A 25-year-old Bathurst man’s family have slammed his travel insurer after being forced to pay a $35,000 hospital bill when he was seriously injured in a scooter accident in Bali – but the insurer says all customers are made aware of policy exclusions.

Cameron Johnson’s case, reported by 9News today, is the latest in a long line of incidents where moped riders injured on the Indonesian island have been left with significant medical bills due to insufficient insurance, or travelling without any cover at all.

Mr Johnson fractured his eye socket in several places after a scooter he’d hired with a friend in Kuta was involved in an accident, and at one stage he was fighting for life.

His family says he was racking up hospital bills of $3000 every day, and was distraught when the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) declined his $35,000 claim.

Mr Johnson’s father Andrew told 9News the insurer had shown “no emotion, no compassion”.

“The facts are that the travel insurance my son took out thinking he was covered is in fact fraught with loopholes which the bank has exploited,” he said.

But CBA says Mr Johnson did not have the right cover in place for riding the scooter, which had a 125cc engine.

“We are very sorry to hear about Mr Johnson’s accident and our thoughts are with him for a quick recovery,” a spokesman told insuranceNEWS.com.au.

CBA says it aims to provide customers with clear information about their cover and exclusions.

“We do this both on our website, where we outline what is included and excluded, as well as what additional cover can be purchased to cover activities such as motorcycle or moped riding,” the spokesman said.

“We also include clear information and prompts during the insurance activation explicitly asking whether extra cover is required for motorcycle or moped riding.

“When customers activate their travel insurance, they are asked to select ‘yes’ or ‘no’ as to whether they would like to upgrade their policy for an extra fee to include cover for motorcycles, motor scooters or quadbikes.

“It is not possible to complete a travel insurance activation without confirming this step.”

The Insurance Council of Australia’s Understand Insurance website warns that most travel insurers won’t provide cover for riding a motorcycle or moped while overseas.

“Some insurers will cover motorcycles, mopeds or scooters under certain strict conditions or for an additional premium,” the website says.

But claims are still likely to be excluded if the rider does not hold a full Australian motorcycle licence and is not wearing “an appropriate helmet”.

Warnings for consumers to always arrange travel insurance and be aware of the limitations of cover don’t appear to be getting through, with a stream of similar accidents in Bali reported.

In December Newcastle teenager Lawson Rankin was left fighting for life and without insurance cover after a schoolies trip accident, while in November Bobby Barber from Melbourne was hit with a $30,000 medical bill after failing to take out any insurance at all.

In September Perth man Ashley Hickman suffered a crushed skull in a serious moped accident and his insurance claim was denied because he didn’t have the correct licence.