Travel Insurance Comparison

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