When you’re a student, squeezing the most out of every cent is crucial. This becomes even more important when saving for holidays.
So, you can imagine the reaction any student booking a holiday would have when asked to fork out more of their hard-earned money on travel insurance.
We understand that many students may not want to buy travel insurance. However, things could go wrong – even on well-planned trips – and paying a little bit extra now may ensure you still have money left over when you return home.
The decision to purchase travel insurance is completely dependent on you and your circumstances. We believe most travellers could benefit from considering travel insurance. Here are a few reasons why travel insurance for students might be a good idea.
Please note: the extent of your coverage will vary from policy to policy.
Travel insurance for short trips can cost less than dinner at a restaurant, while longer overseas trips can typically cost at least $100 (depending on how many people you cover). That’s extremely good value when you consider that:
One of the best things about travelling is taking part in activities you wouldn’t normally try at home, like riding a horse on the beach in Spain or cycling around San Francisco Bay. While standard travel insurance doesn’t cover every activity, policies can cover skiing, bungy jumping, hiking in exotic locales, and more as “add ons” or “optional extras” (although sometimes adventure sports cost a bit extra to cover).
Say your bus breaks down and you miss your flight to Bali for your friend’s wedding, travel insurance might cover the cost of an alternate flight to ensure you didn’t miss the big day!
Many of us have heard nightmare stories about travellers heading overseas without insurance, getting injured or sick, and then being forced to pay thousands of dollars for medical treatment. It bears repeating: if the country you’re travelling to doesn’t have a reciprocal health care agreement (RHCA) with ours (i.e. where Aussies can access subsidised treatment), travel insurance with overseas medical cover could be worth looking into. Even if you are travelling to an RHCA country, considering travel insurance might still be a good idea, as RHCAs don’t cover everything (e.g. prescription medication or emergency transportation).
Imagine if someone stole your bags. Don’t panic! While your stuff may be difficult to recover, your insurance policy could replace items or pay out the value of your belongings in cash.
Essentially, if you can afford the cost of accommodation, flights, food and activities for your holiday; you can afford insurance too.
Here are a few things your student travel insurance policy can include:
N.B. Be mindful that not every policy can cover you in all these circumstances.
Travel insurance can’t cover everything, however, so it’s important to read your policy’s Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) to understand its exclusions. Specific exclusions may vary between policies and insurers, but here are a few common ones to look out for:
That way, if you must cancel your flights at the very last minute (e.g. if you get sick), you could recover some of your money (if your policy includes this kind of cover). By comparison, you won’t be covered for such an incident if you take out travel insurance after your circumstances change and you’re unable to travel.
If you’re gearing up to party on your big trip overseas, you need to check the legal drinking age of the country you’ll be visiting. For instance, we probably all know that the drinking age in the USA is 21, but what’s the drinking age in Thailand? Germany? Japan? The Australian government is limited in what they can do to help you out of legal trouble, so it’s important to know what the international drinking ages are, just in case.
Also, if you had consumed an intoxicating substance such as alcohol and something goes wrong, this could void your travel insurance.
If you’re organising a trip for a group of students who all need the same level of cover (and are all travelling under the same itinerary), you’re in luck. You can take out group travel insurance that will cover the entire party of travellers (exclusions permitting).
So, why do this?
Travel insurance for students doesn’t cost a fortune. The cost varies based on how much coverage you want. Most travel insurance providers offer comprehensive cover, basic cover, and many options in between. This allows you to match your cover to the type of holiday you are on.
For example, if you want to do some more risky activities like skiing or snorkelling, you may have to pay a little extra for your policy. Your policy’s price tag is also influenced by things like your age, where you’re travelling to, how long you are staying, when you’re travelling and whether you need cover for pre-existing medical conditions.
So, if you could find a better price by comparing different providers against one another, why not give it a try?
If you’re a student getting ready to set sail for a big adventure, why not consider travel insurance? Our free online comparison tool makes it easy. Simply enter your details and get numerous quotes in seconds!
Finally, if you’re traveling with several friend or in a large group, check out group travel insurance policies.
