Domestic travel insurance: Australia

While Medicare can help with a range of medical mishaps during your staycation, you’ll want domestic travel insurance if you’re seeking cover for trip cancellations, theft or damage to your belongings and rental vehicle excess cover.

Updated Jul 26, 2021. What changed?

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Domestic travel insurance and COVID-19

Are you planning a domestic trip in Australia? Now that restrictions have eased, you might be wondering what kind of cover is available for you.

Here's what you need to know:

You'll still be covered for things like your baggage and cancellations (not related to the pandemic).
There is some cover (with certain brands only) that could cover you if you're diagnosed with COVID-19, are exposed to an active case or the person you're staying with is exposed.
You'll unlikely be covered for unforeseen border closures or travel restrictions.
You should always check your product disclosure statement (PDS) for specific details and head to our guide on coronavirus travel insurance for more information.

Here are some brands offering insurance for domestic trips

COVID-19 expenses	Cooling-off period	Theft or damage to luggage	Standard excess	Apply
Some cover	21 days	Up to $15,000	$200	Get quote
Some cover	14 days	Up to $15,000	$200	Get quote
Some cover	21 days	Optional add-on	$100	Get quote
Some cover	14 days	Up to $7,500	$200	Get quote
Some cover	21 days	Up to $15,000	$250	Get quote
Some cover	14 days	Up to $7,500	$200	Get quote
Some cover	14 days	Up to $5,000	$200	Get quote
Some cover	14 days	Up to $15,000	$100	Get quote
Some cover	14 days	Up to $7,500	$200	Get quote
Some cover	21 days	Up to $15,000	$250	Get quote
Some cover	14 days	Up to $15,000	$100	More info
Some cover	21 days	Up to $12,000	$250	More info
Some cover	21 days	Up to $15,000	$250	More info
Some cover	14 days	Up to $15,000	$200	More info
Some cover	21 days	Up to $8,000	$250	More info
Some cover	14 days	Up to $10,000	$200	More info
Some cover	21 days	Up to $15,000	$100	More info
Some cover	21 days	Up to $15,000	$250	More info
Some cover	21 days	Up to $4,000	$250	More info
Some cover	21 days	Up to $15,000	$250	More info
Some cover	14 days	Up to $10,000	$200	More info
Some cover	14 days	Up to $2,000	$100	More info
Some cover	14 days	Up to $2,000	$100	More info

Domestic travel insurance can protect your pocket when things start to go a bit awry. Policies range from basic cover for trip cancellations only, all the way up to comprehensive policies with added winter sports cover.

Use our table below to compare domestic travel insurance and find the right policy for your trip, or read on for more information about what typically is and isn't covered in domestic insurance policies.

Good reasons to get domestic travel insurance in Australia

Domestic travel insurance is important Down Under for a number of reasons. These include:

Protect yourself against cancellations. Cover if you have to cancel anything you've pre-booked due to things outside of your control, such as a sickness or death in the family.
Cover for your luggage/property. Without your clothes and belongings, your trip could go downhill fast. Getting cover for luggage and property can help you buy the things you need should your airline lose your luggage or it gets delayed
If you're hiring a car. Adding rental car excess cover onto your policy is generally cheaper than purchasing from the rental company
Cover if you're going on a snow trip. Most brands offer ski insurance policies that will cover your equipment and reimburse you for unused lift passes if something goes wrong. There are similar policies for golfers, too.
Cover if you're going on a domestic cruise. Unless there's a Medicare-approved doctor on board your domestic cruise, you're responsible for your treatment costs. If it's serious, it could end up costing you thousands of dollars. Plus, you can get cover for cruise-specific benefits such as pre-paid shore excursions and cabin confinement.
Cover for other travel delay hiccups. A delayed flight could lead you to being forced to fork out money for an expensive taxi or paying for late check-in. Travel delay expenses help cover the costs of these things.

Start your search for the right policy

Compare domestic travel insurance

There are loads of domestic travel insurance policies to choose from. While most cover similar situations, you will find some differences with price and benefit limits. It's also often the case that certain benefits are automatically included or offered as add-ons.

Here is a list of some of our partners and how their domestic policies compare. The policy cost is based on a hypothetical 14-day trip taken by a 28-year-old traveller between 29 May and 11 June 2019.

	1 Cover	Australia Post	Zoom
Trip cancellation	Unlimited	$10,000	Unlimited
Emergency expenses	$50,000	$10,000	$50,000
Travel delay expenses	$2,000	$1,000	$2,000
Luggage and personal belongings	$15,000	$4,000	$7,500
Resumption of journey	No cover	No cover	Included
Rental car excess	$5,000	$3,000	$5,000
Policy cost	$49.67	$72.00	$38.47

How to find the best domestic travel insurance

The best domestic travel insurance policy is the one that offers high benefit limits for the situations that matter most to you and also covers you for a wider variety of situations.

Here are some ways you can identify which policy is the best one for you:

What are the benefit limits? A benefit limit is the maximum amount of money you can be repaid for any specific area of cover. For many travellers, the most important areas of cover will be trip cancellation and lost luggage. Look for policies with unlimited cancellation cover and enough lost luggage cover to replace all of your luggage and personal belongings if someone stole them or the airline lost them.
Are you going to a wedding or other special event? If a transport delay will cause you to miss a special event (such as a wedding, funeral or 50th wedding anniversary), the best policy will cover your expenses to make last-minute arrangements to be there on time. Other policies might pay you back for some of the money you spent on the event if you miss it, but they won't do anything to get you there on time.
Do they give you separate benefit limits for separate areas of cover? The best policies will structure it this way, whereas average policies will offer you one benefit limit for multiple areas of cover. For example, the emergency expenses benefit covers you if you suddenly become ill on your trip and you need to come home or spend extra on emergency accommodation. However, some policies bundle this together with trip cancellation cover, meaning you don't actually have as much trip cancellation cover as you originally thought.
Are you renting a car? If you take out car insurance on your rental car, your out-of-pocket expenses (or your excess) can run into the thousands of dollars if you cause an accident. Rental car excess insurance will help you pay for that. Most policies offer this, but the best policy will be the one that offers you cover for the excess amount of the vehicle, no more or less. You can find out your car hire excess before or when you book your rental car.
Does it automatically cover special activities? Many policies will make you pay extra if you want to be covered for riskier activities such as skiing, motorcycle riding and cruising. If you will be doing any of these activities, the best policy will cover them automatically or at very little extra cost.

Find the best policy for you

How to find cheap domestic travel insurance

Finding a cheap domestic travel insurance policy shouldn't be difficult. Here are a few simple ways you can reduce your domestic travel insurance premium:

Buy a bare-bones policy. Some insurers offer budget policies that only cover you for the most costly risks, like needing to cancel your trip or cut it short due to an emergency. Obviously, you won't be covered for as much, but if you're looking to save, this is the easiest way to do it.
Increase your excess. You can reduce your premium by agreeing to pay a higher excess on your claims. Just don't increase your excess to a level you'd have a hard time paying.
Bargain shop. Insurers often run special promotions. If you look hard enough, you'll find coupon codes, giveaways and loyalty incentives.
Buy a joint policy. Many insurers will give you a discount if you and your travelling companion (be it friend or partner) take out a policy together. You'll each receive full benefits in most cases.
Don't add options you don't need. Some people need extra cover, especially if their trip involves expensive hobbies like skiing. But if your flights and activities didn't cost much, you can go with a more no-frills policy instead.
Shop around. It definitely pays to weigh your options. Once you've determined what you need, comparing policies becomes much easier. Review your options carefully and pay attention to each policy's features, limitations and exclusions.

Is it worth it for a domestic trip?

Flights in and around Australia can often be quite affordable, so it's tempting to assume it's worth the risk to travel uninsured. To test this out, let's take a look at an example.

Example: Sarah breaks her leg, luckily she's got domestic travel insurance

Sarah is due to fly from Sydney to Perth for a 2-week holiday in Western Australia, but just before she leaves, she breaks her leg and is forced to cancel her trip. Under normal circumstances, she'd be out the $560 she paid for her non-refundable round-trip ticket.

Luckily she had the foresight to purchase a domestic travel insurance policy for less than 6 bucks a day, which entitled her to a full refund of the $560 fare. That's a $480 net gain. Not too shabby.

To top it off, Sarah's policy would have also covered a host of other cancellation fees and lost deposits had she also booked those. These include pre-booked accommodation, rental car hire and pre-booked tours.

So all of that would be refunded too.

* This is a fictional, but realistic, example.

Domestic cruise travel insurance

While you are justified in thinking that Medicare will cover you for any medical services on a domestic cruise, it's not necessarily the case.

Medicare will only cover the cost of your treatment if you're treated by a Medicare-approved doctor. However, cruise lines aren't required to hire Medicare-approved doctors, so taking out medical cover is your safest bet. Medical cover is not usually covered under a domestic policy for most brands, so you might have to purchase an international policy instead. Check out your insurer's PDS to find out if it will cover your domestic cruise.

Another benefit to domestic cruise travel insurance is that it can cover you for issues that regularly occur while you are on a ship. These include:

Cabin confinement compensation. While medical cover is important, it can't cover you for the time you lose being sick or quarantined. Gastro is common on cruise ships for example, so if you're confined to your cabin, your cruise pack can pay you a daily benefit amount for as long as you're stuck inside.
Missed shore excursion cover. If you've pre-paid for an excursion on shore and you can't make it for reasons outside of your control, this lets you lodge a claim to have the costs reimbursed.
Missed cruise departure assistance. Similarly, if for reasons beyond your control you miss your departure, this can provide you with cover for other accommodation and travel expenses.

Just search for your domestic cruise travel insurance by clicking the button below, enter your trip details and filter the search by selecting Cruise Cover on the sidebar under Specific Cover Types.

Search domestic cruise travel insurance

Car rental excess with your domestic policy

While you could just get car rental excess insurance by itself, this will only cover your rental car and the cost is often much higher*. Just check out the example below to see why domestic travel insurance is worth that little extra.

Example: Greg doesn't get travel insurance for a road trip

Greg and his wife Gwen decided to take a road trip down to Melbourne. They rent a luxury vehicle from a rental car company to add some fun to their week-long journey.

A day before they left, Greg considered taking out a domestic travel insurance policy for $47. As well as cover for personal liability, cancellation fees and more, the policy would have provided $6,000 cover for rental vehicle insurance excess. Unfortunately, Greg forgot to purchase cover.

When Greg picked up the rental car, the rental company offered the option of purchasing a car rental excess reduction for $25 a day. The cost was quoted $175 in total, to reduce the excess payable in the case of an accident from $3,000 to $100.

Greg was keen to pinch his pennies and chose not to purchase cover.

So when Greg failed to check his mirror and reversed into a Mini in the carpark of a fast-food restaurant, he knew he'd made a big mistake. Not only did he break a tail light on the rental, Greg also dented the bumper and significantly scratched the paintwork.

Without domestic travel insurance cover in place or even the rental company's excess reduction waiver, he had to pay the standard insurance excess of $3,000.

Cost of damage done to vehicle: $1,900

Insurance excess Greg must pay: $3,000

Cost of domestic travel insurance: $47

Amount Greg could have saved had he taken out cover: $2,953

* This is a fictional, but realistic, example.

To search for domestic policies with car rental excess cover included, click the search button below and enter your trip details. Filter your search by selecting "Rental vehicle excess" on the sidebar and compare your options.

Domestic travel insurance with car rental excess

Annual domestic travel insurance in Australia

If you're a frequent traveller, or travel 3 or more times per year, purchasing annual multi-trip travel insurance can be much more cost-effective than buying a separate policy for each trip you take.

Annual multi-trip domestic travel insurance provides cover for all the holidays you embark upon within Australia across a 12-month period. There's usually a maximum limit on the length of each individual trip, but otherwise these policies provide all the benefits you would expect in an ordinary travel insurance policy.

What's not covered with domestic travel insurance?

Because of Australia's public healthcare system, Medicare, domestic travel insurance rarely provides medical cover. As well as this, insurers will provide you a list of circumstances that will void your cover. These are called exclusions. Here are some you may encounter:

You didn't disclose a pre-existing condition. You'll be denied for claims related to pre-existing conditions unless your insurer approved it ahead of time. If you have an ailment, tell the insurer before signing up.
You were careless with your belongings. Don't leave your stuff unattended. If it's stolen, the insurer won't replace it.
You acted recklessly. Say goodbye to your claim if you're drunk or high, or if you break the law.
You ignored medical advice. If the doctor says don't travel, you should probably listen. It's dangerous to your health and your claim.
You cancelled your trip for no good reason. Your insurer won't reimburse you just because you changed your mind about travelling.

Frequently asked questions about Australian domestic travel insurance

The answer really depends on what you have planned for your holiday. If you've pre-booked a lot of your holiday expenses – caravan sites, tours, ferry tickets (e.g. Spirit of Tasmania) etc – cancellation cover can still be useful. Other benefits, such as cover for theft, stolen or damaged personal items and trip disruption costs, could also come in handy, so it's up to you to decide whether you need cover.
At the time of writing, there are no Australian insurers that offer a custom caravan holiday insurance product. Because of this, it's also important to examine the cover provided by your caravan insurance policy. Comprehensive caravan insurance covers loss or damage caused by accidents, fire, storm, theft, malicious damage and more, so it's worth reviewing your cover before hitting the road.
Only a select few brands will cover you for medical evacuation by road or air if you need it in Australia. Our researchers found that Travel Insurance Direct will cover up to $50,000 in expenses for medical evacuation or repatriation on home turf. If you're cruising on Australian waters and want to be covered for emergency medical evacuation, you'll typically need to purchase a comprehensive international travel insurance policy. Remember to read the fine print in your PDS to find out how you're covered.
Read more about Travel Insurance Direct.
No. Most insurers charge exactly the same no matter where you are travelling in Australia. This is good news for those flying across the country or staying somewhere fancy, because it means you won't be paying any extra even if your trip costs more. Even those travelling to remote locations will pay the same as they would if they were going anywhere else.
If you are going to the ski slopes, you have the option to buy additional ski cover that will cover you for bad weather, gear rental excess and lost/stolen equipment related to skiing. But this extra cost is not based on where you're travelling. It's based on what activities you will be doing.

Picture: Getty Images

Thank you for your feedback!

Gary Hunter

Gary Hunter is a writer at Finder, specialising in insurance. He’s been writing about life, health, travel, home and pet insurance for over three years, has pored over hundreds of product disclosure statements and written more than 500 insurance articles. Gary holds a Tier 1 General Insurance (General Advice) certification and is passionate about helping Aussies understand their policies so that they can get better value for their money.

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28 Responses

johnMarch 28, 2022

looking for insurance to cover cancellation of hotel booking if it is a necessity to do so

Reply
- finder Customer Care
  
  JamesApril 2, 2022Staff
  
  Hi John,
  
  Most comprehensive policies cover the costs of cancellation if it is due to unforeseen circumstances, such as illness or a death in the family.
  
  There are also some providers that have added additional cover for some situations linked to COVID-19. You can see some examples of travel insurance that covers COVID in our guide.
  
  There are a number of instances you won’t be able to claim for, such as if you’re unable to travel due to general travel restrictions such as lockdowns. Also, you can’t claim if you change your mind or book your travel after there’s been a warning for your holiday destination.
  
  Regards,
  James
  
  Reply
davidFebruary 12, 2022

best domestic travel policy including cancellation for seniors on organized tour

Reply
- finder Customer Care
  
  JamesMarch 2, 2022Staff
  
  Hi David,
  
  We can’t say what the ‘best’ option is, as the right travel cover will depend on your individual circumstances.
  
  However, you could look at our guide to seniors travel insurance and compare a range of policy features side-by-side.
  
  Don’t forget to review the provider’s PDS before committing to any insurance.
  
  Regards,
  James
  
  Reply
SusanJanuary 9, 2019

I’m trying to find which travel insurers will cover the 2 of us for an Australian interstate trip that has a flight to Bali in it. Is there just one policy I can purchase and with whom?

Thank you,
Susan

Reply
- finder Customer Care
  
  JeniJanuary 12, 2019Staff
  
  Hi Susan,
  
  Thank you for getting in touch with Finder.
  
  On this page you’re looking at you may enter all your destinations to start comparing your options. I suggest that you contact your chosen insurer to discuss your coverage and for further assistance on getting travel insurance to cover you and your companion.
  
  You may want to read more about getting travel insurance for your Bali trip.
  
  I hope this helps.
  
  Please feel free to reach out to us if you have any other enquiries.
  
  Thank you and have a wonderful day!
  
  Cheers,
  Jeni
  
  Reply
BarbaraAugust 7, 2017

I am going to rent a hire car. All the extra costs in case of an accident make it very expensive. Can I take out domestic insurance to help cover these extra costs.

Reply
- JonathanAugust 7, 2017
  
  Hello Barbara,
  
  Thank you for your inquiry.
  
  Please feel free to check your travel insurance car excess options. Use our comparison table on that page to find the right policy for you. Once you’re done comparing, select the “Get Quote” button to learn more.
  
  Please review the fine print and the requirements for cover.
  
  Hope this helps.
  
  Cheers,
  Jonathan
  
  Reply
JanJuly 2, 2017

Is Christmas Island considered to be domestic?

Reply
- finder Customer Care
  
  RenchJuly 2, 2017Staff
  
  Hi Jan,
  
  Thanks for your inquiry.
  
  Christmas Island is considered as international. You may check our page about international travel insurance to learn more about your travel and how you can find the right policy for you.
  
  I hope this helps.
  
  Cheers,
  Rench
  
  Reply

Domestic travel insurance: Australia

While Medicare can help with a range of medical mishaps during your staycation, you’ll want domestic travel insurance if you’re seeking cover for trip cancellations, theft or damage to your belongings and rental vehicle excess cover.