Dean has been in the insurance game for over 16 years. He noticed that traditional insurance providers had dull, complicated websites and policies filled with jargon. Dean thought he could do better, and thus, Fast Cover was born. Fast Cover aims to make travel insurance straightforward, accessible, and have a wide range of policies which can be customised to suit the needs of many everyday Aussie travellers. 

Adventure awaits: coverage for thrill seekers

If your idea of a holiday involves more than just lounging by the pool, Fast Cover can help you get covered.  

Here are some key points for adventure seekers:

• Motorbike Riding: Ensure your policy includes motorbike riding. Remember, you'll need a valid motorcycle licence and check out the PDS for other terms and conditions that are required. 

• High-Altitude Hiking: Planning to tackle Everest Base Camp? Double-check that your policy covers high-altitude activities. 

• Extreme Sports: Thinking about BASE jumping or deep-sea diving? Most general policies won’t cover these, so try looking for specific coverage. 

Check out our Adventure Travel Insurance guide for more information.

Keeping it safe: alcohol and drug policies

Holidays are for relaxing, and for many, that includes a few drinks. Fast Cover's stance on alcohol is practical: 

• If you have a few drinks and something happens that's out of your control, like a coconut falling on your head, cover may be available under the policy. 

• However, if you start doing risky activities while intoxicated and get injured, there are exclusion(s) that will likely apply, and it is unlikely your claim will be paid.  

• The same applies to drug use – from our experience in the industry, it is unlikely that any insurer will approve your travel insurance claim if drugs were involved. 

For more tips on safe travel practices, visit Smart Traveller's Safety Tips. 

Handling cancellations

Trip cancellations can be a major headache, but Fast Cover can make it easier to handle: 

• Personal Emergencies: If you get unexpectedly sick or have a family emergency, depending on the policy chosen, you can be covered for certain expenses under the policy benefits^.

• Provider Cancellations: If your airline or cruise liner cancels, they should refund you directly. 

Choosing the right cover

Fast Cover offers various levels of cover to suit different needs and budgets: 

• Basics (Medical Only): Covers unexpected medical emergencies whilst overseas and ideal if you only want medical coverage without all the extras.  

• Standard Saver: Ideal if you want medical coverage whilst overseas with a few extras including trip cancellation, trip disruption and lost, accidentally damaged or stolen luggage. 

• Comprehensive: This is a good option for those who want cover under all the policy benefits, usually with the highest benefit limits, from medical expenses cover whilst overseas, to trip cancellations and disruptions, travel delays, special event transport expenses, lost, accidentally damaged or stolen luggage, and more!  

Understanding the differences between these options can save you a lot of stress and money. 

Quick and easy claims

Fast Cover lives up to its name by processing claims faster than the industry standard of 10 business days. Dean emphasised that most claims are processed quickly, especially if they’re straightforward and the traveller has provided all the required documentation for the Claims team to assess. Fast Cover aims to ensure your claim is resolved as fast as possible so you can focus on enjoying your trip or return home. 

FAQ's

What types of activities are covered by Fast Cover?

Fast Cover can provide coverage for a wide range of activities including for example, cruising and skiing and snowboarding. However, it's important to check specific policy details if you're planning high-risk activities like motorbike riding, high-altitude hiking, or extreme sports. 

It’s also important to read terms and conditions such as the requirement for you to take reasonable care for your safety or comply with important cover conditions to have cover for some of your adventurous activities. 

What happens if I cancel my trip due to illness?

If you need to cancel your trip due to illness or a family emergency, Fast Cover can provide cover under their cancellation policy. Make sure to read the Product Disclosure Statement to understand the specifics as terms, conditions, exclusions and limits apply. 

How does alcohol consumption affect my coverage?

If alcohol directly causes an incident, such as getting hit by a car while intoxicated, it is likely general exclusion(s) will apply and there will be no cover under the policy. However, if alcohol isn’t a factor in the claim, depending on the circumstances, cover may be available. 

How fast are claims processed?

Fast Cover aims to process claims as quickly as possible, often faster than the industry standard of 10 business days, provided all necessary information is supplied. 

What should I do if my trip involves multiple risky activities?

If your trip involves several high-risk activities, it is important to consider your options and choose the right policy for the activities you will likely be involved in. You might need to add specific coverage for activities like abseiling or deep-sea diving beyond 10 metres.

Ready to get covered? 

Don't leave your travel plans to chance. Whether you're an adventure junkie or a chill holidaymaker, Fast Cover has policy options which can suit many individual’s needs. Get a quote today and travel with ease knowing you have Fast Cover by your side. 

Travel safe, travel smart, and let Fast Cover take care of the rest! 

Whilst some sports and activities may be covered automatically under the policy, some cannot be covered at all, or require you to add cover, and pay an additional premium. *

Not all policies include all benefits. For example, Trip Cancellation Expenses and Trip Disruption Expenses are not covered under the Basics policies. *

Any advice is general only and does not take into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs. Eligibility criteria, policy terms, conditions, exclusions and limits apply. Consider the PDS prior to deciding on which product is right for you. 

As everyone’s circumstances are different, our claims team will assess each claim on a case-by-case basis in accordance with the policy terms, conditions, exclusions and limits. 

Partial transcript of Podcast: 

0:00 I would like to introduce you to Dean Van Es. Welcome to my podcast, buddy. 

0:04 Yeah, thanks for having me. 

0:05 When did you start your journey with insurance? 

0:07 It was about 14 years ago. I was looking at what different insurance providers were doing online, and I just thought they weren't doing a great job. Like generally in the insurance industry, they're not even innovators at all. And you get the pretty standard website with a white background and blue writing and, and a whole bunch of tables and way too many words. I'm like, I just thought I could do a better job. 

0:32 Well, look, this is not a paid endorsement, but I have used your product. Then if you're doing a bit of a complicated trip and, you know, you might maybe you're doing some complicated. 

11:53 Yeah. So more of the adventure stuff. If you're riding motorbikes, you know, make sure you've got cover for motorcycle riding. Make sure a lot of policies, our policies required to have a motorcycle licence. But to get back to the question, if you'd like altitude hiking, you just want to make sure that you're getting the right policy. If you're going to Everest Base Camp, most policies won't cover that. 

12:12 So unattended luggage, special exemptions, make sure that you tell them anything else that we should really know, like travel insurance is for going on a fairly safe holiday, right? 

12:24 If you're going to go BASE jumping, if you're going to do something crazy like that, if you're going to do, you know, like mountaineering, most general leisure policies won't cover you for that. If you're going deep sea diving, like extra deep, just double check that what you know, what you're going to do is covered. 

12:41 Like you will likely find a policy to cover most things. 

12:44 It's just, you just need to make sure, But if you're just going, if you're going to Bali, you're going to hang out in a resort, no worries, you'll be OK. 

13:31 And you, I guess you're tweaking your product constantly, right. 

13:35 Yeah, Yeah. Constantly. Things come up like we need to. You know, that part piece of the wording was a little bit confusing. How could we make that clearer? Or it's like, oh, that things should be covered, but we've not really specified in any way. So we'll we'll make an adjustment. 

13:51 So with cancellation, because I can't understand how it works with cars, but with, let's say cancellation, the cruise liner cancels the the trip. 

13:59 You pay the person and then you chase the cruise liner for the money. 

14:02 No, OK, if the cruise liner cancels the trip, they're going to refund. 

14:06 Well, they should refund the cancellation is more like, OK, so I've booked my, my, my big cruise over to Fiji or whatever. I've got sick and I can't go or there's been a family emergency and I just cannot go on this trip. 

14:19 That that's basically the two scenarios, 2 most common scenarios for cancellation. But there, there's, there's a few others that come up from time to time. We've got 3 levels of cover. The very bottom level is medical only if you get, I mean, that's the one that everyone I think really must have. 

14:36 That's the most important one. And then we've got it. 

14:39 The top level is comprehensive, which is, you know, everything that we can do. 

14:42 Yeah. 

14:43 I, I hope people always would take comprehensive because that's when we have to say no the least amount of times because we get people that'll buy the medical only product and then they'll want to claim for luggage or they'll want to claim for cancellation. They'll be disappointed that they didn't pay the extra $20.00 or $30. It's like, well, that's the one you chose. 

15:00 And the kind of market dictates we need a low price. So that's why we created that one. And some people literally only want medical and that's, that's totally fine. 

15:08 That's that. That's a product for them. 

15:10 How what kind of turn around do you guys have from claim to payout, assuming it's legit? 

15:15 Look, as fast as we can do it. If it's legit, they go through very quick. 

15:18 Yeah, wow. 

15:19 And most, most are legit, like probably 80% at least are legit. Some of them we go, you know, we need to to double check simple claims get paid very quick. The industry has this principle of, you know, 10 business days. I think that's ridiculous. We try to do it a lot faster. 

15:37 Wow. 

15:38 Yeah, and we, we're fast cover. We're not slow. And you know, fast cover takes 15 days. Some claims do take longer. Some claims we don't get enough information and and you have to chase people down and, you know, they don't want to they're, they're hard to contact sometimes. But yeah, look, I, I want to see people get paid as fast as they can. 

15:57 Dean, if people wanted to know more about you and Fast Cover, where can they get more information from you? 

16:02 You can go to our website, www.fastcover.com.au

16:05 And I am very excited to see what you continue to do. And I like unpaid endorsement, but as a happy, satisfied customer, Fast Cover's awesome. So this has been cross examination with Johan Kalenta with Dean Van Es from Fast Cover. Thank you so much for joining me. 

16:22 Thanks, Jahan.