The number of bargain travel insurance plans has exploded. Nowadays, you can find plans that are so cheap that it’s a wonder premium travel insurance like AXA Wanderlust even exists.
The thing is, most Singaporeans who buy these cheap travel insurance plans have never had to file a serious claim before. But those who have gone through the trauma of an actual medical emergency overseas are more likely to prioritise getting a good travel insurance plan. It’s these people who will be willing to pay more for premium plans like AXA’s.
Let’s take a peek into the world of premium travel insurance and see if AXA’s plan is really worth the money.
Contents
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- AXA Travel Insurance: Summary
- AXA Wanderlust Travel Insurance
- AXA SmartTraveller Travel Insurance
- AXA Travel Insurance Covid-19 Coverage
- AXA Travel Insurance Extreme Sports
- AXA vs FWD vs Allianz Travel Insurance
- AXA Travel Insurance Promotion
- AXA Travel Insurance Claim Review
- Should I buy AXA Travel Insurance?
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1. AXA Travel Insurance Summary
AXA has 3 iterations of its AXA Wanderlust travel insurance:
- Lite: Up to $30,000 of medical expenses
- Easy: Up to $250,000 of medical expenses
- Pro: Up to $300,000 of medical expenses
The previous version of AXA’s travel insurance plan was called Smart Traveller.
If you like freebies, you can actually get travel insurance underwritten by AXA for free. If you book your trip using certain Citibank credit cards, you can get Citibank’s complimentary insurance which is from AXA.
Scoot’s Scootsurance travel insurance is also underwritten by AXA and can be bought cheaply when you purchase Scoot air tickets.
2. AXA Wanderlust Travel Insurance
AXA Wanderlust is the successor to AXA’s previous plan, Smart Traveller. As mentioned earlier, the plan comes in three tiers.
Here’s a summary of the plan’s key benefits and coverage.
| AXA Travel Insurance | Lite | Easy | Pro |
| Price (Regional) | $34.49 | $64.35 | $80.17 |
| Price (Global) | $58.25 | $116.91 | $142.24 |
| Overseas Medical Expenses | $30,000 | $250,000 | $300,000 |
| Emergency Medical Evacuation | $100,000 | $500,000 | Unlimited |
| Personal Accident (Death, TPD) | $50,000 | $150,000 | $250,000 |
| Travel Delay ($100/6 hours) | $500 | $1,000 | $1,000 |
| Trip Cancellation | $1,000 | $5,000 | $6,000 |
| Baggage Delay ($100/6 hours) | $500 | $1,000 | $1,000 |
| Baggage Loss/Damage | $2,000 | $3,000 | $5,000 |
| Outdoor Adventure | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Covid-19 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
This is supposed to be a premium plan, remember?
So, with the exception of the Lite plan, AXA Wanderlust offers fairly generous claims limits. For instance, compared to AIG’s Standard and Enhanced plans, which pay out $100,000 and $200,000 respectively for overseas medical expenses, AXA Wanderlust Easy and Pro plans pay out $250,000 and $350,000.
That said, there are some plans which offer even higher claim limits, like DBS TravellerShield. The Premier and Platinum versions of DBS’s TravellerShield Plus plan from Chubb pay up to $500,000 and $1,000,000 worth of medical expenses. Something to note if you’re some kind of high net worth individual and want the best possible plan.
3. AXA Smart Traveller Travel Insurance (Ceased)
Before AXA Wanderlust was born, the insurer’s travel insurance plan used to be called Smart Traveller, which came in only two tiers — Essential and Comprehensive.
What AXA has done in replacing SmartTraveller with Wanderlust is lower some of the claim limits in exchange for lower premium prices. In other words, Wanderlust is less “premium” than Smart Traveller.
Here’s a summary of the old AXA SmartTraveller’s benefits.
| AXA SmartTraveller | Essential | Comprehensive |
| Price (Regional) | $73 | $97 |
| Price (Global) | $98 | $126 |
| Overseas Medical Expenses | $300,000 | $600,000 |
| Emergency Medical Evacuation | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Personal Accident (Death, TPD) | $200,000 | $350,000 |
| Travel Delay ($100/6 hours) | $1,000 | $2,000 |
| Trip Cancellation | $6,000 | $12,000 |
| Baggage Delay ($200/6 hours) | $1,200 | $1,800 |
| Baggage Loss/Damage | $5,000 | $10,000 |
| Outdoor adventure | Yes | Yes |
| Covid-19 | Yes | Yes |
4. AXA Travel Insurance Covid Coverage
Nowadays, most travel insurance plans have extended their coverage to Covid-19, so you have no business buying one without.
Here’s a summary of AXA Wanderlust’s Covid-19 benefits and coverage:
| AXA Travel Insurance Covid-19 Cover | Lite | Easy | Pro |
| Overseas Medical Expenses | $30,000 | $50,000 | $70,000 |
| Emergency Medical Evacuation | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Repatriation | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Hospitalisation Cash Benefit | $50 per day up to $1,000 | $50 per day up to $2,000 | $50 per day up to $3,000 |
| Quarantine Cash Benefit | – | – | – |
| Trip Cancellation | $500 | $500 | $800 |
Compared to what other insurers are offering, AXA Wanderlust’s Covid-19 cover isn’t that great. For instance, FWD Travel Insurance offers up to $200,000 of medical expenses and $100 per day of hospital cash if you buy their Covid rider.
Meanwhile, MSIG TravelEasy automatically includes Covid-19 coverage in the plans’ regular medical expense coverage, to the tune of $250,000, $500,000 and $1,000,000 for their Standard, Elite and Premier plans respectively.
Total Premium
S$40.50
- Med. Coverage (Overseas)
- S$500,000
- Trip Cancellation
- S$10,000
- Loss/Damage of Baggage
- S$5,000
- Total PremiumTotal Premium
S$9055% Off - S$40.50
[GIVEAWAY | MoneySmart Exclusive]
Get over S$75 worth of rewards including:
• Up to S$40 via PayNow OR 1 x Apple AirTag (worth S$45.40) with eligible premiums spent. T&Cs apply.
• S$30 Revolut cash reward
• Eskimo Global 1GB eSIM (worth S$9.50) with every policy purchased.
Score exciting gifts on top of existing rewards:
• Apple iPad 10.9-inch 64GB (10th Gen). T&Cs apply.
• S$100 Revolut cash reward. T&Cs apply.
5. AXA Travel Insurance: Extreme Sports
Thrill-seekers rejoice. AXA Wanderlust covers recreational and leisure activities, which are filed under “adventure cover” in the policy documents.
You will receive coverage if you suffer from injury or accidental death while performing the following activities:
| Outdoor Adventure | AXA Wanderlust Travel Insurance |
| Hot air balloon | Yes |
| Scuba diving | Yes, no deeper than 30 m under the supervision of a qualified diving instructor, or diving with a buddy when both of you are PADI-certified (or its equivalent) |
| Skiing, other snow sports | Yes, within approved areas of ski resort |
| Hiking, trekking | Yes, up to 3,500 m above sea level |
| Mountaineering, outdoor rock climbing | Yes, must not ordinarily require use of specific climbing equipment and ropes |
| Marathons, competitions | No |
| Jet ski | Yes if open to general public without restriction |
| White water rafting | Yes, up to grade 3 |
| Skydiving | Yes |
| Paragliding, hang gliding, parachute | Yes |
| Bungee jumping | Yes |
| Helicopter sightseeing | Yes |
Their adventure sports coverage is more or less parallel to what was offered by the previous AXA Smart Traveller plan, and is mirrored by Citibank credit cards’ complimentary AXA travel insurance and Scoot’s Scootsurance.
6. AXA vs FWD vs Allianz Travel Insurance
In the spirit of competition, let’s see how AXA Wanderlust measures up to close competitors FWD’s and Allianz’s travel insurance offerings.
| AXA Travel Insurance | FWD Travel Insurance | Allianz Travel Insurance | |
| Price (per week) | $34.49 – $142.24 | $50 – $105 | $49 – $241 |
| Overseas Medical Expenses | $30,000 – $300,000 | $200,000 – $1,000,000 | $200,000 – $1,000,000 |
| Emergency
Medical Evacuation |
$100,000 – Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Trip Cancellation | $1,000 – $6,000 | $7,500 – $15,000 | $5,000 – $15,000 |
| Baggage Loss | $2,000 – $5,000 | $300 – $1,000 | $3,000 – $7,000 |
| Covid-19 | Yes | Add $20.60 – $34.04 | Yes |
Turns out, when you compare AXA Wanderlust with FWD and Allianz’s travel insurance offerings, it actually doesn’t look so premium after all.
AXA’s plans are actually considerably less generous than these two competitors’. Their maximum overseas medical expenses for the Elite plan are just $300,000, compared to the other two insurers which offer up to $1,000,000. But AXA’s plans are also generally cheaper, especially the Lite and Easy plans.
Total Premium
S$36.38
- Med. Coverage (Overseas)
- S$500,000
- Trip Cancellation
- S$10,000
- Loss/Damage of Baggage
- S$5,000
- Total PremiumTotal Premium
S$51.9730% Off - S$36.38
[Prizes worth over S$13,500 | MoneySmart Exclusive]
Get over S$35 worth of rewards including:
• S$30 Revolut cash reward
• Eskimo Global 1GB eSIM (worth S$9.50) with every policy purchased. T&Cs apply.
Ready to Travel ANYWHERE for FREE?
• Score a Holiday (worth up to S$5,000)
• Apple AirTag (worth S$45). T&Cs apply.
• S$100 Revolut cash reward. T&Cs apply.
7. AXA Travel Insurance Promotion
From 1 to 31 August 2022, AXA is offering 20% discount on all Single Trip Wanderlust plans.
8. AXA Travel Insurance Claim Review
AXA Wanderlust is new, but in general AXA has received pretty good reviews online for their claims process, which is reportedly fast and straightforward.
If you find yourself in a pickle while travelling, you can call AXA’s 24-hour emergency assistance hotline at +65 6322 2566.
AXA Travel Insurance Emergency Hotline: +65 6322 2566
AXA Travel Insurance Online Claims: Submit your claim with supporting documents through AXA’s online form
AXA Travel Insurance Claims Address: Print out the travel claims form and submit your documents to your insurance agent or mail to:
AXA Insurance Pte Ltd
8 Shenton Way #24-01
AXA Tower
Singapore 068811
AXA Travel Insurance Claims Due Date: Claims must be made within 30 days of your return to Singapore
AXA Travel Insurance Claims Status: Use the MyAXA app to track the progress on your claim
9. Should I buy AXA Travel Insurance?
Turns out, AXA Wanderlust is not as “premium” as the insurer’s previous travel insurance offering, Smart Traveller. This is actually a good thing if you don’t want to spend a fortune on insurance.
On the other hand, if you’re looking for the best protection that money can buy, you’d be better off buying the most expensive plan from one of of AXA’s competitors like FWD travel insurance or Allianz.
Shopping for travel insurance? Compare all best travel insurance in Singapore here.
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