Insurance forum

Likewise you probably won't get cover if you are the operator of a motorbike - unless you hire from a 'licensed' operator (what exactly is that in SEA??) AND follow local road rules (ie are licensed locally, presumably).

In NZ, I am allowed to ride a scooter under 100cc without a licence, but that rule doesn't apply anywhere in SEA as far as I know, therefore I am not following local rules and would not be covered.

It's a calculated risk that we choose take if hiring / riding a bike - in more ways than one.

Government warnings are so ridiculous!! I received this just the other week from the NZ-based US consulate:

"The Department of State warns U.S. citizens residing in or traveling to the South Pacific region about the ongoing threat of cyclones originating in the area. The region covered by this alert includes Australia, Fiji, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, New Zealand, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu, as well as the territories of French Polynesia, New Caledonia, and Wallis and Futuna islands"

This warning expires in Apr 2012! It's quite a long email telling the risks associated with cyclones, and how travellers could be affected, etc. Now if I was a naive traveller, I'd be tempted to avoid New Zealand, cancel my travel plans.etc for the next 6 months. OK, so it's been raining for the last few days. But a warning?! What a load of rot!

Having said that, I did get 'stuck' in Fiji a few years ago because of a small cyclone. Insurance happily paid out for the extra accom and change of flight costs. Maybe not that a warning has been issued they wouldn't pay if it happened again.

Government warnings are generally over-cautious and it just gives the insurance companies another opportunity to avoid paying out. They might as well put out a blanket world-wide warning warning us of earthquakes. Or to warn that it's dangerous to cross the road and that pickpockets may be active in the area.