Compare comprehensive travel insurance

If your destination is known for frequent travel delays, bad weather, natural disasters or higher crime rates, you may want the protection of a comprehensive policy. Preparing for the unexpected keeps you from paying hundreds or thousands out of pocket on re-booking flights and accommodation, replacing stolen belongings or wasting unused tickets.

You never know when something might go wrong on a trip, so an important reason you might consider a comprehensive plan is if you want trip delay and cancellation cover. A basic policy may sometimes cover some expenses, but comprehensive cover generally grants you greater claim limits. In addition, you can also be covered for property damage or loss, higher levels of medical assistance, personal liability and more.

A comprehensive travel insurance policy will generally have higher claim limits on some cover items with fewer conditions. This can be particularly helpful if you’re travelling with valuable items and need a higher limit for lost or stolen belongings. Or, if other unexpected additional expenses arise that you need compensation for.

The most significant thing comprehensive travel insurance assists with is providing you with peace of mind, which can be in short supply when things go wrong in a foreign country. Luckily, with travel insurance, you can have some peace of mind even when faced with surprise costs.

While comprehensive cover might include some benefits you think you may never need to claim on, this level of cover will generally have higher claim limits than those on a basic cover policy. Here’s some common benefits and inclusions of comprehensive travel insurance:

Policies differ, which means that not all comprehensive policies may cover the above inclusions, nor will the claim limits listed above necessarily represent exactly what you will be able to claim.

Read the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) of any policy before you buy for more information about your policy’s inclusions, exclusions, additional extras, limits and sub-limits. Read the Target Market Determination (TMD) of your travel insurance policy to check whether a policy is suitable for you and your trip needs.

That’s just some of what international travel insurance might cover as standard. However, you can pay a little bit more to add some optional extras and ensure your policy covers even more mishaps. Here are a few examples of additional cover options that your policy might offer:

• Ski and snowboarding. Most travel medical cover won’t cover accidents that happen on-piste unless you have this add-on. Ski and snowboarding cover can also protect you against damage or theft of your snow sports equipment and potentially reimburse you if unforeseen events stop you from using your ski or lift passes and prepaid classes.
• Cruise cover. This type of protection is often excluded from standard cover, but many providers will offer cruise cover as an optional extra. This may include cover for medical evacuation, missed departures and cabin-confinement if you get sick.
• Adventure activities. Whether you want to go bungee jumping or are just keen to explore the local hiking trails on your trip, some providers may offer adventure cover as an optional extra. The exact activities covered will vary depending on your provider and policy, so be sure to read the full details available in your policy’s PDS.
• Rental car excess cover. Should you hire a car to travel around in and get involved in an accident, your provider may cover the cost of the excess the rental company may charge you.
• Motorcycles, scooters and mopeds. Like adventure and winter sports, activities involving motorcycles, scooters and mopeds may not be automatically covered by your policy, but instead offered as an optional extra.
• Increased item limits for personal items. If you’re travelling with valuable items (like phones and cameras), you can insure these for a higher amount than the rest of your luggage.
• Hole-in-one cover. If your trip involves hitting the links, you might get lucky and hit a hole-in-one – meaning you owe the whole bar a round of drinks. However, if you choose this cover add-on, your travel policy may cover this cost.

You may also have access to 24/7 medical and emergency assistance over the phone through your provider.

Here’s a rundown of some of the more common exclusions found in comprehensive travel insurance policies:

• Pre-existing medical conditions. You likely won’t be covered in the instance where you either do not declare your pre-existing conditions, agree to pay the extra premium or choose no coverage for your condition by your insurer.
• Being under the influence of drugs and alcohol. If you’re under the influence when a loss occurs, or it occurs due to being under the influence, you may not be covered.
• Acting illegally, recklessly or dangerously. Your travel insurer may not cover claims that wouldn’t have occurred if you had been acting reasonably and legally.
• Travelling during active travel warnings. If a country has a ’Do Not Travel’ alert or warning from the government and you choose to visit anyway, you may not be covered (you can find these warnings on the Smartraveller website).

Read the policy’s PDS for the full list of exclusions as they may vary between travel insurance providers.

The cost of your comprehensive travel insurance policy may depend on a few factors.

• Age. Unfortunately, as you get older, travel insurance gets more expensive. This is because senior travellers are more likely to need to claim for medical assistance while overseas.
• Health conditions. If you have pre-existing medical conditions that you want cover for, you may have to pay an additional premium.
• Destination. Depending on what country you plan to visit, your travel insurance may cost more depending on the risks. For example, the USA has incredibly high medical costs, so your premium may be higher in case your insurer has to pay for your medical bills.
• Trip Length. The length of time you’re away can affect your cover, so you’ll usually pay more for longer trips.

While comprehensive travel insurance may be more expensive than a basic medical-only policy, you can still find good deals. If you don’t want to compromise on cover but don’t want to hurt your wallet either, possible ways to save include:

• Comparing different plans and providers. Travel insurance providers will have different prices, policies and limits. A great way to save money is to compare different plans across multiple providers to find the one that meets your budget. With our free comparison tool, you can view a range of policies in only minutes.
• Increase your excess to lower your premium. Your excess is your out-of-pocket expense when you make a claim. If you want to reduce the premium on your policy, consider paying a higher excess amount – but make sure it’s still manageable for your budget.
• Buying with a credit card. Some credit cards come with free travel insurance and can be a simple and fast method of getting cover. However, this may not come with as many benefits as a comprehensive policy, and you may not be able to include cover for pre-existing medical conditions or purchase additional benefits. Keep in mind while you may not pay extra for this cover, the cost is included in your credit card fees. And, to activate the cover, you may need to use the card to pay for flights and/or accommodation.