What is travel insurance? 

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Travel insurance is a type of insurance that provides protection for unexpected events that can occur while you are travelling. 

When you purchase travel insurance, you will pay a premium (or an amount of money) to the insurance company. In return, the insurance company will pay for certain situations that may arise while you are travelling.

You can purchase travel insurance for travel in Australia, or overseas. 

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Types of travel insurance​

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There are two types of travel insurance:

1. Single trip insurance

For this type of travel insurance, you tell the insurance company when and where you are travelling. This will change the cost of your travel insurance. 

 

 2. Multi-trip insurance

This type of travel insurance is for unlimited travel within a set period, usually one year. You do not have to tell the insurance company where you are travelling, or when.

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What is covered?

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Before you purchase travel insurance, check the terms and conditions of your policy carefully. If you do not understand them, ask to speak to someone. The terms and conditions will explain what your travel insurance policy does and does not cover.

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Generally, travel insurance provides cover for:

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• Injury or sickness while travelling. This is important if you are travelling overseas, because Medicare does not cover you while you are in a foreign country. 

• Lost luggage

• Last-minute cancellations of flights, activities or accommodation

• Evacuation costs

• Theft and robberies

• Hire car insurance excesses

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It is important to consider the following things when choosing a travel insurance policy:

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• Type of cover. Comprehensive travel insurance covers most things for most people in most situations. By contrast, basic travel insurance is cheaper but covers less things - usually only health and medical emergencies. It is important to consider which is best for you. 

• Travel credit card insurance. Many credit cards come with free travel insurance. However, this is usually very limited and may not cover many situations. It is a good idea to compare the terms and conditions of this type of insurance with a comprehensive travel insurance policy. 

• Excluded activities. Travel insurance policies often list 'excluded activities'. If you do these activities, your travel insurance will not cover you. Common excluded activities include adventurous and risky things like skiing, mountaineering, rock climbing, underwater diving and quad biking. It is important to check what activities are excluded in your travel insurance policy and think about whether you will be doing these activities. Try to choose a policy that covers all the activities you will be doing.

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What isn't covered?

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What you are covered for depends on the policy you buy. 

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Generally, however, you won't be covered if something goes wrong while you are:

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• Breaking the law. For example, if you injure yourself while you are riding a motorcycle without a helmet, then you will not be able to make a claim. 

• Under the influence of alcohol of drugs, even within the legal limit. For example, if you are driving a car while under the influence of alcohol, even if you are less than 0.05, you may not be able to make a claim. 

• Doing an excluded activity. If your travel insurance excludes riding a motorcycle, and you injure yourself while riding a motorcycle, then you will not be able to make a claim. 

• In a 'Do not travel' destination. Check smarttraveller.gov.au/destinations before you travel overseas. If you travel to a 'Do not travel' destination, then you will not be able to make a claim. 

• The theft of items you left unattended. If you leave bags or other items alone and they are stolen, then you may not be able to make a claim. 

• Claims caused by a pre-existing condition you did not tell the travel insurance company about before you bought the insurance policy. If you have a previous medical condition, such as epilepsy or Type 1 diabetes, and you do not tell your travel insurance company about this, then you will not be able to make a claim for anything related to this condition while travelling. If you have a pre-existing condition, you are still able to purchase travel insurance that covers that illness, but it may be more expensive.

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How to submit a claim? 

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You can submit a travel insurance claim through your insurance company. You will need to check their website or call them to submit a claim. Your insurance company will probably need you to:

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• Provide your policy information, such as your policy number

• Provide information about the incident, such as the date and the damage/loss you are claiming for

• Provide information about any other people involved

 

If you are claiming on your travel insurance because of theft, then you must provide evidence of theft. You can do this by providing a police report number. This means that if you are robbed while travelling, you must report the theft to the local police before you can make a claim on your insurance.

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Where do I go if my claim is rejected?

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If your claim is rejected, or if you are unhappy with the outcome of your claim, the first step is to make an internal complaint. This means that you complain to your insurance companyitself. You can do this via your insurance company's website or by calling them.

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If you are still unhappy, the next step is to make an external complaint. This means that you complain to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA). AFCA is an independent and free dispute resolution scheme that can help you with any complaints you have about insurance companies. 

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You can make a complaint with AFCA:

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1. On their website at  www.afca.org.au

2. By emailing them at info@afca.org.au

3. By calling them on 1800 931 678 

 

To complain to AFCA, you will need to provide them with the following information:

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• The issue you want to complain about

• The outcome you want to achieve

• Any documents that support your complaint

 

You can complain to AFCA yourself, or you can authorise someone you trust to complain on your behalf. 

It is important to know that AFCA can only consider complaints made within 2 years of the internal complaint decision. If you receive an internal decision you are unhappy with, it is a good idea to complain to AFCA as soon as possible.