A visitor to Australia who missed her flight home while receiving medical treatment has been denied a payout for losses deemed to have occurred before her travels.  

The woman was scheduled to return to her country of residence on January 4, but she became unwell and could not leave.  

She lodged a claim with her insurer for medical expenses, costs associated with her flights and accommodation, and lost wages from work she was scheduled to perform in her country.

Cover Genius agreed to pay the flight and accommodation expenses but said it would not cover the missed wages, because the policy did not respond to this loss.

It also rejected her medical expenses because they had been incurred in her “home country”.

The insurer’s product disclosure statement stated coverage was “provided for claims occurring within the destination country shown on your certificate”.

The certificate of insurance showed the woman’s country of residence as being her destination.

In a dispute ruling, the Australian Financial Complaints Authority notes the policy was obtained for travel between January 3 and 11 from Australia to the woman’s country of residence.

It was arranged by the woman’s boyfriend, who paid with an Australian debit card. The woman was listed as the insured, with a Queensland address.

AFCA says the policy only covered medical treatment obtained after departing Australia.

It notes the woman said her boyfriend did not enter an address when arranging the insurance, but says the Queensland location was “consistent with where the insurance was booked from”.  

An AFCA ombudsman said: “I am not satisfied the medical expenses incurred in Australia are covered under the policy because the overseas trip from Australia had not commenced and the treatment was obtained prior to leaving Australia.”

See the ruling here.