AXA Travel Insurance Review: Covid-19 Cover, Wanderlust vs SmartTraveller (2022)

AXA Travel Insurance Review: Covid-19 Cover, Wanderlust vs SmartTraveller (2022)

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

  1. AXA Travel Insurance: Summary
  2. AXA Wanderlust Travel Insurance
  3. AXA SmartTraveller Travel Insurance
  4. AXA Travel Insurance Covid-19 Coverage
  5. AXA Travel Insurance Extreme Sports
  6. AXA vs FWD vs Allianz Travel Insurance
  7. AXA Travel Insurance Promotion
  8. AXA Travel Insurance Claim Review
  9. Should I buy AXA Travel Insurance?

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.

MSIG logo

Total Premium

S$50.20

60% OffTotal PremiumS$125.50
MoneySmart Exclusive
Most Comprehensive Coverage + Free Lounge Access*
Med. Coverage (Overseas)
S$500,000
Trip Cancellation
S$10,000
Loss/Damage of Baggage
S$5,000
Total Premium
Total PremiumS$125.5060% Off
S$50.20
MoneySmart Exclusive:

Travel with REWARDS:
S$70 GrabGift vouchers
• OR up to S$60 Cash via PayNow
• AND S$30 Revolut cash reward
and many more rewards with eligible premiums spent. T&Cs apply.

 

[Exclusive MoneySmart Promos]
• Get 60% off (Single Trip) and 25% off (Annual Plan) on TravelEasy policy premiums. Valid from 22 to 25 Jun 2026.
• Enjoy a complimentary MSIG Lounge Pass at the Airport for flights delayed more than 90 minutes. (Per policy purchased).
• PLUS, receive up to 1GB worth of eSIM.
T&Cs apply.

Valid until 30 Jun 2026

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.

FWD logo

Total Premium

S$46.26

30% OffTotal PremiumS$66.08
MoneySmart Exclusive
3-hour delay & cruise cover included
Med. Coverage (Overseas)
S$500,000
Trip Cancellation
S$10,000
Loss/Damage of Baggage
S$5,000
Total Premium
Total PremiumS$66.0830% Off
S$46.26
MoneySmart Exclusive:

[Travel with REWARDS]
• Get a S$30 Revolut cash reward with FWD Travel premiums purchased. T&Cs apply
• Enjoy 30% off Single Trip plans and 25% off Annual Travel plans with code FWDHOLIDAY. Valid from 24 to 25 Jun 2026.
• Plus, get a $50 eCapitaVoucher from FWD with an Annual Travel Insurance with PreX add-on

Valid until 30 Jun 2026

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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