Family Travel Insurance

Features of family travel insurance

The same level of travel insurance protection as individual plans.

This includes delays and cancellations, medical emergencies, loss, damage or theft of belongings and more.

Free cover for children

Most insurers will cover dependant children (e.g. they live with you or are financially dependent on you) for free, sometimes up to the age of 25.

Convenience of one policy

For claims, you have one central contact point rather than having to rifle through loads of paperwork to find the insurance details for the affected family member.

Taking out a single travel insurance policy for the entire family is usually a cheaper and more convenient option. The only thing you need to consider is benefit limits. If you're worried it's not enough, look at insurers such as Cover-More and SCTI. They often let you choose your limits.

Gary Ross Hunter
Finder's insurance and innovations editor

What's covered by family travel insurance?

Family travel insurance plans offer the same sort of cover and benefits as standard travel insurance plans. The difference is that the protection and benefits apply to the whole family rather than just to a single person. It can cover

• Medical expenses
• Emergency dental care
• Luggage and personal belongingsPersonal liability (e.g legal cover if you injure someone)
• Accidental death or disability
• Excess on a rental vehicle
• Delays and cancellations
• Family emergency (e.g if family member becomes seriously ill and you need to fly home)

Which insurers let you take dependants for free?

Most insurers will let your dependants go free. The following table shows which brands will cover your dependants for free, how many dependants they will allow and what their definition of a dependant is.

Brand	How many dependants can go for free	Age limit	Definition of dependant	Apply
Freely	8	20 and younger	Accompanied Children means Your children or grandchildren who are identified on the Certificate of Insurance and travelling with You on the Journey, provided they are not in full-time employment, they are financially dependent on You and they are under the age of 21 years.	Bonus Get quote
Zoom	No limit	18 and younger	Means your children or grandchildren not in full-time employment who are under the age of 18 and travelling with you on the journey and are named on the certificate of insurance.	Get quote
fastcover	10	20 and younger	Accompanying means a person travelling with you for 100% of the trip. Not working full-time. You can only add dependant to a SINGLE and FAMILY policy.	Finder AwardBonus Get quote
Insure4less	No limit	16 and younger	Dependants under 16 years of age.	Get quote
Travel Insuranz	No limit	20 and younger	Direct dependents	Get quote
InsureandGo	Up to 10 children or grandchildren	17 and younger	Your financially dependent children or grandchildren (including fostered, or adopted children or grandchildren) who are under 18 years of age and who are named on the policy schedule.	Finder AwardBonus Get quote
Tick	10	17 and younger	Dependent children or grandchildren (including fostered or adopted children or grandchildren). Dependent children is in reference to your children under the age of 18.	Bonus Get quote
World2cover	No limit	25 and younger	Means under the age of 25 years.	Get quote
Cover-More	5	20 and younger	"Accompanied Children" means Your children or grandchildren who are identified on the Certificate of Insurance and travelling with You on the Journey, provided they are not in full-time employment, they are financially dependent on You and they are under the age of 21 years.	Bonus Get quote
Southern Cross	9	20 and younger	A dependent child may be one of the following: your child, stepchild, niece, nephew, grandchild or foster child. They must be under 21 years old. If they're 18 or over, they must be unmarried, not be in full-time employment, and be financially dependent on at least one insured adult.	Finder Award Get quote
Travel with Kit	No limit	17 and younger	Dependant means Your child or grandchild (including fostered or adopted child or grandchild) not in full-time employment who are under the age of 18 at the date of policy issue, travelling with You on the majority of the Trip, and listed as covered on Your Certificate of Insurance.	More info
Travel with Jane	No limit	17 and younger	Means your children or grandchildren not in full-time employment who are under the age of 18 and travelling together with you for the entire journey.	More info
Travel Insurance Saver	8	24 and younger	Means your children, stepchildren, grandchildren, foster children, and children for whom you are the legal guardian, who are travelling with you on the same itinerary for the entire duration of your trip and at the time the Certificate of Insurance is issued are:- under 25 years of age, and - working less than 30 hours per week.	Get quote
Easy Travel Insurance	6	20 and younger	"Accompanied Children" means Your children or grandchildren who are identified on the Certificate of Insurance and travelling with You on the Journey, provided they are not in full-time employment, they are financially dependent on You and they are under the age of 21 years.	Get quote
1cover	No limit	18 and younger	Your children or grandchildren. 18 and younger Not employed full-time. Travelling with you on your journey. Listed on your policy.	More info
American Express	5	24 and younger	Any unmarried child or children up to and including 18 years of age; and/or Your dependent child or dependent children aged over 18 years of age and up to and including 24 years of age, while they are full-time students at an accredited institution of higher learning and primarily dependent upon you for maintenance and support.	More info
Travel Insurance Direct	6	20 and younger	Means your children or grandchildren not in full-time employment who are under the age of 21 at the date of policy issue, travelling with you on the majority of the trip and listed as covered on your certificate of insurance.	More info
Webjet	Need to call them	20 and younger	Means your children or grandchildren accompanying you on the journey who are not in full-time employment and who are under the age of 21 at the time of issue of your certificate of insurance.	More info
Worldcare	10	24 and younger	Means your children or grandchildren not in full-time employment, accompanying you on the journey and who are under the age of 25.	More info

_{Note: This information was last updated August 2023}

What levels of family travel insurance can you choose?

Basic family travel insurance

You can't rely on Medicare in most foreign countries, so you'll need a back-up plan. That's pretty much what basic travel insurance policy is – your medical insurance for overseas visits. Most policies will offer unlimited emergency medical assistance and unlimited emergency medical and hospital expenses for every family member listed on your policy. You may also get some money towards emergency dental expenses as well as some personal liability insurance, which will cover you if you damage something or injure someone.

A basic policy will not usually cover you for anything else. So if an airline loses your luggage, a cyclone at your destination causes you to cancel your trip or a thief makes off with your wallet, credit cards and passport, you'll be out of luck.

Comprehensive family travel insurance

A comprehensive policy will include the same (or better) medical cover as a basic policy, but it also covers you for a much wider range of situations including:

• Trip cancellation. This will pay you back if you have to cancel your trip because of something unexpected and you're unable to get a refund on tickets and other bookings.
• Lost, stolen or damaged property. This helps out if your personal belongings, including luggage, personal documents (like your passport), credit cards and even money are lost, stolen or damaged.
• Travel and luggage delay. This pays you back for unexpected expenses related to a delayed flight or luggage that gets to you late.
• Rental car excess. This helps you pay the often-expensive rental car excess that you're responsible for under most rental car insurance policies.
• Disability, death and loss of income. This covers you for expenses back home if an injury overseas disables you or keeps you from working (or pays your family if you die).

Each insurer treats these a little differently and may offer a few additional forms of cover, so check with a few to see what they offer and what the benefit limits are.

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Common questions about family travel insurance

• Does family travel insurance cover COVID?

  Yes. Most comprehensive travel insurance policies cover COVID-related expenses now including medical and trip cancellation or rearrangement costs.

• Can I get travel insurance for a large family?

  Yes. Many travel insurers have no limit on how many people can be on a single policy.

• Can I get cover for infants?

  Yes. Most insurers do not impose a minimum age limit on the people that can be covered on your policy, but it's a good idea to check with insurer first to confirm this.

• Can you include your grandchild on a family travel insurance policy?

  Yes. You can add your grandchildren to your policy, usually for free.

• Does family travel insurance cover me for snow sports?

  While travel insurance often does not always automatically cover snow sport activities, policies will allow you to add them as extras for your family the same way as individual cover.