What Does Travel Insurance Cover?

One of the perks of travel insurance is that it can offer you coverage across a wide range of areas, whether you’re taking a domestic holiday around Australia or jetting overseas. However, this depends on the level of cover you choose and how much you’re willing to spend. Some of the benefits covered under comprehensive travel insurance policies include:

1. Overseas medical and hospital bills: being caught overseas without travel insurance could see you forking out thousands of dollars in unnecessary medical expenses if you require healthcare. The cost of treatment for tourists in certain countries, such as America, is eye-watering, so it pays to take out cover when you’re travelling abroad.
2. Evacuation: if you’ve fallen gravely ill and your insurance provider’s medical team determine you should return home, they’ll cover the cost of bringing you home to Australia. This also includes if you’re in a remote location and have to be evacuated.
3. Cancellation: most travel insurance providers let you cancel your trip and retain the money you’ve already shelled out for hotels and flights. You’ll need a valid reason for cancelling, however, such as sustaining an injury that prevents you from travelling or needing to care for a family member who has been struck down with an illness.
4. Delays: planes don’t always run like clockwork, and your travel insurer understands this. That’s why many allow you to claim a modest amount for accommodation, meals and essentials for every 24-hour block you’re left waiting for your flight.
5. Lost, stolen or damaged belongings: losing your baggage or having it stolen can be an absolute nightmare. If your belongings are stolen or damaged, your insurance company can cover the cost of replacing or repairing them so you can get back what you’ve lost.
6. Personal liability: being embroiled in an accident can be costly, with the legal fees tending to pile up. If you’re personally liable for someone else's injury or damage to property, your insurance company usually covers you up to $5 million.
7. Pre-existing conditions: in most cases, insurers will have a list of about 40 pre-existing medical conditions which are automatically rolled into their standard policies. These include some types of diabetes, asthma and glaucoma. If you suffer from a more severe illness, such as a heart condition, you will need to pay extra for a cover.
8. Theft of cash: whether you’re on holiday in the Middle East or walking the back roads of Sicily, pickpockets can strike at any moment. If you have your hard-earned cash swiped, your insurer allows you to claim back up to $250. However, they’ll usually require you to submit a report to a relevant authority, such as the police or your airline, if you want to make a claim.
9. Accidental death: from time to time, holidays can turn into tragedy. Suppose you succumb to an illness or death due to a covered incident. In that case, your travel insurer would cover the cost of bringing your body home and any associated expenses, such as your funeral or cremation.
10. Rental car excess: specific travel insurance policies automatically include cover for the excess on a hire car which protects you when you’re on the road, which generally reaches up to $8,000 to $10,000. This may sometimes come in the form of an optional extra, however.
11. COVID-19 expenses: many insurers provide cover for COVID-19-related costs, such as medical treatment or needing to cancel your holiday because you or a loved one at home has tested positive.

Travel insurance companies don’t automatically include cover for ‘high-risk’ activities such as riding motorcycles, scuba diving or rock climbing. Therefore, you’ll need to pay a higher premium if you want to protect yourself while participating in these recreational activities.