Online Travel Insurance
Compare your online travel insurance options here with Savvy.
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Taking out travel insurance is a key part of the holiday planning process, whether it be for a quick trip across the country or a month-long journey around the world. It’s important to consider as many options as you can before you purchase your policy, so you can compare travel insurance online with Savvy today.
By looking at a wider range of options from around Australia, rather than the first one you find, you can pick out the most suitable policy for you in terms of cost and coverage with more confidence. Start the 100% online process with us today and have your travel insurance sorted before you know it from the convenience of your computer or smart device.
What are my online travel insurance options?
When it comes to choosing the right policy, it’s important to consider the array of options available to you as a traveller. You can purchase travel insurance online with most insurers, and there's a wide variety of offers you can choose from, including:Â
Comprehensive travel insurance
Comprehensive travel insurance can offer a wide range of covered events whilst away from home. While the terms and conditions will differ between providers and policies, the main coverage areas offered by comprehensive insurance are:
- General or emergency medical expenses (overseas only)
- Loss or theft of, or damage to, insured items
- Cancellation fees charged for non-refundable bookings such as flights, hotel bookings and more (although these will depend on your insurer's terms and conditions)
- Personal liability if found at fault for injury or property damage (which may reach up to $5 million with some insurers)
- The excess on a hire car if it’s damaged in your possession
The more inclusions offered by your travel insurance policy, the more you'll have to pay for it. However, more comprehensive policies also offer higher claim limits and more benefits.
Basic travel insurance
An alternative to comprehensive insurance, basic travel insurance is a cheaper type of insurance which strips back the overall coverage offered. These are commonly known as medical-only policies, as they cover medical expenses and not a lot else. However, loss of property (or damage to it) and cancellations can sometimes be included in basic insurance policies by some insurers, but they're generally offered with a lower limit.Â
Some policies will enable you to add certain activities like winter sports for an added premium, as is the case for property claims.Â
International and domestic travel insurance
Next, you’ll have to determine whether you’ll be journeying domestically or abroad. While these types of policies are largely similar in terms of their coverage, the key difference between them is that international insurance will cover you for medical expenses, while domestic policies won’t. This is because Medicare (and private health insurance, if you have such cover) will apply in Australia, negating the need for your travel insurance to cover medical treatment in Australia.Â
Annual travel insurance
Annual or multi-trip travel insurance is designed for those who plan to take multiple trips over 12 months. The total amount of travel you can be covered for will vary depending on the insurer and policy, but some insurers can offer cover for holidays up to as many as 90 days each. If you’re a frequent flyer planning more than two trips over the next 12 months, an online annual policy could possibly be a more cost-effective way of insuring yourself, as opposed to buying insurance for each individual trip.
Single-trip travel insurance
The standard policy offered by all insurers is a single-trip policy. As the name suggests, this will cover you for one trip which starts and ends in Australia. This can extend to as long as 12 months, but this may vary depending on your insurer.Â
One-way travel insurance
Travelling overseas without a set end date? One-way travel insurance offers coverage to those departing Australia without a return ticket. This can offer cover up to 12 months after you leave the country, but some providers may allow you to extend your policy by up to 12 months while you’re still overseas.
How do I buy travel insurance online?
The process of buying travel insurance online is a very simple one, as it’ll all be conducted through your insurer’s website. It’s helpful to be familiar with this process before you dive into your application so you can be sure of what information you’ll need in advance. The process is as follows:
- Think about the cover you’ll need: before picking your insurer, it’s crucial to give some thought to your needs as a traveller. For example, are you travelling to and from Singapore three or four times throughout the year to see family? If so, an annual policy is available for frequent travellers. Are you travelling as a family? Travel policies designed for families may also be available with some insurers. Being clear about the type of insurance you want will help you pick out the most suitable insurance for your needs.
- Complete a free, no-obligation quote:Â you'll need to tell the insurer where you're going, how long you're going for, who you require insurance for, the age of the travellers, and what type of insurance you're after.
- Compare the offers that you receive online: the offers will be based on the information you have provided, so will be tailored to your specific demographics.
- Choose your insurer and go through to the website to complete your purchase: just follow the prompts to quickly buy the travel insurance option you have chosen.
What factors can impact the cost of my travel insurance policy?
The cost of your policy isn’t simply the same automatically generated figure insurers provide for each of their customers. In reality, there are many aspects of your profile which can impact the cost of your insurance, including:
- Your age: the older you are, the more you’re likely to pay in premiums. This is because older travellers are seen as being more likely to make a claim whilst travelling. As such, those under 60 will generally pay less for their travel insurance than more senior travellers.
- Your destination: different countries have different levels of risk as determined by insurers. For example, it’d be much cheaper in terms of premiums for you to get insured for a New Zealand trip than one to the United States due in large part to the cost of their respective healthcare systems.
- Your pre-existing conditions: if you have a pre-existing health condition, you may have to pay more to access cover for expenses which may arise as a result of the condition. Not all pre-existing conditions will be covered, however, so it's important to compare insurers to see whether yours can be included.
- The size of your excess: your excess is the sum you pay your insurer when you make a claim. The greater your excess, the lower your premium will likely be overall, but lower excesses will result in more costly premiums.
Types of travel insurance
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How to compare travel insurance policies online
Inclusions and exclusions
Above all else, it’s important to have access to the coverage you need, so you should always familiarise yourself with your insurer’s Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) so you know what is and isn’t included in your policy. For example, different insurers may offer cover for different pre-existing conditions, while others may not cover certain activities automatically (such as snowboarding or scuba diving).
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Premium cost
You shouldn’t have to pay more than you need to for your insurance. Applying for a quote with different insurers is likely to yield very different results in terms of cost, so it’s important to compare your options thoroughly on this basis so you can look for the most affordable policy which offers cover in the areas you need.
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Countries covered
Additionally, not all insurers will cover all countries around the world, so make sure you’ll have access to cover across all your planned locations. This includes those in which you’re only stopping over, as lost luggage on a connecting flight could still prompt a claim before you reach your main destination.
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Excess requirements
You can usually set your own excess on your policy, so if you want to set a particularly high or low excess, it’s worth comparing insurers to see which one offers you the most choice. For instance, you may look for a policy that enables you to increase your excess to allow for cheaper premiums, while others may search for insurers and policies which may not charge any excess.Â
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Claim limits
For certain aspects of your policy, such as items and cancellations, you may be covered up to a set limit. Different insurers and policies will have different limits in place for claimable items, such as a combined $2,000 limit for personal effects (which may be up to $15,000 under different policies).Â
Common travel insurance queries answered
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Disclaimer:
We do not compare all travel insurance brands currently operating in the market. Any advice presented above or on other pages is general in nature and does not consider your personal or business objectives, needs or finances. It’s always important to consider whether advice is suitable for you before purchasing an insurance policy.
Savvy earns a commission from our partners each time a customer buys a travel insurance policy via our website. We don’t arrange for products to be purchased from these brands directly, as all purchases are conducted via their websites.
Before purchasing your policy, we recommend you refer to the provider’s PDS for any further information on the terms, inclusions and exclusions.