Compare Comprehensive Travel Insurance

The difference between comprehensive travel insurance and basic travel insurance is that a comprehensive plan provides broad, high-level protection for medical needs, cancellation costs and lost or stolen luggage, and many other inclusions. Meanwhile, a basic policy (also known as “essentials” or “medical-only”) will primarily cover medical emergencies (and sometimes minor travel delays).

There are three main reasons you might want to consider a comprehensive policy:

Your destination and itinerary

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 of dollars out of pocket on re-booking flights and accommodation, replacing stolen belongings or wasting unused tickets.

Cancellation cover

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.

Higher claim limits

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.

Meanwhile, if you’re a budget traveller planning international travel, a basic medical-only policy is a popular choice as it generally covers all your medical expenses. Be sure to consider your individual circumstances before just choosing the cheapest option.

Yes, many comprehensive travel insurance policies have optional extras that you can acquire for an additional premium, such as snow cover or adventure activities.

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. Cruise cover is especially important if you plan to travel upon the seas, as Medicare and standard health insurance policies won’t cover you even in domestic policies.
• 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, laptops 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. Remember though, the odds of the average golfer draining a hole-in-one are widely quoted as 12,500 to 1.

A travel insurance policy typically excludes cover for pre-existing medical conditions, illegal activities and travelling against government advice. 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.

To save money on a comprehensive travel insurance policy, it’s worth comparing and shopping around to find the best deals. Often, you can find cheaper policies with lower coverage limits or choose to increase your excess to lower your premium.

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 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.