If you’re planning your next trip, you’ll most likely think about your flight, transfers, and accommodations. However, there is one vital aspect of traveling that you might have forgotten: travel insurance.
Most people don’t think that getting travel insurance is important, but it is highly recommended to do so to mitigate travel risks.
Searching for the best travel insurance in Australia can be quite daunting, however when comparing insurers to find the best possible policy, the following are some of the benefits you should expect.
Benefits You Should Expect From the Best Travel Insurance in Australia
Great Customer Service
Travel insurance in Australia offers comprehensive international coverage for various kinds of issues, though one thing you should look for is how an insurance provider handles emergency issues.
It’s well worth paying more for insurance if the company has a reputation for excellent customer service. This will mean it will only take a short amount of time to handle emergencies and sort out your problems.
Make sure that the company provides 24/7 assistance. Emergencies happen any time, and 24/7 help assures the policy holder that someone will be there to help in any time zone, any time of the day.
Read reviews of other travelers to get a feeling for the overall service; how long does it take to lodge a claim, are they responsive to communication, can you speak to someone on the phone as well as email?
Interruption or Cancellation of the Trip
Travel cancellations and delays (ugh!). They are one of the great frustrations of travelling. We often don’t fully understand why they happen (and sometimes we don’t care). But the fact is – they do come around once in a while and there’s not much you can do.
A good travel insurance policy will cover you for delays, though do make sure you read the fine print of your policy. Many insurers will only cover your departing flight from your home country and your flight returning, and won’t cover delays if you have flights inbetween.
Also, in most cases this travel delay cover will apply to flights only, not other modes of travel. So, if you’re leaving on a cruise, for instance, you should take out cruise travel insurance instead, which will cover your cruise delays.
Medical Coverage
If you find yourself in a life threatening situation, or wind up in an accident abroad, it’s often likely that you’re not going to be able to afford medical expenses on your own.
Too many people are traveling and living abroad with the misunderstanding that their domestic health cover is going to take care of them in the event of a tragedy or medical emergency. But your regular health insurance won’t cover you while abroad.
And it’s important to note that you don’t have to be on an adventurous trip for something to go terribly wrong. You could trip on a street corner, get hit by a car, or even eat something that just didn’t sit well with you. Or you could have a pre-existing medical condition kick in.
That’s not to dissuade you from traveling, but to make the point that there are many things which are out of your control.
Baggage Insurance
Loss and damage to personal belongings is a big reason why people purchase travel insurance, and it’s super handy to have your luggage and personal effects covered in the event that anything is stolen, lost or accidentally damaged while you’re abroad.
Depending on the policy conditions, this may cover luggage, personal effects, personal computers, and cameras.
Most comprehensive policies will also provide what’s called a “luggage and personal effects delay expense”, which lets you buy essential items of clothing and other personal items if your luggage is delayed, misdirected or misplaced for a set period of time.
Comparing Insurers
These are the main benefits offered by the best travel insurance in Australia. If you are looking at a policy with lacks any of these benefits, it’s not worth having.
It’s important to understand that no two insurance companies are alike – the policies and customer service they offer can vary greatly, so it’s important to shop around before you buy.
Websites that compare insurance companies who provide travel insurance are a great way to shop around and make an informed decision on the best policy for your needs. You should compare details like pricing, rating, reviews, policy description, etc.
And while no-one in their right mind loves reading pages of fine print, it’s incredibly important to read the full policy to understand if it is really useful for you or not. Don’t read half the page and then leave!
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Megan is an Australian Journalist and award-winning travel writer who has been blogging since 2007. Her husband Mike is the American naturalist and wildlife photographer behind Waking Up Wild; an online magazine dedicated to opening your eyes to the wonders of the wild & natural world.
Having visited 50+ countries across all seven continents, Megan’s travels focus on cultural immersion, authentic discovery and incredible journeys. She has a strong passion for ecotourism, and aims to promote responsible travel experiences.
26 Comments
This is very helpful information. In the past, I bought travel insurance when I went to Ecuador for nine weeks because I was traveling during the winter and the weather could have caused me travel problems.
Glad the information was helpful for you Alice :) And happy to hear that your time in Ecuador was incident free! But yes, always way better to be safe than sorry.
Travel insurance is an important and vital component of travel, but most of us do not pay enough attention to it. But one should before learning the hard way. These are some really good tips for going about getting the best insurance cover. It again depends on individual requirements and objectives. I feel that an annual plan cuts down a lot of hassles for frequent travellers.
I agree that more travelers should be paying attention to insurance – glad that our tips were helpful for you. Absolutely depends on your individual requirements, and we highly recommend tailoring a policy to suit the needs of individual people / trips.
We have an annual plan since we travel so frequently, and it really does cut out a lot of the stress and hassle :)
This article is an eye opener! I’ve always felt it’s expensive and unnecessary to have travel insurance- except of course for high risk travel. How wrong I was! I have actually been putting my personal finance at risk without having one!Truly insightful
I’m so glad we could bust those myths for you James :) I’ve had so many friends who’ve thought the same about only needing insurance for high risk travel, though have then broken arms by trying to get back on the boat after snorkelling, or been hit by a football while playing sport, or tripped over on cobblestones in Europe and broken their nose. All pretty low risk trips, but it happens to the best of us.
I’m glad that you haven’t needed to rely on travel insurance to date :) Highly recommend covering yourself for future trips though. Safe travels! X
Great info, thank you! I always have insurance but some of my naughty friends don’t!
Glad you enjoyed the post, and glad you’re all set with insurance! It’s going to be interesting to see how many countries jump on the trend in the future of forcing incoming tourists to have insurance – soon we may not have the luxury of opting out!
I have the feeling people are more concerned about their phone insurance than their health insurance while traveling.
Personally I have heard too many scary stories of high hospital bills to take any chance.
LOL Hanne you’re likely to be absolutely right!! And especially with the flimsy rate at which iphones are breaking these days!!
It absolutely comes down to that peace of mind and having the security of never having to take the chance.
This is just the kind of info I need right now, making my plans to switch to a nomadic lifestyle and health insurance was one of the items on my list of things to research – your post helps me immensely – thank you!
Glad you found the post useful Susan, let me know if you have any follow up questions.
Congrats on making the transition into a nomadic lifestyle!! It’s going to be such an amazing experience! Travel safe :)
Good information. So valuable!
Glad it was helpful :) Safe travels!
Based here in Canada, our news is filled with tons of stories of unprepared Canadians who travel to the US without insurance and then are stuck with massive bills (up to one million dollars!) for emergencies like premature deliveries and neo-natal care.
Even if you don’t think you’re likely to have a life threatening emergency, think of how insanely easy it is to sprain your ankle. Your life isn’t in danger, but you’ll be in extreme pain and your trip will be a write off.
It’s shocking! Seriously, the US system of healthcare is absolutely insane – I’ve heard of medical bills absolutely bankrupting people here.
Your advice is fantastic and absolutely spot on – it doesn’t have to be a medical emergency for you to rack up a ridiculous bill – even just a simple doctor’s consult for an everyday injury could come to the same cost as your trip itself.
Thanks for sharing your experience Vanessa!
Great article! There is so much about insurance that is confusing. This is helpful for anyone traveling abroad. THANKS!
Thanks Lori! Insurance can definitely be an overwhelming topic, though hopefully we’ve laid everything out in an easy to understand way.
Insurance can be so complicated! So glad for Australia’s medicare system.
We do have it very lucky indeed! Looking forward to spending some time next year traveling domestically around Aus, so medicare is going to really help from that respect :)
This is a great reminder… do your homework before you leave home when you embark on an adventure. It’s true, nobody ever knows when a medical emergency could come up while traveling. Bringing light to what could happen, something as simple as food poisoning, can be a major event and travel insurance would have been helpful. Great insight and again, thanks for the reminder of how important travel insurance is.
Glad we could help Sara, I agree, I think the biggest thing is to remind people that none of us are invincible, and it could literally be something simple which lands us in strife. Travel insurance is one of those things you never want to have to regret not having taken out.
I can’t believe people insure their homes and cars but travel and don’t consider travel insurance.
I know, the logic is a bit off!!
Travel insurance is so important, and can be really confusing! Thank you so much for this ?
Glad the tips were helpful for you Ron :) Safe travels!