FAQ

Trip Guard Refund Cover provides protection to travelers for irrecoverable expenses incurred for various pre-paid travel services bookings through Trip Guard registered travel agents .  Travel expenses includes transportation bookings, pre-paid hotel bookings, car hire  rental fees, ground tour fees, entry tickets to adventure parks, tickets to other tourist & entertainment events etc. Transportation bookings includes all common carriers whether by air, road, rail or sea as booked through the travel agents.  Any pre-booking expenses for third party travel, tour and ground  services as offered by and purchased only through the travel agencies are covered.  However, cover is not applicable for services  in the country of booking or country of residence.

Irrecoverable travel expenses refers to a traveler having to cancel his or her travel plans which results in the need to cancel all pre-booked travel services.  It is general practice that the cancellation of pre-paid bookings will not receive a 100% refund of amounts paid.  Third party service providers will usually deduct a certain percentage being either penalty or administrative charges for a cancellation refund.  Such irrecoverable travel expenses will be covered under the Trip Guard Refund Cover subject to the limit of cover purchased.

The Trip Guard Cover can only be purchased through registered travel agencies.  The Trip Guard Cover is to be taken together with the purchase of the travel services .  The purchase of Trip Guard Cover should not be more than 90 days or less than 24 hours prior to the scheduled departure.

A traveler can claim up to the limit of the cover subscribed for. The scale of indemnity cover and cost of cover are as follows :

Travelers are required to inform the travel agency the plan most suitable for his or her trip.

A claim is triggered when the traveler is required to cancel his or her  travel plans as a result of specified events occurring.

The specified events triggering a claim are as follows :

1. The death or accidental bodily injury of the beneficiary.
2. Hospitalization of the beneficiary or dependents due to medical condition.
3. Visa delays or visa rejections – subject to the beneficiary applying at least 21 days prior to the trip.
4. The death of the Beneficiary’s dependent.
5. Fire or natural disaster resulting in serious damage to beneficiary’s home or the accommodation booked at the trip destination.
6. Any event excluding strike, provided that the event giving rise to such cancellation occurs, or is only announced, after the Covered Trip is booked, which :
   • Events leading to widespread violence.
   • The event is not initiated for the purpose of asserting sovereign rights or acting on behalf of a sovereign state.
   • The event poses a direct threat to the life or safety of the Beneficiary.
   • Following the advice and/or warning of the local government or the government of the destination country declaring unsafe conditions for travel through or by general mass media.

• Specific Exclusions to specified events :
  • Any event arising from strike.
  • Events announced or known to the Beneficiary prior to the booking.
• Natural disasters including but not limited to volcanic eruption, flood, earthquake, tsunami, hurricane or wildfire occurring at destination of planned trip, provided that the event giving rise to such cancellation occurs, or is only announced, after the Covered Trip is booked.

(Please refer to the Product Disclosure Sheet (PDS) for more details)

Travelers can only purchase the Trip Guard cover through travel agencies who are registered as re-sellers .  In view that Trip Guard has just been launched, the number of authorized travel agencies may be limited but the numbers will expand over time to be made available in your region.

Upon the payment of the cover by the travel agency, Trip Guard  will generate a certificate of cover stating the traveler’s name and  trip details.  The certificate will be immediately generated and sent to the email of the traveler.  A copy of the certificate is made available in the travel agent’s account and can be printed at any time required.

Yes, the Trip Guard Cover can be cancelled through the travel agency purchased from, on the condition that the entire travel package purchased  is also cancelled.  The refund amount will be credited directly to the traveler’s bank account. The assistance company may consider cancellation under other circumstances but this is subject to the full discretion of the assistance company and on the information and supporting documents  requested by the assistance company from the traveler .  The assistance company will not impose any penalty charges or charge any administration fee on the cancellation.

The service provider for Trip Guard is SWAN International Assistance (SIA) [referred as “Assistance Company”] (website : https://swanassistance.com/). SIA is also a third party administrator for many other travel schemes.  SWAN International Assistance Ltd belongs to the SWAN Group of companies.   

When a traveler has to make a claim, the traveler is to contact Swan International Assistance (SIA) who will process all claims.  Once a claim has been registered, the traveler will receive a case number for reference. SIA maintains a call centre which offers  a 24 hours a day /7 days a week/ 365 days a year through online interaction, over the phone and in person on travel assistance services that it provides.  Travelers can seek assistance or register a claim by contacting SIA’s Call Centre as follows :

SIA, the Assistance Company will process the claim(s) by requesting for relevant supporting documentations which may include police reports, medical reports, death certificates, copy of passport , medical examiner’s report amongst others depending on the claims being submitted. The claimant is required to submit required documents within 30 days from the time of request.

Upon the successful conclusion of a claim, the Assistance Company will make payment direct to the traveler/ claimant’s bank account.

No, you may not seek recovery from more than one cover for the same event. Trip Guard will not pay for any irrecoverable expenses for an event triggering a claim where  such  expense is recoverable from any other source.

Travelers are requested that they provide the correct personal details such as name and passport number to travel agents when purchasing the Trip Guard cover. Errors to traveler details may result in the delay in processing claims.  The certificate of cover must match the traveler’s official details.

In the event of disputes in a claim, SIA will seek to explain the reasons for any unfavourable decision and will allow an opportunity for the claimant  to appeal or re-submit the necessary documentations. Where this fails, SIA may engage a third party reviewer , refer to an ombudsman or seek arbitration to resolve disputes fairly and transparently.

Depending on where (country) the Travel Guard Cover is being purchased from, VAT, taxes or duties may be applicable .  The travel agency will issue you an invoice with the  applicable VAT, taxes or duties as applicable in the country of purchase to the traveler.  The travel agencies will be responsible for the remittance of all VAT, taxes or duties as applicable to the relevant Government Authority/ Agency authorize to collect such charges.