As reported by Clive Dorman, at The Age, “A Travel law specialist has warned that government advice about travel to Indonesia may technically invalidate travel insurance for trips to the holiday island of Bali.Even though insurers continue to cover travellers to Bali, Tony Cordato, of Sydney’s Cordato Partners Tourism Lawyers, believes the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s advice for travel to Bali triggers the exclusion clause in travel insurance policies that disqualifies covering anyone who ignores government warnings.The department advises that people should ‘reconsider their need’ to travel to Indonesia, including Bali, ‘because of the very high threat of terrorist attack’. It is the second-highest category, a so-called level four warning. Mr Cordato said that while the issue had not been tested in court, ‘the conclusion must be that there is no travel insurance coverage for travel to countries where level four travel advisories apply’.Travel insurers and the Insurance Council of Australia have so far been unwilling to weigh in on the issue. But the industry is already facing a dramatic increase in disputes over travel insurance policies as more Australians, particularly older Australians, travel overseas.”
