The Government has been pushing for reforms around transparency in the insurance industry, but just how necessary are they?

Fitness Instructor Donna Dunne got in touch with Lunchtime Live about a harrowing holiday experience, and how travel insurance may not make up for it.

Ms Dunne’s family camper van was broken into and robbed while on a holiday with her father and two teenage daughters in the south of France.

The culprits took the family’s passports, wallets and bank cards, leaving them to make their way across the country to the Irish embassy with only about €13 between them.

“The robbery was one thing; getting home was one thing; but since I’m home, it’s a different ball game,” she said.

“And actually, one hundred million times worse than being broken into.

“The insurance company were expecting me to submit documentation and evidence of what was the expiry date left on my passport [in order to cover the renewal fee].

“Without sounding funny, I’d have to go to your man in France who robbed me and say, ‘Sorry, would you mind if I just saw the document? I don’t know the expiry date’.”

According to Ms Dunne, these requirements were not visible to her on her policy documents.

Consumer Journalist Siobhan Maguire said “the lack of consistency across travel insurance policies makes it so difficult for consumers to keep pace with what they’re supposed to do”.

“I’ve actually watched Donna’s videos on Instagram and when she talked about the passport issue, I thought, well I’m on the same travel policy, I’ll go check mine,” she said.

“I went though everything with a fine tooth comb and could find absolutely nothing relating to a travel cover in relation to your passport and how much is left in terms of its usage and how much you’ll be compensated as a result.”

Ms Maguire said “that, to me, was baffling”.

Ms Dunne also cited a range of other issues she had run into with her insurance, including being asked to provide photo evidence of each bag that had been stolen.

Main image: Stressed woman at desk. Image: Kateryna Onyshchuk / Alamy Stock Photo

Federal authorities are warning Americans that traveling to two Southeast Asian countries can be dangerous and they should be extra cautious if visiting. They also advise against traveling to the countries’ border altogether.

The U.S. Department of State advisory level for Thailand and Cambodia were increased Friday to a Level 2, “exercise increased caution.”

The travel advisories were raised due to unrest in Thailand and concerns for crime and landmines in Cambodia, according to the advisories.

The U.S. government also issued a Level 4 “do not travel” advisory, advising against traveling within about 30 miles of the Thai and Cambodian border due to fighting between the countries’ military forces that started in May.

“There are reports of fighting, including rocket and artillery fire, between Cambodian and Thai forces along the border. Armed conflict has led to reports of civilian casualties,” the advisors read. “There is a collateral risk of violence, and U.S. citizens are advised to avoid all but essential travel to within 50km of these border areas until further notice. The U.S. government has limited ability to provide emergency services to U.S. citizens in these provinces due to the ongoing risk of armed conflict.”

The caution regarding travel to Thailand is “due to civil unrest associated with ongoing insurgent activities in the Yala, Pattani, and Narathiwat provinces,” that advisory said.

There is occasional violence between Thai security services and armed insurgents in those three southernmost provinces, the advisory explained, and 17 districts in that region are under a state of emergency due to the violence. Visitors risk getting caught up in the fighting and U.S. officials can’t guarantee they’d be able to help, the advisory warned.

The issue in Cambodia is different. That country’s capital city, Phnom Penh, is dealing with street crime, with many travelers losing their phone and bags to thieves, that advisory said. Sexual assault and murder are also concerns.

Landmines and unexploded ordnances are the concern in the provinces of Battambang, Banteay Meanchey, Pursat, Siem Reap, Pailin, and Kampong Thom, the advisory said, particularly in forested areas and dry rice paddies.

If you decide to travel to Cambodia or Thailand, the U.S. Department of State advises:

• “Do not physically resist any robbery attempt.
• Have evacuation plans that do not rely on U.S. government assistance.
• Enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) to get important updates and alerts from the U.S. embassy or consulate.  Enrolling helps the U.S. embassy or consulate contact you or your emergency contact in an emergency. 
• Review the Country Security Report for Cambodia and Thailand.
• Prepare a contingency plan for emergency situations. Review the Traveler’s Checklist.
• Visit the CDC page for the latest Travel Health Information related to your travel.
• The government highly recommends you buy insurance before you travel. Check with your travel insurance provider about evacuation assistance, medical insurance, and trip cancellation coverage.”

U.S. insurance giant Allianz Life has confirmed to TechCrunch that hackers stole the personal information of the “majority” of its customers, financial professionals, and employees during a mid-July data breach.

When reached by TechCrunch, Allianz Life spokesperson Brett Weinberg confirmed the breach.

“On July 16, 2025, a malicious threat actor gained access to a third-party, cloud-based CRM system used by Allianz Life,” referring to a customer relationship management (CRM) database containing information on its customers. “The threat actor was able to obtain personally identifiable data related to the majority of Allianz Life’s customers, financial professionals, and select Allianz Life employees, using a social engineering technique,” the spokesperson said.

The company disclosed the data breach on Saturday in a legally required filing with Maine’s attorney general, but did not immediately provide a number of how many Allianz Life customers are affected. According to the spokesperson, Allianz Life has 1.4 million customers. Its parent company, Allianz, has more than 125 million customers worldwide.

Allianz Life said it notified the FBI, and added it had “no evidence” that any other systems on its network were compromised.

The insurance giant would not say if it had received any communication from the hackers, such as a ransom note. The company also would not attribute the breach to a hacking group.

Allianz Life is the latest company in the past month to have been hacked during a wave of data breaches targeting the wider insurance industry, including Aflac, a major provider of supplementary health insurance. Security researchers at Google said in June that they were “aware of multiple intrusions” across the insurance sector attributed to Scattered Spider, a collective of hackers and techniques that rely on social engineering techniques, such as deceptively calling and tricking helpdesks into granting them access to a company’s network.

Prior to targeting insurance companies, the Scattered Spider hackers were seen targeting the U.K. retail industry, as well as the aviation and transportation sectors, and are historically known for hacks targeting Silicon Valley technology giants.

Per the Maine filing, Allianz plans to begin notifying affected individuals around August 1.

Do you know more about the Allianz Life cyberattack? Are you an affected customer or employee? Securely contact this reporter via encrypted message at zackwhittaker.1337 on Signal.