Am I covered by travel insurance if my bags are delayed?

What do you do if you’ve arrived at your destination, but your bags haven’t? The great news is that our policies cover delayed baggage and may help you replace essential clothing and toiletries while you wait for your bags to be returned.

When can I claim?

You can make a claim for essential items if your bags are delayed by 12 hours or more from the scheduled arrival time.

How much can I claim?

World Nomad offers two insurance plans – Standard and Explorer - each of which offers different levels of coverage if your bags are delayed and you need to organise essentials to remain comfortable.

Plan allowances and limits are as follows:

Plan1 Traveller (Single)2+ Travellers (Couple/Family)
Standard  $150 per day, up to $300 total claim   $300 per day, up to $600 total claim 
Explorer  $150 per day, up to $450 total claim   $300 per day, up to $900 total claim

It is up to you to choose the plan that has the right level of coverage to meet your travel needs. Check out your Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) and contact us if you’re unsure what your cover includes.

Traveller tip: If you’ve already left for your holiday and realised you’ve forgotten to get travel insurance, don’t panic! You can still purchase cover online. If you buy a policy while overseas, you have to wait 72 hours (waiting period) before cover is activated, as explained in ‘When cover starts & ends.

What are "Essential Items”?

Essential items include:

  • Underwear
  • Socks
  • T-shirts
  • Toiletries
  • Other reasonable and necessary items

If you’re unsure whether an item is considered essential, contact us.

What do I need to do if my bags are delayed?

  • Report it to the carrier. You’ll need a written statement from them confirming the delay, a reason for the delay and confirmation of what time your bags did finally arrive.
  • Keep all luggage checks, air tickets and receipts for essential items you buy (they will need to be time and date stamped prior to the arrival of your delayed bags but after 12 hours from your scheduled arrival).
  • Make a claim online for reasonable and necessary expenses incurred due to your baggage delay and have ready all relevant documentation to support your claim. No policy excess applies to delayed baggage claims.
  • If you need any help whilst travelling our 24/7 Emergency Assistance team is here to help

What’s not covered?

This benefit doesn’t mean you can go shopping for a completely new wardrobe or kit out your suitcase. There are limits depending on your chosen plan. Anything that isn’t considered essential won’t be reimbursed if you make a claim for delayed baggage, including things like:

  • A tailored suit
  • A leather jacket
  • An electric toothbrush to replace your manual one
  • Splurging on a new hiking backpack
  • Other non-essential items that you can live without for a few days.

Keep in mind that this benefit does not apply:

  • for luggage that is delayed for less than 12 hours from scheduled arrival time
  • if your bags are delayed on the way home, as it’s expected you’ll have access to your other personal belongings once you arrive.

Take the time to read the terms, conditions, limits and exclusions in the PDS, particularly Section 4 – ‘Your Belongings and the General Exclusions’, so there are no surprises if you do need to use it. If you’re unsure about something, contact us.

Got questions?

Travel insurance is not designed to cover everything, so take the time to read the full description of cover in the policy for the full details on what’s not covered as well as the terms, conditions, limitation and exclusions. If you are unsure of anything, please contact us for help.


Was this article helpful to you?

I found this article to be helpful
No, this is not the info I need

Related Articles

View more

Can't find the answer you are looking for?

Contact us

Our contact details

We’re here to help if you have a question about travel insurance. We’re available:

  • Monday to Friday 9:00am - 6:00pm (AEST/ADST)
  • Saturday to Sunday closed (AEST/ADST)

Contact us

Phone

Within Australia:
1300 787 375

From anywhere in the world:
+61 2 8256 1542