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Domestic Travel Insurance: Australia
Domestic travel insurance can cover you for cancellations, your belongings and travel delays.
We’re reader-supported and may be paid when you visit links to partner sites. We don’t compare all products in the market, but we’re working on it!
Travel insurance rules continue to change due to the coronavirus pandemic.
We’re working hard to make sure our guides are up to date, but some information may not be accurate during this time. It's important to double-check all details before taking out cover. Some policies may not be available through Finder.
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Important read: Domestic travel insurance and COVID-19
Are you planning a trip around Australia? Now that borders are starting to open, you might be wondering what kind of cover is available.
Here's what you need to know;
- You'll still be covered for things like your baggage and cancellations (not related to the pandemic).
- It's unlikely you'll be covered for coronavirus-related claims, including delays, changes and cancellations.
- It's unlikely you'll be covered if the government has advised against travel, i.e. increased border closures or travel restrictions.
- You should always check your product disclosure statement (PDS) for specific details.
Some people think that you only need travel insurance when you travel abroad - but that's really not true. Travel mishaps can happen anywhere in the world, even when you're travelling in your home country. Domestic travel insurance can protect your pocket when things start to go a bit awry. Policies can range from cover for cancellations only, all the way up to more comprehensive policies that include skiing. We can help find the right policy for your trip.[/fin_hide]
What's in this guide?
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 down under fast. Getting cover for luggage and property can help you buy the things you need should your airline loses 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 your 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 - 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 that also cover 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 transportation 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 like 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.
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.
You might be surprised at how affordable domestic travel insurance can be. For example, the cheapest cost of a week-long domestic trip on Finder for a 35-year-old is around $25 (priced on the 14th June 2019). That's less than $4 a day for inclusions such as cancellations, your luggage and even theft of cash!
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 a case study.
Sarah breaks her leg, luckily she's got domestic travel insurance
Sarah is due to fly from Sydney to Perth for a two-week holiday in southwest WA, 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 six bucks a day, and this 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
- Pre-booked tours
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 insurers PDS to find out region 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 case study below to see why domestic travel insurance is worth that little extra. 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: $2,953Greg doesn't get travel insurance for a road trip
Greg and his wife Gwen decided to take a road trip down to Melbourne up Australia's east coast for the long weekend. They rent a luxury vehicle from a rental car company to add some fun to their one-week journey.
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 health care 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.
Are you looking for a domestic travel insurance quote?
Choose 'Australia' as your destination, enter your travel dates and your age - you can compare quotes in 10 seconds.
Finally, some good news! Domestic travel is picking up, so some insurers have started offering cover again 🦘 Just remember, you won't be covered for any pandemic related claims if you do take out domestic travel insurance.
International travel insurance is limited and sometimes unavailable at this point.
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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
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 cover and for further assistance on getting a travel insurance to cover you and your companion.
You may want to read more about getting travel insurance for your Bali trip on this page .
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
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.
Hello Barbara,
Thank you for your inquiry.
You can check your options on this dedicated page we have.
Please review the fine print and the requirements for cover.
Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Jonathan
Is Christmas Island considered to be domestic?
Hi Jan,
Thanks for your inquiry.
Christmas Island is considered as international. You may check this page for International Travel Insurance.
Cheers,
Rench
We will be travelling to the Kimberley next year on a tour. I realise that any medical expenses are covered by Medicare but what happens if you need to be evacuated out. Does Medicare cover this or travel insurance?
Hi Vicki,
Thanks for your question. Domestic travel insurance doesn’t cover any costs related to medical treatment as these costs will be covered by either Medicare or your private health insurance.
All the best,
Richard
We are about to go on a road trip in Australia with our own car.
It will involve about 7000 kilometres and take around 6 weeks. We have booked and paid for around $5000 for accommodation along the way. Would you recommend travel insurance and if so what should we ask for?
I will be travelling to the Whitsundays in May. I would like to make sure Im covered for flight cancellations, accommodation expenses, meals(as I have breakfasts included), transfers, lost baggage, lost or stolen credit cards, mobile phone and tablet, snorkelling on excursions, basically my personal belongings and my out of pocket expenses. Id like to know the best policy as they all vary so greatly in price. Also Im concerned about cyclones etc, are they generally covered?.
Thank you
Hi Amanda,
Thanks for visiting finder! While we are unable to recommend a particular product, you may use our comparison tool above to compare quotes from different brand. Our travel insurance guide on this page detailed the key features that you should look for in a policy.
Generally, travel insurance policies include trip cancellation, trip delay expenses, and lost/damage luggage and personal belongings covers. Moreover, recreational water sports like snorkelling are automatically covered. However, the extent of coverage and limits depend on the level of cover you’ll take.
As for natural disasters, the coverage differs between insurance brand but they generally cover cyclone and other extreme weather events listed on this page. In case you’ll also go for a cruise on Australian waters, make sure to indicate ‘Cruise’ as specific cover and ‘South Pacific’ as destination, as recommended by most brands to ensure coverage in case of emergency medical expenses.
Please make sure to read as well the eligibility criteria, features, benefits and limits of the policy before making a decision and consider whether the product is right for you. If necessary, speak to the insurance brand to verify any details.
Cheers,
Liezl
Hi Beis,
Thanks for your question. finder.com.au is a comparison service and we are not permitted to provide our users with personalised financial advice or product recommendations. Domestic travel insurance can provide you with protection for your prepaid expenses. However, in most cases, your car will not be covered.
To compare domestic travel insurance policies, please enter your travel details into the comparison tool above.
I hope this was helpful,
Richard
We are wanting insurance for travel within Australia using our own vehicle towing a caravan. We’ve booked many tours and caravan parks so were wanting cover for any unforeseen issues that may prevent us from going.
Hi Jacky,
Thanks for your question. If you enter your travel details into the comparison form at the top of the page, you will be able to see which policies offer cancellation cover and find the cover that is most suited to your budget. It’s important to remember that generally domestic travel insurance will only cover rental vehicles and not vehicles you own.
I hope this was helpful,
Richard
how do i get a quote for domestic travel. i am traveling to cairns and return
Hi Michael,
Thanks for your question. All you need to do is enter destination (Australia), your travel dates and your age into the quote engine. Once you’ve done that, you will be able to compare the travel insurance brands in our panel.
I hope this was helpful,
Richard
I’m going on a car trip and don’t have any roadside assist packages yet but am considering one. Can I get travel insurance that will cover additional costs such as car rental, should my car break down?
Hi Graham,
Thanks for your question. Generally, travel insurance will cover you for these costs if it’s a hire car, not your own car.
I hope this was helpful,
Richard
Re Westpac Black card travel insurance,does this cover domestic travel, and for international car hire does it cover CDW car insurance
Tks Harley
Hi Harley,
Thanks for your question.
The Westpac Black card provides interstate protection for: interstate flight inconvenience as well as rental vehicle excess insurance.
For international car insurance, unfortunately the PDS doesn’t reference to anything related to CDW. If you’d like you view the PDS here or speak to Zurich directly about your options or eligibility.
Cheers,
Shirley
I am going on cruise around south australia so not covered under medicare while at sea, need appropriate travel insurance
Hi Jen,
Thanks for your question. Unfortunately, finder.com.au is a comparison service and not an insurer. However, if you would like to compare policies from the providers in our panel and receive a quote, please fill out the form at the top of the page with your travel details.
The region of travel may vary from insurer to insurer but generally you’ll need to select something like ‘Pacific’ in order to get appropriate cover for cruises around Australia.
I hope this was helpful,
Richard