Buying travel insurance

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Where to buy?

You can buy travel insurance from a travel insurer, travel agent, insurance broker, credit card provider, or even from your health, home or car insurer.

How to buy?

You can buy travel insurance online – direct from the insurer's website, from a comparison site or through an airline booking site – over the counter or over the phone.

When to buy?

The best time to buy travel insurance is as soon as you know your travel dates and when you book and pay for the trip. This means you're covered if your trip is cancelled or if you're unable to travel, even before you set foot on a plane, train or ship.
But don't fret if you didn't buy travel insurance at the time you booked and paid for your trip. Just make sure you buy travel insurance before your departure date. It's better than not buying it at all. And if you've already set off on your travels, some insurers will let you buy a policy after you've already departed Australia, but with conditions.

Case study

Lewis booked and paid for a holiday in Bali through an airline. During the booking process, the airline offered optional extras such as preferred seats, meals, and travel insurance. Lewis chose to purchase travel insurance. Later, he contacted the airline to reschedule his holiday for a month later.

While on holiday, Lewis became unwell and had to see a doctor. He only discovered afterwards that he didn't have insurance coverage. His policy had expired because it covered only his original travel dates, not the rescheduled ones. When Lewis changed his travel dates with the airline, he also needed to notify the insurer.

No matter how you purchase your travel insurance, be sure to understand your coverage and inform your insurer if your plans change.

What to buy?

So, you're being a smart traveller and buying insurance. And you can certainly buy travel insurance quicker than it takes you to read this guide, but do you know what you'll be covered for? Will you be covered if you injure yourself after having a few drinks? If you crash your scooter in Thailand? If you lose your wallet during a stopover? If you miss a flight because of a car accident?

"93% of people who travelled with insurance were unaware or unsure of at least one common policy exclusion"

ICA & DFAT Travel Insurance Survey 2024

There are a lot of 'what ifs' to consider, depending on where you're going and what you'll be doing. It's worth reading the product disclosure statement (PDS) first to make sure you'll be covered.

Case study

Nikos and his family from Melbourne were visiting extended family in Greece during a planned three-week holiday. Midway through the trip, Nikos' father, a Greek national who lives locally, became seriously ill and was admitted to hospital.

Nikos and his family needed to stay in Greece to support Nikos' father while doctors assessed his condition. They couldn't return home as planned.

Fortunately, their insurance policy's trip interruption benefits covered the illness of a close relative or someone they were staying with. Nikos' insurer covered $4500 AUD in flight change costs. The family could arrange return flights once Nikos' father was well enough.

Under most insurance policies, the insurance period is automatically extended if an insured event prevents you from completing your trip. So the family's coverage was extended at no cost, allowing them to stay longer without buying extra insurance.

Will you use your travel insurance?

Hopefully not, but here are the most common claimed events:

  • Flight or tour cancelled
  • Flight delayed more than 12 hours
  • Missed a connecting flight
  • Received medical treatment
  • Lost, damaged or stolen luggage
  • Lost, damaged or stolen cash or personal items
  • Forced to cancel trip before departure

What if the insurers don't pay out?

Did you know that Australian travellers lodged over 310,000 insurance claims in 2023–24. Over 206,000 claims were accepted, paying out almost $559 million.

Top reasons for declined claims

  • Due to policy exclusions, or not included in the policy conditions
  • Claim amount was below the excess
  • Claim was due to a pre-existing medical condition
  • Claim was for an item that was stolen while it was unattended

NOTE: Data from General Insurance Code Governance Committee (2024), General Insurance Industry Data and Compliance Report 2023–24.

It's important to understand what your travel insurance will cover. Every trip and destination is different. Every traveller is different. So, if one traveller is 18 going bungee jumping and another is 81 going on a cruise, it makes sense their insurance needs are different, too.

Travel insurance with cancellation options can cover your expenses to cancel due to:

  • sickness or injury
  • natural disasters
  • family emergencies and
  • other unexpected circumstances.

You should notify your insurer immediately when cancellation becomes necessary. If you're covered, your insurer will guide you through trying to recoup costs from travel providers like airlines and accommodation first and then cover what's left over.

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