Types of travel insurance

If you and your partner are travelling together, you may be eligible for a couples travel policy. This can cover both of you under a single policy. It’s typically also available for any two travel companions who share an itinerary.

When travelling with family members, you have more belongings to insure, more people that could fall ill and more unforeseen situations you can’t pre-empt. Travel insurance for families can cover your whole family under one policy, and eligible dependents may be covered automatically.

Travelling in a group? With this type of insurance, everyone can be covered for the same activities and events, both before and after you depart. This might suit school groups, wedding parties or a group of friends travelling together.

If you’re embarking on a thrill-seeking trip complete with activities like abseiling or paragliding, you may be able to purchase an adventure pack add-on to still be covered. You should check the list of automatically covered activities in your policy’s PDS to determine whether you’ll need this extra cover.

If you’re hitting the slopes on your holiday, consider ski insurance. This optional extra can cover things like winter sports, piste closures, ski equipment hire and medical treatment. If you injure yourself on-piste without ski cover, your medical costs won’t be covered by your standard policy.

Domestic and international cruises can be covered by travel insurance, though you’ll typically have to purchase additional cover. See how you can be financially protected at sea and beyond with travel insurance for cruises.

If you’re planning on renting a car to drive around on holiday, be sure your policy covers your rental car excess fee in the event of an accident. If it isn’t automatically covered, you can usually still purchase it as an add-on to your policy.

If you’re going to be driving on foreign roads on a motorcycle, scooter or moped, you should consider getting covered with travel insurance for motorcycles. This will help provide cover for medical bills if you’re in an accident while driving.

Travel insurance is typically not compulsory for Australians; however, we recommend always purchasing a policy before travelling to protect yourself from financial loss if something goes wrong. At a minimum, travellers should consider a basic, medical-only policy in case they’re injured or fall ill on their travels.

Certain destinations or cruise trips may also require you to have a travel insurance plan so it’s important to research before departing.

A comprehensive travel insurance policy usually has higher benefit limits and more inclusions. These include cover for:

• Medical expenses
• Medical evacuation or repatriation if there is a medical emergency
• Accidental death or loss of income cover
• 24/7 emergency assistance
• Personal liability
• Theft or damage of personal belongings or baggage loss
• Trip cancellations, trip interruptions and travel delays.

If you’re looking for travel insurance for a trip in Australia, remember that, unlike international travel insurance policies, domestic policies won’t include medical coverage. This is because you’re typically covered by Medicare or your own private health insurance while in the country.

Read the PDS for the full details on the inclusions, exclusions, limits and sub-limits of a policy.

Cruise insurance, also known as cruise cover, is typically an add-on for a policy instead of a standalone product. A standard international travel insurance policy won’t cover cruise-related claims, just as cruise cover typically won’t cover incidents that happen on land at any port of call.

For comprehensive travel insurance coverage, we recommend having both travel insurance and cruise cover, so you’re covered both on land and at sea.

Credit card travel insurance is complimentary cover included with your credit card if you’ve fulfilled the activation criteria. While handy for some, be aware that complimentary travel insurance coverage is typically limited and may not cover pre-existing medical conditions or provider cover for typical policy add-ons, such as ski or cruise cover.