2023 Travel Insurance Star Ratings & Awards

Australia’s largest comparison site, Canstar, releases its
2023 Travel Insurance Star Ratings & Awards.

Released: 29 November, 2023

About this year’s awards

Canstar’s Travel Insurance Star Ratings and Award uses our unique and sophisticated methodology that compares both cost and features across travel insurance products to find the insurers that provide Aussie travellers with outstanding value. Our Star Ratings are designed to help travellers narrow their search and find the right policy by providing a shortlist of products that have been assessed and ranked.

Travel insurance policies included in the Canstar Travel Insurance Star Ratings are assessed across 24 profiles based on 10 destination regions and two cruise destinations. Our Canstar Researchers also consider two consumer profiles for each destination: one which incorporates people of varying ages and the other which is specific to senior travellers.

Despite it being almost three years since COVID hit, the pandemic is still a concern among many travellers, particularly those holidaying overseas. This is why, in order to be considered for a 5-Star Rating and Canstar’s Travel Insurance Award, our methodology continues to include COVID-19 cover as a requirement for international travel insurance policies.

In addition, to be considered in our Outstanding Value Awards, policies must have cover for cancellation claims arising from COVID-19 related events, and Award winners for international destination policies must also provide medical cover related to COVID-19.

Congratulations to the Award winners

(Winners are listed alphabetically)

Go Insurance

Outstanding Value Award — Cruise
Maintaining its Outstanding Value Award for Cruise Travel Insurance, Go Insurance performed strongly in both Cruise profiles considered — Australia and Fiji. Canstar’s Group Manager, Research & Ratings Josh Sale said, “Go Insurance’s performance was driven by its ongoing competitive premiums year on year and suite of policy features.”
Go Insurance is an Australian-owned travel insurance company based in Brisbane with a specialty in niche travel insurance coverages.

InsureandGo

Outstanding Value Award — International
Outstanding Value Award — Seniors
InsureandGo has picked up an International Travel Insurance Award this year alongside the Outstanding Value Award for Seniors Travel Insurance. Research & Ratings Group Manager Josh Sale notes, “InsureandGo maintained competitive premiums with a suite of features that saw them to perform consistently well across all regions considered, as well as taking the top spot in the Americas, North-East Asia, and Southern and Central Asia regions.”
InsureandGo is a travel insurance company established in 2000 and owned by Europ Assistance Australia.

Qantas

Outstanding Value Award — Domestic
Outstanding Value Award — Cruise
Qantas has maintained its Outstanding Value Awards for both Domestic and Cruise Travel Insurance. “Qantas’s pricing for travel within Australia is very competitive, offering some of the most affordable cover in the market,” said Research & Ratings Group Manager Josh Sale. Mr Sale continues, “For the Cruise profile, its competitive pricing paired with a strong suite of policy features makes them a solid choice for Aussie travellers seeking travel insurance for a cruise.”
Qantas Insurance is part of the Qantas Group, which operates Australia’s largest domestic and international airline as well as a number of insurance subsidiaries.

Southern Cross Travel Insurance

Outstanding Value Award — Domestic
Outstanding Value Award — Seniors
Maintaining its Outstanding Value Award for Domestic and Seniors Travel Insurance, Southern Cross Travel Insurance offers a high level of coverage for a reasonable price. Research & Ratings Group Manager Josh Sale said, “Southern Cross stood out offering some of the strongest cover in the domestic market, including cancellation fees, loss of deposit, emergency travel arrangements, and rental vehicle cover.” Mr Sale continues, “For seniors, SCTI stood out offering a strong level of cover for a competitive premium for international destinations.”
Southern Cross Travel Insurance is a travel insurance provider which has been operating in Australia for more than 10 years as part of the New Zealand-based Southern Cross insurance group.

Tick Travel Insurance

Outstanding Value Award — International
Tick Travel Insurance has won the International Travel Insurance Award for another year. Canstar’s Group Manager, Research & Ratings Josh Sale said, “Tick Travel Insurance has performed consistently well across all regions considered, and offers a strong balance of price and features.”
Tick Travel Insurance is a travel insurance provider founded in 2015 and also owned by Europ Assistance Australia.

World2Cover

Outstanding Value Award — International
World2Cover has once again won the Outstanding Value Award for International Travel Insurance. Research & Ratings Group Manager Josh Sale notes, “World2Cover continues to perform well across the board, particularly standing out in the South-East Asia region.”
World2Cover is an online travel insurance company that specialises in insurance packages and is part of Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance Co. Ltd, with bases in Sydney and Melbourne.

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About Canstar

Canstar also has insights and information about financial products and services generally. You can find out about topics such as: interest rates, buy now pay later (BNPL), business products and tax. You may also be interested in discovering more about calculators and resources, such as our rate checker and free credit score tool, to help you with your financial decision-making.

About: Josh Sale, Group Manager, Research & Ratings

Bachelor of Commerce, Economics/Finance dual major, Griffith University. Master of Data Science, Strategy and Leadership, RMIT (ongoing studies)

Joshua Sale is responsible for developing the methodology and delivering Canstar’s flagship Star Ratings, as part of Canstar’s Research team. With tertiary qualifications in economics and finance, he enjoys helping Australians find more suitable financial products by transforming complex calculations into a consumer-friendly Star Rating that explains the values and benefits of different financial products.

As one of Canstar’s company spokespeople, Joshua has participated in print, radio and broadcast interviews with the likes of the Australian Financial Review, news.com.au and Money magazine, along with other leading media outlets, discussing topics such as home loan equity, banking incentive schemes, digital wallets and wider finance trends.

Joshua is known for his ability to simplify complex products and technical information, crunching the data into meaningful insights for consumers about finance. He has analysed several consumer markets across banking, insurance and wealth, and is keenly interested in various topics, ranging from how Australians interact with their superannuation funds, to the dynamic nature of the health insurance market, and collecting and redeeming credit card reward points.

Joshua believes that knowledge is the first step towards empowerment. Even while studying, he facilitated peer-assisted study sessions for economics, and represented his University’s Business School in an academic committee.

You can follow Josh on LinkedIn, and Canstar on Twitter and Facebook.