Travel insurance is a type of insurance that is designed to provide cover while travelling away from home. Typically it provides cover for events such as medical emergencies, sudden cancellations, lost or stolen luggage, alternative transport expenses and so forth. Travel insurance can usually be purchased for both domestic and international trips, although it is generally more popular for people travelling overseas.
Searching for travel insurance that suits you and your travels overseas? That will depend on which kind of traveller you are…
Let’s take a look!
And remember the golden rule… Always read the fine print!
Check the insurer’s product disclosure statement (PDS) for exclusions and inclusions.
Need to knows about Australian Government Guidelines
Key aspects to consider before travelling
What’s covered and what’s not
Important information on terms, conditions and sub-limits.
Cover for when you are holidaying or visiting international destinations
Learn about domestic holiday cover for when you’re travelling within Australia.
Annual cover if you take more than one overseas trip per year.
Select the type of travel insurance you’ll need.
Compare policy limits and features of each travel insurance provider based on your needs.
Get a quote directly. You’ll need to know your travel dates, number of travellers and key destinations.
Thanks to mass vaccination, the world continues to reopen in 2022. Vaccinated and unvaccinated travellers alike can now leave Australia to visit countries not classified as "do not travel" (which still require an exemption).
There are four travel advice levels for classifying countries. The levels are based on factors such as crime, terrorism, health, medical care, and natural disasters. From 1-4, the advice levels are:
According to Smart Traveller, most travel insurance providers will offer cover for travel to countries classified level one or two. Read more about the latest international travel advice for the country or countries you are planning on travelling to at: smartraveller.gov.au.
Fully vaccinated Australians can now travel outside of Australia without applying for an exemption. Plus, if you have been fully vaccinated with a TGA-approved COVID-19 vaccine, you will also be able to apply for an International Covid-19 Vaccination Certificate.
Before you get carried away thinking about all the places you could travel to though, it is important to remember that travelling now is nothing like travelling in pre-pandemic days. Prior to departing, you will need to make sure you are aware of what the rules are for entering the country you're visiting. For example, many countries now require a negative COVID-19 test on arrival, as well as proof of vaccination. Some countries may also still have quarantine in place for vaccinated travellers. Others still will require you present valid travel insurance upon entry that at least covers the emergency medical costs associated with treating COVID-19.
To make sure you are prepared for an accident or emergency overseas, it’s a good idea to know what the laws are in the country you are travelling to and what emergency situations your travel insurance covers.
A few things you may want to take note of prior to travelling are:
While you can contact the Australian embassy or call the CEC for things like a lost or stolen passport, in a crisis situation Smart Traveller recommends getting in touch with the local authorities. If you have travel insurance cover, you could also call your travel insurance provider’s emergency assistance phone line.
What travel insurance covers will depend on a number of things including, whether you’re purchasing domestic or international travel insurance, what level of coverage you opt for and which insurance provider you go with.
Generally, domestic travel insurance offers cover for things like luggage and personal belongings, trip cancellations and delays, rental vehicle excess and personal liability. It should also be noted that most travel insurance companies will only offer domestic cover if you are travelling more than a certain number of kilometres away from your home – usually around 100 to 250km.
International travel insurance takes into account a few more things like medical or dental emergencies. Typically it includes cover for instances such as overseas medical and hospital expenses, lost or stolen luggage, cancellations and trip delays, rental vehicle insurance excess and personal liability. Some policies may also provide cover for things like replacement travel documents and credit card fraud.
While the cost of travelling is expensive enough, there's no reason why you have to spend more than necessary on a travel insurance policy – after all, when you're travelling you don't want to spend all your time fretting about your finances.
That's why it's important to look into cheap travel insurance, and the ways you might be able to trim the fat on your policy and premium.
Finding the best travel insurance policy shouldn’t be difficult, which is why every year Mozo announces the Mozo Experts Choice Travel Insurance Awards to help you find one that complements your personal needs and budget.
Mozo’s expert judges analyse hundreds of travel insurance policies to find the best value and best quality insurance across a range of coverage tiers, from medical only to comprehensive, for a variety of different holiday activities and destinations.
Head to our best travel insurance hub page to compare this year's winners.
Generally travel insurance providers will offer four different types of cover, these are:
A few providers may offer more specific cover for things like going on a cruise, travelling as a student or in a group. Some may even provide cover specifically tailored towards seniors, skiing trips and Australians who are already overseas.
Whether you see travel insurance as expensive or a necessary cost for peace of mind will depend on your perspective. As with all types of insurance, travel insurance premiums are calculated on a case-by-case basis.
The cost of travel insurance will depend on a number of factors:
Having cover while abroad could help you dodge hefty costs if things do go wrong, so it can be a small price to pay to know you are covered.
We should start by saying that no one travel insurance policy will be the ‘best’ for everyone. People have different reasons for travelling, budgets and needs. That said, shopping around can help you find travel insurance that works best for you. Are you worried about being covered for medical expenses? Or are you more concerned about lost luggage? Once you have an idea of the cover you need, then you can compare policies.
Comprehensive travel insurance is the highest level of cover you can get when taking a trip overseas. Generally it offers cover for things like:
A lot of comprehensive travel insurance providers will also offer optional extras for specific types of holiday. For instance, things like snow cover or cruise cover. Others will also offer cover tailored towards certain individuals, such as cover for students, seniors and people travelling in a group.
Flight insurance is generally insurance that covers unexpected delays or incidents that happen when flying. Insurance providers do not typically offer standalone flight insurance, rather this will usually be included in a travel insurance policy.
Generally travel insurance providers will give customers the option to make a claim online, via email or by giving them a phone call. Details on how you can make a claim can usually be found on the travel insurance provider’s website. It might be a good idea to note down how to make a claim, before heading off on your trip.
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tortured with broken leg due to refusel of immediate treatmentleft with broken leg, no pain killers no cast for 2 weeks as they wanted to send me home for treatment to avoid paining medical in America. While waiting 2 weeks for them to organize my trip back to Australia I was left humiliated and in agony, having to crawl on my hands and knees even just to got to the toilet, then if I made it there it was often too late by the time I had to maneuver myself up and on to the toilet. I was unable to obtain a drink or a proper meal as I had no was of carrying it back. Partially approved with transport to Australia, still waiting on claim from airport transport to home. Finally received my travel cost to get home from airport after 10 weeks of numerous submissions
Read full reviewtortured with broken leg due to refusel of immediate treatmentleft with broken leg, no pain killers no cast for 2 weeks as they wanted to send me home for treatment to avoid paining medical in America. While waiting 2 weeks for them to organize my trip back to Australia I was left humiliated and in agony, having to crawl on my hands and knees even just to got to the toilet, then if I made it there it was often too late by the time I had to maneuver myself up and on to the toilet. I was unable to obtain a drink or a proper meal as I had no was of carrying it back. Partially approved with transport to Australia, still waiting on claim from airport transport to home. Finally received my travel cost to get home from airport after 10 weeks of numerous submissions
Provided a quote saying medical issues were covered. Then when went to purchase the insurance prior to the date of the quotation expiring, they said they'd changed the rules... They then put me through to customer service and said it was out of hours in that country and to phone back later. When I phoned back they wouldn't speak to me regarding the other passenger, even though it was okay for me to do the screening for them online earlier.
Read full reviewProvided a quote saying medical issues were covered. Then when went to purchase the insurance prior to the date of the quotation expiring, they said they'd changed the rules... They then put me through to customer service and said it was out of hours in that country and to phone back later. When I phoned back they wouldn't speak to me regarding the other passenger, even though it was okay for me to do the screening for them online earlier.
Super easy to purchase! Amazing coverage! Amazing customer service.
Read full reviewSuper easy to purchase! Amazing coverage! Amazing customer service.
