that as far as dealing with emergencies at sea, possibly your boat insurance will cover this (eg. we are ensuring our boat with Pantaenius and part of the coverage is search and recovery at sea).

    Realistically, if you are out in the middle of an ocean somewhere, nobody is really going to be able to help you with a medical emergency, so you would want to have a good sat phone/ MF-HF radio, a good first aid kit and hope that someone on board knows good First Aid techniques.

    I feel the key to claims on travel insurance while coastal sailing is to be upfront and as long as you can present yourself to a hospital/doctor on land somewhere, most insurance companies will honor the claim. Thanks for providing this website for comments! Robin and Tad “Bisou”

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  5. January 30, 2019 at 5:28 AM
    Data Entry2 says:

    Reply from Infinity V

    With regards to Insure4less, we are still insured with them, they had no problem re-insuring us even after a $17 000 USD hospital bill following sudden illness in Cambodia. As far as sailing goes, as long as you take out the sailing endorsement, which equates to another 20% on top of the premium, you are covered for cruising. That said we have never tested the policy for an “at sea emergency” but we have been very pleased with them as a company to deal with. The policy wording will explain what is covered and any specific questions they are happy to answer. We would use them again.

    Also as a mail forwarding service, we used Pass The Post in Qld, again excellent, their website explains all.

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  6. January 30, 2019 at 5:27 AM
    Data Entry2 says:

    CAN YOU LET ME KNOW IF YOU ARE STILL COVERED BY INSURE4LESS? WE ARE HEADING OUT ON JIMMY CORNELLS 2 YEAR RALLY CALLED BPO THIS NOVEMBER. WE ARE AUSTRALIAN REGISTERED AND TRYING TO WORK OUT WHO DOES HEALTH INSURANCE FOR CRUISING YACHTIES AND ARE YOU REALLY COVERED FOR ALL EMERGENCIES? IF ANY AUSTRALIANS KNOW ANYTHING CAN YOU LET US KNOW YOUR EXPERIENCES. THANKS
    ANDREA ON STRANGETRADERII

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