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The best travel insurance – 3,000 policies analysed (seriously…!)

It wasn't our idea of fun, but now your trip can be.

Travel Insurance
Top pick for
Value
Southern Cross International Comprehensive - Single Trip
  • Get an online quote in just a few minutes
  • Free cover for dependent kids, under 21 travelling with you
  • Optional add-on cover for your valuables
Top pick for
COVID
Medibank International Comprehensive Travel Insurance
  • Health members get 15% off
  • Cheaper than average
  • COVID cancellation
Top pick for
Families
World2cover International Top Cover Travel Insurance
  • Covers children up to age 25
  • Kids travel for free
  • COVID cover included
Top pick for
Domestic
InsureandGo Gold Domestic
  • Claim up to $5,000 for COVID cancellations
  • Claim up to $50,000 for cancellation costs
  • $7,500 rental car excess cover
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Get help finding the best travel insurance policies

Our insurance specialists have gathered 300+ quotes for 50+ popular Australian travel insurance policies. We shortlisted 4 policies based on 2023 Finder Awards, customer reviews and expert analysis. Remember, there's no single best travel insurance policy that suits everyone's needs, since we all have different travel plans and needs.

Why you can trust our research

50+

Insurance plans analysed

3,000

PDS features analysed

1,200

Recent travelers surveyed

2.6 million

Quotes served since 2014

Left leaf Gary Hunter Right leaf Our picks

Great for value

Southern cross
Best Travel Insurance - Comprehensive

If you're looking for a good value and trustworthy insurer, it's hard to look past Southern Cross. It has a really high customer rating. We also found its Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) much easier to understand than any other travel insurer. I've personally used them before and found their customer service to be really helpful too.
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Great for COVID cover

Medibank

The majority of comprehensive travel insurance policies cover COVID now but Medibank is a standout. Its $10,000 limit for COVID related trip cancellations is double the majority of insurers. Considering that 42% of Australians spend an average of $6,765 on holidays, Medibank is a safe choice. It also has a helpline that lets you chat to a doctor at any time.

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Great for families

World2cover logo

World2Cover lets kids under 25 travel for free, so long as they're financially dependent on you. Most insurers including Cover-More and Southern Cross stop offering free cover when your children turn 20. It has a 9.4 Finder Score and out of the 50+ Product Disclosure Statements I looked at, it was one of the easiest to understand.

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Great for domestic travel

insureandgo
Best Travel Insurance - Domestic

InsureandGo's Domestic Gold is ideal for budget-friendly trips in Australia. It's half the price of the average domestic policy which is largely why it won Finder's 2023 Best Domestic Travel Insurance Award. Cancellations, travel delays and rental car excess cover are all automatically included. The main drawback is its Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) which we found confusing. There are several instances where you won't be covered for specific events such as cancellations.
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Keep in mind: there's no single best travel insurance policy that suits everyone, since we all have different travel plans and needs.

Over 2 million left Australian shores in December 2023, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. That's an annual increase of 500,000+ people.

Looking for the best travel insurance in Australia?

To help you figure out what travel insurance company is the best in 2023, we asked over 1,200 Australians for their opinion and got our insurance experts to rate some of Australia's well-known brands.

BrandFinder score Customer satisfaction rating Would you recommend this brand?
Qantas Insurance8.8/10★★★★★ 4.17/590%
Southern Cross9/10★★★★★ 4.16/581%
CoverMore Logo7/10★★★★★ 4.16/593%
insureandgo9.4/10★★★★★ 4.05/585%
Tick-Travel Insurance Logo8/10★★★★★ 4.42/595%
Fast Cover Logo8.6/10★★★★★ 4.01/581%
Medibank Logo9/10★★★★★ 4.13/580%
ahm insurance7.9/10★★★★★ 4.11/587%
1Cover Logo7.1/10★★★★★ 4.10/584%
Allianz Logo7.4/10★★★★★ 4.11/585%
Bupa Logo7.4/10★★★★★ 4.16/591%
HCF Travel insurance7.6/10★★★★★ 4.18/588%
nib travel insurance6.9/10★★★★★ 4.18/585%
NRMA Travel Insurance Logo8.2/10★★★★★ 4.24/589%

Tips to find best travel insurance with COVID cover

Most travel insurers offer COVID cover now and most will cover you for similar COVID-related travel expenses. However, there are still some things you can do to make sure you're getting the right policy for you:

Number 1

Take out cover for all travellers

Whether you're travelling with your partner or the whole family, make sure that you add them to the insurance policy. That way, if someone catches COVID but you don't, you'll still be covered for expenses.

Number 2

Get a policy as soon as you book your trip

That way, you're covered if you get sick and need to cancel. A few insurers including Cover-More and Easy Travel Insurance also won't accept COVID-related claims within 21 days of your trip, so make sure you take out cover at least 3 weeks before you jet off.

Number 3

Check the exclusions

It can be tedious but make sure you give the exclusions in the PDS a read before you buy. For example, you won't be covered for costs related to border closures. It means that you might be out of pocket for prepaid accommodation or booked airline tickets if the government of that country imposes a lockdown.

Coronavirus
How travel insurance can cover COVID: A real-life example

Jillian, Kerry and Tyson travelled from Sydney to Dallas. 10 days in, Tyson (Jillian's son) caught COVID, a day before the family was supposed to leave for a ski trip in Colorado. As a result, they had to rearrange their travel plans.

Unfortunately, Jillian got COVID later and the family had to send Tyson and Kerry home to Sydney, while Jillian stayed another 4 days until she tested negative. She then rebooked her trip home.

Their insurer, Southern Cross Travel Insurance, covered just under $3,000 in costs. The family paid a $500 excess to claim on 2 events.

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Why you can trust Finder's travel insurance experts

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expert adviceYou save time. We spend 100s of hours researching travel insurance so you can sort the gold from the junk faster.
independentYou can trust us. We say it like it is. We aren't owned by an insurer and our opinions are our own.

Best travel insurance FAQs

Jason Loewenthal's headshot
To make sure you get accurate and helpful information, this guide has been edited by Jason Loewenthal as part of our fact-checking process.
Gary Ross Hunter's headshot
Editor, Insurance & Innovations

Gary Ross Hunter was an editor at Finder, specialising in insurance. He’s been writing about life, travel, home, car, pet and health insurance for over 6 years and regularly appears as an insurance expert in publications including The Sydney Morning Herald, The Guardian and news.com.au. Gary holds a Kaplan Tier 2 General Advice General Insurance certification which meets the requirements of ASIC Regulatory Guide 146 (RG146). See full bio

Gary Ross's expertise
Gary Ross has written 725 Finder guides across topics including:
  • Health, home, life, car, pet and travel insurance
  • Managing the cost of living

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