Compare Australian Travel Insurance

Finding the best travel insurance today

While travelling overseas is something many of us look forward to, it’s not always rainbows and sunshine. Losing your luggage, getting food poisoning, having to cancel your trip at the last minute - the list of unexpected bumps you could encounter along the way are endless.

Equipping yourself with suitable travel insurance before you depart means you’ll have peace of mind that even if a mishap occurs, you won’t suffer a huge financial loss and you can get back on your feet a lot more quickly.

But firstly… what is travel insurance? 

Travel insurance is a type of insurance that provides cover for any unfortunate events that may occur while you are travelling overseas, such as medical illness, flight delays, lost luggage or theft. If purchased well in advance, travel insurance can also cover you for trip cancellation costs.

What does travel insurance cover?

What are some key travel insurance benefits you should keep an eye on? Let’s take a look.

Medical expenses: 

We’ve all heard the horror stories of travellers coming home from a holiday, only to find they’ve racked up a massive medical bill that they can’t pay off. Thankfully, most travel insurance policies provide generous medical care, with many of them actually offering unlimited cover. 
A lot of insurance providers also provide emergency assistance alongside medical cover, giving a range of support to customers who have fallen ill or injured themselves overseas. This includes benefits like: 

• Access to a medical adviser
• Medical transfer to the nearest hospital or repatriation back to Australia
• Sending messages to family and employers
• Supervised return of your children or grandchildren to Australia if you’re hospitalised

But an important thing to note is that most travel insurance companies have rules around which pre-existing medical conditions they cover and which they don’t. You can find a full list of conditions that are automatically covered on your insurance provider's Product Disclosure Statement (PDS).

And if your condition isn’t listed, don’t panic - it could still be covered once you’ve disclosed it to your insurance provider, completed a medical assessment and paid any extra premiums that apply. 

However, some conditions aren’t covered at all, so be sure to check with your insurance provider about any exclusions. Medical care overseas can run into thousands of dollars if you are not insured and when compared with the insurance cost, it's really not a risk worth taking.

Luggage and personal belongings: 

Nothing dampens the start of a trip like landing in a foreign country only to find that your luggage has vanished. Thankfully, cover for lost luggage and personal effects can lend you a hand in those times of need, so that you’ll be able to - at the very least - replace the basics needed to complete your trip. 

You could be covered for belongings that a third party has stolen, lost or accidentally damaged. And depending on which travel insurance policy you go with, your baggage cover could be as high as $15,000 per traveller!

But do remember, you won't get anything in cases where you lose unattended baggage left in a public place or unmanned vehicles. In other words, if you’ve left your phone behind in a restaurant or forgotten to take your bag out of a taxi, your insurance won’t cover you.

Usually, insurance companies will require you to report any loss or theft to the appropriate authority, whether that’s the airline, hotel or police, within 24 hours of discovering that your belongings have gone missing. Don't forget to ask for a written report too, as you’ll need this later on when you file a claim.

Cancellation and delays: 

Life happens, and you could find yourself in a tough position of having to cancel your travel plans. Luckily, travel insurance could cover you for any lost deposits and cancellation fees, although the amount you’re compensated for depends on the policy. 

Top notch insurance companies, like the Mozo Experts Choice Award Exceptional Quality Travel Insurance winners, provide unlimited cancellation cover, although restrictions and extra conditions may apply in some circumstances (for instance, you may not be covered if your cancellation is due to a relative’s pre-existing medical condition). 

Just be mindful you’ll only be covered for situations that were ‘unforeseen’, or unexpected and out of your control. This includes instances where: 

• You’ve missed your flight because of an accident on the way to the airport. Keep in mind you will need to get an official letter proving the accident occurred, and also provide evidence that there was no other way you could have boarded your plane on time.
• Your flight has been cancelled because of severe weather or airline strikes. But if the cancellation was caused by a mechanical failure, repairs or overbooking, you’ll have sort out alternative arrangements with your airline rather than the insurance provider. 
• An extreme event like a natural disaster or riot has taken place.
• Your passport or other travel documents have been stolen. Just make sure you report the theft to the police and get a written report about the incident within 24 hours of its occurrence, as otherwise, your claim amount could be reduced or even rejected. 
• You’ve become too unwell to travel because of an illness or injury - as long as this isn’t related to an undeclared pre-existing medical condition. You’ll need written documentation from a medical practitioner to prove that you’re unfit to continue your trip. 
• A family member has fallen ill or passed away. However, you will need to be wary of any limitations, including those around age and pre-existing medical conditions - the exact details can be found in the insurance provider's PDS. 

Keep in mind that if you can get your money back from the vendor - for instance, your airline or tour company - then your provider might not accept your claim. But if the vendor only gives you a partial refund, your insurance company will usually pay the difference.

Other common travel insurance benefits: 

Dental care: Most providers include emergency dental care, but you would need to take care of any ongoing treatment and costs once you are back in Australia.

Accidental death and injury: In the terrible circumstance that you become permanently disabled or die while you are travelling, you or your estate will receive money for repatriation or loss of income.

Personal liability: Unfortunately, accidents could happen not just to you, but also because of you. If you are legally responsible for causing someone else’s injury or damage to their property while you are travelling, you would need personal liability cover to help you pay for any costs.

Cash: Not all travel insurance policies cover cash, but some policies do cover about $100-$200. However, most clauses require you to have had the money on you at the time of theft.

Rental car excess: Most policies cover any rental car excess, so if you are renting a car on your trip, make sure you don't double up and pay the car rental company extra reduction insurance.

Airline and holiday insolvency: In the rare event that your prepaid holiday company (such as a hotel or airline) goes bust, an end supplier insolvency insurance would cover your prepaid expenses, including accommodation and plane tickets. 

How to choose the right travel insurance

Now that you’re across the different kinds of cover you could expect from travel insurance, you might be wondering how you should go about picking the right travel insurance for you. It might be tempting to go with the cheapest travel insurance you can find - we all love to save a few bucks here and there - but that could actually be a big mistake because you could end up paying for something that doesn't really cover your needs. 

Going through hundreds of travel insurance policies and reading the fine print is a tedious task, but to get you started, we’ve put together a quick overview of the basic types of travel insurance, to help you identify the one that aligns with your needs the most: 

Single vs multi-trip travel insurance

If your international travels are limited to one family holiday a year, then standard single trip travel insurance could be the way to go. 

But if you are one of those jetsetters who take off on holidays two or more times in a year, or if your work means you travel across the world frequently, you should consider annual multi-trip insurance that covers a number of trips. This means you won’t have to buy a new policy every time you travel, which helps you save both time and money. 

And in cases where you purchase multi-trip insurance for the entire family but also need to make individual trips during this period, you will still be covered under your multi-trip policy.

Fine print: Usually, there is a cap of 30 to 90 days for every individual trip for multi-trip annual policies, so it’s not designed for a year long jaunt around the world.

Do I need to add snow travel insurance?

If you’re planning to ski down some slopes with friends on your next trip overseas, then snow travel insurance is a must. 

Sure, snow clad mountains make for the most serene settings, but come a snow storm and you could be in for some seriously violent weather. With many standard policies not covering “extreme sports” like skiing and snowboarding, it’s a good idea to get snow travel insurance before you leave. That way, you can protect yourself and your ski equipment from any snow related accidents or bad weather! 

Fine print: It's one thing to hurt yourself because of an avalanche, but your insurance won't cover an injury you incur while skiing under the influence of alcohol or drugs. 

While skiing, snowboarding and snowmobiling are usually covered, you may have to pay an extra premium for off-piste or cross country skiing. Some of the more dangerous winter sports like heli-skiing would most likely not be covered at all.

Do I need to add cruise travel insurance?

Did you know that once your ship leaves the port, your medical expenses will no longer be covered by Medicare? The sea is known for its unpredictable nature, so it's definitely a wise move to get insurance for your cruise. Cruise insurance will cover you for medical emergencies and cancellations in the case of bad weather, and also protect your possessions on board. 

Fine print: If you are planning on indulging in adventure activities like parasailing or scuba diving, you will have to check if your insurance covers these or if you need to pay extra.

What are my travel insurance options as a senior?

The golden years are a great time to travel and explore the world, visit children and grandchildren, or take off on a luxurious cruise. The great news is: more and more Aussie insurance providers are raising the age limit for their policies, making it easier for seniors to travel with insurance.

For seniors wanting the broadest and most generous cover, a comprehensive policy could be the way to go. And if you’re worried about money and don’t want to fork out too many dollars for greater coverage, you’ll be pleased to know some travel insurance products offer a lot more than the basics at a very reasonable price tag. Check out the Mozo Expert Choice Awards Exceptional Quality Travel Insurance winners to find out more. 

Fine print: Keep in mind that the premium generally keeps increasing as the age bracket goes up, so you can expect to pay more for travel insurance once you’ve hit your retirement years. 

For seniors in their 70s or older, things might get a bit complicated. Further limits and terms and conditions may apply, so remember to always read the PDS before taking out travel insurance to make sure you’re eligible.

Does my travel insurance cover pregnancy? 

Not all travel insurance policies cover pregnancy, so if you are planning to travel during pregnancy, it’s definitely worthwhile doing some legwork to see which ones do.In general, your travel insurance should cover a pregnancy up to the end of the second trimester or until 26 weeks of gestation.

What if you’re pregnant with twins or more? It’s likely you won’t be covered then, but there’s no harm double-checking with your insurance provider so you can avoid any nasty surprises around the corner.

Fine print: You must carefully understand all the exclusions, for instance, if you've had past complications or conceived through assisted reproductive services. In such cases, you might be able to pay an extra premium and still be covered.

What travel insurance should I consider as a backpacker? 

When you are backpacking across exciting uncharted paths, you may encounter more hurdles than the average traveller. That is what makes Backpacker's travel insurance essential because it covers you for longer periods of time than standard insurance and can also include extreme sport cover so you can tickle your adventurous bone with activities such as bungee jumping and hang gliding.

Fine print: A backpacker's travel insurance policy is usually valid up to 12 continuous months, but if you break your trip and come back home during that period, the insurance often won’t pick back up when you get back to the trip.

What’s the next step?

Once you’ve decided on the type of insurance for you, it’s time to start looking for a policy that suits you. But don’t worry, you won’t need to spend hours upon hours researching far and wide. Mozo's comprehensive travel insurance comparison tool makes your search easier, so that you can find the best travel insurance policy for your needs, with the ideal combination of features and price.

Simply plug in your travel details (destination, duration of travel, extra covers, etc.) to see quotes from top insurance providers and compare policies. Features you can compare include overseas emergency medical assistance cover, overseas emergency hospital expense cover, luggage & personal effects cover, cancellation fees and maximum excess.

What if I decide my policy isn’t the right one for me? 

As with any purchase you make in life, you might decide that the policy you thought was perfect isn’t so fitting after all. That’s okay - most insurance companies understand that this can happen and give their customers a cooling-off period, usually around 14 days. As long as you cancel your policy within this cooling-off period, you’ll be able to get back a full refund, provided that you haven’t started your trip yet.

So if you have started your trip, or it’s past the cooling off period, then chances are you won’t be able to get a refund on your policy.

Travel insurance reviews

Mozo publishes travel insurance reviews by real customers to give you the low down on things like claims process, value for money and customer service. Hearing about the personal experiences of people who have used a particular travel insurance provider can help you feel more comfortable about taking out the policy, or in some cases, steering clear of any lemons! Read how Australian travellers rate different insurance companies on various criteria such as medical claims, baggage loss and delays. You can browse the latest travel insurance reviews here or search reviews by provider.

Written by: Katherine O'Chee, Mozo money writer

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