You can have two travel insurance policies and be covered by them both.
However, you cannot receive double the payout – each insurer will only pay their share of the claim.
Both insurers can share the cost of covering the claim, but are not required to pay out 100% of that claim.
Find travel insurance that offers more than your credit card does
Got a quote before?
When might you need more than one travel insurance policy?
In many cases, credit card travel insurance benefits are low, the excess is high and you can't get cover for pre-existing conditions. If that describes your card's insurance, there's nothing stopping you from getting an additional standalone policy, which will usually offer better cover and more flexibility. You may want multiple travel insurance policies in the following cases:
If you buy standalone travel insurance, even though your credit card also provides free travel insurance.
If you buy standalone travel insurance, even though your bank account offers travel insurance as part of your account package.
If you buy standalone travel insurance, even though one of your other forms of insurance includes travel cover as an add-on.
If you have an annual travel insurance policy in place but take out a single trip policy to cover specific losses not covered under the annual policy.
Finder survey: Have Australians lied on their travel insurance policy?
Response
I've never lied on an insurance policy
96.75%
I lied on my current policy
1.95%
I've lied on a past policy
1.3%
Source: Finder survey by Pure Profile of 1112 Australians, December 2023
Can I receive cover from both travel insurance policies?
While it's possible to have multiple policies, it's not possible to receive a pay out from 2 policies for the same loss. Australian insurance law stipulates that if you hold 2 insurance policies with identical coverage, both insurers can share the cost of covering the claim, but are not required to pay out 100% of that claim.
The only exception to this is in relation to death or permanent disability cover, where insurers are required to pay out the benefit amount stated in their policies, regardless of what other insurers have paid.
Disclosing other insurance in the event of a claim
A common exclusion included in travel insurance policies relates to other sources of reimbursement. A typical travel insurance product disclosure statement (PDS) will state that if you are able to receive compensation from any other source for your loss, the insurer will only pay the difference between the benefit amount and the amount you receive from that other source.
This also applies to other insurers. If you have cover under more than 1 policy, you must inform your insurer of this and provide details of the other insurer and the policy. This is because if your insurer pays out your claim, they can then seek a contribution from the other insurer.
Vice versa, if you claim from the other insurer and they only provide you with a partial pay out, your insurer will pay you the difference between what you received and your insured benefit amount.
What happens if I don’t disclose both policies?
If you don’t disclose your other forms of cover to your insurer, the penalties could be even more severe. Insurers investigate all claims thoroughly and share this information, so if you claim on 2 policies without declaring, it’s likely one or both will find out.
Moreover, any purposely fraudulent statements regarding other policies could mean your cover will be voided, your policy cancelled and you’ll possibly wind up in court.
Why you can trust Finder's travel insurance experts
You pay nothing. Finder is free to use. And you pay the same as going direct. No markups, no hidden fees.
You save time. We spend 100s of hours researching travel insurance so you can sort the gold from the junk faster.
You can trust us. We say it like it is. We aren't owned by an insurer and our opinions are our own.
Was this content helpful to you?
Thank you for your feedback!
To make sure you get accurate and helpful information, this guide has been edited by Joelle Grubb as part of our fact-checking process.
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:
Compare Travel Insurance Direct policies online to save time and money. Travel Insurance Direct offers various policies including Annual multi-trip, The Works, The Basics and Domestic travel.
If time is valuable to you, Travel Insuranz may be suitable for you. With its fast online processing process, Travel Insurance provides easy access to protecting yourself for travel. Read its policy online.
Domestic travel insurance can provide cover for trip cancellation (domestic flights), loss or damage to luggage and expensive items, car rental excess charges and much more. Find out why domestic travel insurance is worth getting and compare policies from Australian insurers.
Feedback
How likely would you be to recommend Finder to a friend or colleague?
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Very UnlikelyExtremely Likely
Required
Thank you for your feedback.
Our goal is to create the best possible product, and your thoughts, ideas and suggestions play a major role in helping us identify opportunities to improve.
Important information about this website
finder.com.au is one of Australia's leading comparison websites. We are committed to our readers and stands by our editorial principles
We try to take an open and transparent approach and provide a broad-based comparison service. However, you should be aware that while we are an independently owned service, our comparison service does not include all providers or all products available in the market.
Some product issuers may provide products or offer services through multiple brands, associated companies or different labeling arrangements. This can make it difficult for consumers to compare alternatives or identify the companies behind the products. However, we aim to provide information to enable consumers to understand these issues.
We make money by featuring products on our site. Compensation received from the providers featured on our site can influence which products we write about as well as where and how products appear on our page, but the order or placement of these products does not influence our assessment or opinions of them, nor is it an endorsement or recommendation for them.
Products marked as 'Top Pick', 'Promoted' or 'Advertisement' are prominently displayed either as a result of a commercial advertising arrangement or to highlight a particular product, provider or feature. Finder may receive remuneration from the Provider if you click on the related link, purchase or enquire about the product. Finder's decision to show a 'promoted' product is neither a recommendation that the product is appropriate for you nor an indication that the product is the best in its category. We encourage you to use the tools and information we provide to compare your options.
Where our site links to particular products or displays 'Go to site' buttons, we may receive a commission, referral fee or payment when you click on those buttons or apply for a product. You can learn more about how we make money.
When products are grouped in a table or list, the order in which they are initially sorted may be influenced by a range of factors including price, fees and discounts; commercial partnerships; product features; and brand popularity. We provide tools so you can sort and filter these lists to highlight features that matter to you.
Please read our website terms of use and privacy policy for more information about our services and our approach to privacy.
We update our data regularly, but information can change between updates. Confirm details with the provider you're interested in before making a decision.