Is there an age limit on its policies?

The age limit for Southern Cross Travel Insurance's policy is 118.

I have a pre-existing medical condition – is it covered by Southern Cross Travel Insurance?

SCTI's PDS does not list automatically included pre-existing conditions. It's best to declare everything at the time of policy purchase and fill out a medical assessment, so SCTI is aware of your medical conditions. If your condition isn't automatically included, SCTI can use the medical assessment to consider your cover and any applicable premium costs.

Is cover for kids included in the policy?

Yes, Southern Cross Travel Insurance includes cover for dependent children as part of your premium, but they must meet the definition of "dependent children". This means they need to be under 21 years old at the start date of your policy. Children can include your biological children, stepchildren, foster children, and even grandchildren.

Southern Cross Travel Insurance Review: Compare & Save

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Southern Cross offers generous $25,000 luggage cover and a high age limit of 118 years.
Customers rate Southern Cross highly with 4.44/5 for satisfaction and 4.75/5 for trust.
COVID-19 cover often requires full vaccination and has further restrictions.

Pros

Comprehensive cover gives you automatic access to TravelCare Delay Assist, a built-in benefit for delayed flights, offering eligible customers a $40 AUD digital voucher per covered person.
SCTI's cover limit of $25,000 for theft or damage to your luggage and personal items is one of the highest we've seen.
SCTI has an age limit of 118 (a welcome option for senior travellers).

Cons

Its personal liability cover of up to $1,000,000 could meet the needs of most, but competitors such as Fast Cover and Medibank offer 5 times as much.

Get a quote from Southern Cross Travel Insurance

Theft or damage to luggage	Rental car excess insurance	Standard excess	Theft of cash
Southern Cross International Comprehensive Single Trip	$25,000	$10,000	$200	$500	$20 Reward Finder Rewards: Join Finder then buy an eligible Southern Cross Travel Insurance policy through Finder to receive a $20 digital Visa gift card. T&Cs apply.	Get quote View details Compare product selectionCompare	loading
Southern Cross Travel Insurance	No Cover	Optional			$20 Reward Finder Rewards: Join Finder then buy an eligible Southern Cross Travel Insurance policy through Finder to receive a $20 digital Visa gift card. T&Cs apply.	Get quote View details Compare product selectionCompare	loading
Southern Cross Domestic Travel Insurance	$15,000	$6,000	$200	$0	$20 Reward Finder Rewards: Join Finder then buy an eligible Southern Cross Travel Insurance policy through Finder to receive a $20 digital Visa gift card. T&Cs apply.	Get quote View details Compare product selectionCompare	loading
Southern Cross Working Overseas Travel Insurance	$25,000	$10,000	$200	$500	$20 Reward Finder Rewards: Join Finder then buy an eligible Southern Cross Travel Insurance policy through Finder to receive a $20 digital Visa gift card. T&Cs apply.	Get quote View details Compare product selectionCompare	loading
Southern Cross International Medical Only Travel Insurance	No Cover	Optional	$200		$20 Reward Finder Rewards: Join Finder then buy an eligible Southern Cross Travel Insurance policy through Finder to receive a $20 digital Visa gift card. T&Cs apply.	Get quote View details Compare product selectionCompare	loading

Congratulations, Southern Cross Travel Insurance!

Southern Cross Travel Insurance won the 2026 Finder Award for Best Comprehensive Travel Insurance.

Full list of 2026 winners

Summary of Southern Cross's International Comprehensive policy

Overseas medical and hospital expenses	Yes
Cancellation and amendment fees	Cover chosen (options to increase up to unlimited)
Luggage and personal effects	$25,000
Maximum age limit	118

^{Table updated March 2025}

Congratulations, Southern Cross!

Southern Cross received the following highly commended awards in the 2024 Customer Satisfaction Awards:

Travel Insurance - Loved Brand
Travel Insurance - Trusted Brand
Travel Insurance - Quality Service Brand

Full list of 2024 winners

What policies does Southern Cross offer?

In total, Southern Cross offers 5 travel insurance policies. These are: Domestic, International Medical Only, International Comprehensive (Single Trip),International Comprehensive (Annual Multi-trip) and Working overseas. Here are some of the main insured events a policy can cover you for:

Australian Map Icon

Domestic

Hospital

International Medical Only

Travel plane luggage passport

International Comprehensive Single Trip

Hiking

International Comprehensive Annual Multi-trip

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Working Overseas

The insurance is issued by Southern Cross Benefits Limited, trading as Southern Cross Travel Insurance.

The cooling-off period is 14 days which means you can change your policy or cancel within this period, and Southern Cross will refund your premium in full. The excess is the amount you usually need to pay when you make a claim, but with Southern Cross, you can choose to remove your excess for a higher premium.

Here's a breakdown of Southern Cross Travel Insurance features

Standard features
Optional add-on
Exclusions

Check icon

Standard features

Here are some of the main policy benefits to help you find out if Southern Cross Travel Insurance can provide the right cover for you.

Baggage and personal items
Cancelling or changing your journey before you leave
Cash, bank cards, travel documents and passports
Changes to your journey once you have left
Delayed journey to a special event

Emergency dental treatment
Medical and evacuation
Personal accident
Personal liability
Rental vehicle excess

plus icon

Optional add-on

For more flexibility, Southern Cross Travel Insurance gives you the option to add extra cover to your policy. This can be done after you select your level of cover.

Taking any valuables? If the value of any items you're taking exceeds the limits of your policy, you can opt for specified items cover.
Going skiing or snowboarding? Get additional cover to be protected for gear damage or the medical expenses incurred if you injure yourself on the slopes. You'll need to wear a helmet or you might void your policy.
Taking a cruise? If you're taking a cruise, select additional cover to protect yourself. You'll need to make sure you've included all the destinations your cruise is visiting on your policy.
Riding a moped or motorbike? Get additional cover to protect yourself and your bike in case the unexpected happens. SCTI will only cover incidents involving bikes under 200cc.

Exclusions

Like all insurers, there are a few situations you won't be covered for under your travel insurance policy. Southern Cross Travel Insurance will not generally provide any cover in the following situations:

If your claim arises due to a pre-existing condition that is not covered by your policy
If your claim arises due to a sexually transmitted infection (excluding covered conditions relating to HIV)
Pregnancy after the 24th week
If your claim arises because of being under the influence of alcohol, solvents or any other illegal drug
If your claim relates to most elective or cosmetic procedures
If you participate in any professional or contact sport, motorsport, hunting, abseiling or paragliding

Make sure you read Southern Cross Travel Insurance's PDS for a full list of situations that won't be covered.

How to make a Southern Cross Travel Insurance claim

Making a claim with Southern Cross Travel Insurance is easy and the whole process can be done online. Remember to keep any supporting documents such as receipts, medical notes or police reports to help your claim go through smoothly.

Head to https://www.scti.com.au/claims/make-a-claim
Enter your policy number, email, full name and date of birth to log in
Complete your claim details by answering all sections
Upload any supporting documents relevant to your claim
Submit, then your claim should be processed within 10 business days

Here's the bottom line about Southern Cross Travel Insurance

Southern Cross offers 5 straightforward policies with enough customisation and flexibility to suit most travellers. You'll find generous limits for theft or damage to your belongings, your premium includes cover for your dependent children up to the age of 21, and the ability to extend your cover if you decide to stay overseas longer. All features that you don't find every day with other insurers.

Where Southern Cross Travel Insurance falls short is with certain exclusions in its policies. There is no cover for cruises that stay in Australian waters or pregnancy after 24 weeks. While Southern Cross does have COVID-19 cover, it comes with more restrictions than other insurers, including the need to be fully vaccinated.

If you're still not sure about Southern Cross, you can compare other travel insurance companies here.

Frequently asked questions

SCTI's PDS does not list automatically included pre-existing conditions. It's best to declare everything at the time of policy purchase and fill out a medical assessment, so SCTI is aware of your medical conditions.
If your condition isn't automatically included, SCTI can use the medical assessment to consider your cover and any applicable premium costs.
Yes, Southern Cross Travel Insurance includes cover for dependent children as part of your premium, but they must meet the definition of "dependent children". This means they need to be under 21 years old at the start date of your policy. Children can include your biological children, stepchildren, foster children, and even grandchildren.

Finder writers are subject matter experts and use primary sources, in-depth research and interviews with other experts to ensure you're getting accurate, up-to-date information. Articles are fact checked in line with our editorial guidelines.

Thank you for your feedback!

To make sure you get accurate and helpful information, this guide has been edited by Jason Loewenthal as part of our fact-checking process.

Written by

Gary Ross Hunter

Journalist

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Gary Ross Hunter has over 6 years of expertise writing about insurance, including life, health, home, and car insurance. Having reviewed hundreds of product disclosure statements and published over 800 articles, he loves simplifying complex insurance topics for everyday readers. Gary has contributed to major outlets like Yahoo Finance, The Sydney Morning Herald, and news.com.au, and holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in English Literature from the University of Glasgow, along with a Tier 2 General Advice certification, ensuring his work adheres to ASIC’s RG146 standards. See full bio

Gary Ross's expertise

Gary Ross has written 520 Finder guides across topics including:

Health, home, life, car, pet and travel insurance
Managing the cost of living

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45 Responses

DianeSeptember 1, 2016

Trying to find out looking for travel insurance for two weeks I am waiting for knee replacement surgery am I covered for this if I have a problem with them not expecting anything as it is controls by meds till have it done only take meds when required am aged 62

Finder

RichardSeptember 2, 2016Finder

Hi Diane,

Thanks for your question. finder.com.au is comparison service and not an insurer. Cover for pre-existing conditions vary from insurer to insurer and from case to case. You should contact the travel insurance brand you’re interested in to discuss your options.

All the best,
Richard

LouiseJuly 29, 2016

My husband and I took out Southern Cross Travel insurance. We were to fly to Istanbul on 29 June 2016. On 28 June there was a terrorist attack at the airport at Istanbul.
We were advised at the airport not to continue with our travel plans so spent approx $5000 and bought new flight tickets home. Can we make a claim with our travel insurance policy?

Finder

RichardJuly 29, 2016Finder

Hi Louise,

Thanks for your question. It will depend on when you bought your policy. You’ll need to contact SCTI directly for claims, which you can by heading to their claims page.

I hope this was helpful,
Richard

BruceJune 14, 2016

What travel policies cover riding motorcycles over 250cc when correctly licenced , and define a motor vehicle includes a motorcycle

Finder

RichardJune 14, 2016Finder

Hi Bruce,

Thanks for your question. The highest listed engine capacity listed by the travel insurance brands in our panel is 250cc. For more information, you may find our travel insurance for motorcycles page, useful.

I hope this was helpful,
Richard

MikeDecember 19, 2015

Do any insurers / policies cover cancellation costs resulting from the financial failure of a service provider?

Thanks

Finder

RichardDecember 21, 2015Finder

Hi Mike,

Thanks for you question. There are some travel insurance brands that will cover financial default. You can see a list of insurers and compare them from our guide on how to get travel insurance for insolvency.

Please make sure to read the eligibility criteria, features and details of the policy, as well as the relevant Product Disclosure Statement 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.

I hope this was helpful,
Richard

NoelDecember 2, 2015

I had a heart attack some 14 years ago,valve replacement stents and by pass 8 years later can you suggest a suitable policy for a 14day trip to miami

Finder

RichardDecember 2, 2015Finder

Hi Noel,

Thanks for your question.

Many providers will assess your pre-existing condition at the time of application. As these providers offer cover on a case-by-case basis there is no guarantee you will be granted cover. You can get your quotes for travel insurance that considers all pre-existing medical conditions. Read our review of the insurer or go directly to their website to get a quote.

I hope this was helpful,
Richard

Southern Cross Travel Insurance

Our verdict: Generous benefit limits, no restrictive age limits and free cover for kids all make SCTI an attractive option.

Key takeaways

Pros

Cons

Get a quote from Southern Cross Travel Insurance

Congratulations, Southern Cross Travel Insurance!