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What is travel insurance?

Travel insurance covers emergencies or accidents you while you are on holiday. Depending on your destination and your choice of policy, it can include cover for the cost of medical emergencies, lost or stolen luggage, and even the excess charged in the event of a hire car accident.

Domestic covers you for trips taken within Australia, and will usually cover:

Lost or stolen luggage or other belongings
Cancelling your trip unexpectedly due to illness, accident, holiday leave being revoked, natural disasters, or other reasons outside your control
Rental vehicle excess you have to pay if you have an accident driving a hire car
Legal liability if you accidentally break a local law

One thing domestic does not include is medical cover. However, as you’re still in Australia you can still access both Medicare and private health insurance (if you have it).

International will cover you for overseas trips, which covers slightly different things than domestic cover:

Medical emergencies for admission to hospital in another country (not including scheduled treatments such as dental tourism)

Lost or stolen luggage or other belongings
Lost or stolen travel documents (e.g. passport) or cash

Cancelling your trip unexpectedly due to illness, accident, holiday leave being revoked, natural disasters, or other reasons outside your control

Legal liability if you accidentally break a local law and need a lawyer and/or interpreter (note that ignorance of the law is no excuse in most countries!)
Repatriation cover to fly you and your belongings back home if you pass away while travelling

No travel policy will cover you for every single thing that might go wrong while you’re away. It’s important to read the policy terms and conditions in the product disclosure statement (PDS) carefully so you know what is and is not covered.

Be aware of the usual exclusions that apply to the policies:

Skiing or other snow activities (you’ll need snow cover for that)
Dangerous activities (“hazardous pursuits”) such as such as scuba diving or bungee jumping (you’ll need to buy a separate adventure travel policy for that)
High value belongings (unless you tell your insurer about them)
Risky or irresponsible behaviour on your part, including behaviour while under the influence of alcohol
Pre-existing medical conditions that you didn’t tell your insurer about when applying for insurance
Intentional illegal behaviour or breaking local laws and regulations
Lost items where you left your belongings unattended
Driving a motorbike overseas, unless you have a motorbike licence and are driving a low-power vehicle
Government actions
Acts of war (unless you are travelling to a country with a Do Not Travel warning from DFAT)
Suicide or attempted suicide
Claims where you didn’t notify your insurer within a set timeframe, e.g. 24 hours

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How Canstar compares travel insurance

Canstar compares travel insurance with a unique, sophisticated star ratings methodology that considers both pricing and features. The results are reflected in a consumer-friendly 5-star concept, with a 5-star rating signifying that a product offers outstanding value for travellers.

Some of the features Canstar compares for travel insurance policies are:

Policy inclusions and exclusions
The claim process
Policy flexibility
Medical and dental cover
Lost luggage and travel documents cover
Cancellation fee cover
Emergency travel cover
Rental vehicle cover
Legal liability cover

You can read the full star ratings report or compare travel insurance products yourself, based on your own requirements, using the comparison selector tool at the top of the page.

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Written by: TJ Ryan and Tim Smith

Glossary of terms

Travel Insurance Terms

Please note that these are a general explanation of the meaning of terms used in relation to travel insurance. Your insurance provider may use different wording and you should read the terms and conditions of your insurance policy carefully to understand what you are and are not covered for. Refer to the product disclosure statement (PDS) from your provider.

Additional expenses: Additional expenses for accommodation and transportation that occur because of events such as illness, natural disasters, loss of travel documents, and transport union strikes.

Benefits: What your insurance provider gives you according to the terms of your policy. Benefits can apply if you make a claim (e.g. lost luggage) or they can apply automatically if a certain event happens.

Claim: When you request for your insurance provider to pay certain expenses back to you in accordance with your policy.

Cover / Coverage: The extent of protection given to you by your policy. If you are covered for an event, it means that you can claim back from your insurance provider a specified amount of expenses you incurred because of that event.

Emergency medical care: Medical care that is needed in an unexpected emergency. This does not include any type of regular medical care or foreseeable medical needs.

Excess: The excess is an amount that you pay instead of the insurer, e.g. $250 or $500 per claim. Insurers usually have either a policy with different excess options that you choose between, or separate policies that each have a different excess amount. You can pay a lower premium if you have a higher excess, but you need to be sure that you could afford to pay the excess unexpectedly if you had to make a claim.

Exclusions: Anything that is not covered by your policy. Check the common exclusions here.

Incidental expenses: Costs associated with an unexpected covered event, but which are not directly related to the event.

Limit / Benefit limit: Policies have a limit on the amount of benefits you can claim per year or per trip.

Medically necessary: Medical treatment that is needed to preserve your health, is suitable to treat your symptoms, and can be safely provided in your current location. This does not include treatment or procedures that are performed in your current location because it is convenient or cheaper (e.g. dental tourism).

Legal liability cover / Personal liability cover: Cover for costs incurred for which you are legally liable. You are legally liable if your negligence causes loss or damage to people or property not a part of your travelling party. Liability cover does not cover damage you caused deliberately or that breaks the law, your ownership or use of a vehicle, aircraft or watercraft, or you passing on an illness to someone else.

Pre-existing condition: A medical condition that existed in any form before you signed up for the insurance policy, whether or not you had your symptoms examined by a health practitioner. Your policy may usually list a time limit for the condition to be pre-existing, e.g. you have seen a medical practitioner in the past 90 days before you started your journey, or you have been prescribed a medication within the past 60 days.

Premium: The amount you pay your insurance provider for your cover. Your premium must be paid on time for your travel to be covered.

Rental car insurance excess: The excess charged if your hire car is damaged or stolen. Domestic travel insurance policies commonly include cover for the cost of this excess.

Resumption of journey benefit: The benefit you receive if you claim the expense of resuming your travels. You can make a claim if you had to return to Australia suddenly due to a serious injury, illness, or the death of one of your relatives or business partners in Australia.

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