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Pros
- On top of unlimited overseas medical expenses, you'll get up to $20,000 in funeral expenses if you die while on your trip.
- WAS gives you the option to be covered for up to $40,000 in trip cancellation or interruption costs. By comparison, Tick Travel Insurance caps its benefit limit at $20,000.
- Its COVID Essentials policy covers the basics in case COVID-19 impacts your travels.
Cons
- There's no cover for domestic travel within Australia.
- Only 4 covers are included as standard. Yes, this means you can avoid paying for unnecessary coverage – but it means you might also overlook key add-ons such as trip cancellation, luggage and personal liability cover.
| Overseas medical and hospital expenses | Unlimited |
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| Cancellation and amendment fees | Cover chosen (options to increase up to unlimited) |
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| Luggage and personal effects | $2,000 |
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| Maximum age limit | 99 |
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Table updated November 2023
WAS has 2 travel insurance policies to pick from. These are COVID Essentials and Discovery. These are some of the main insured events a policy can cover you for:
Covid Essentials
Discovery International
The cooling-off period is 21 days meaning you can change your policy or cancel within this period, and WAS will refund your premium in full. By opting for a higher excess – the amount you need to contribute to a claim – you can score a lower premium.
Standard features
Here are some of the key policy benefits to help you find out if WAS can give the right cover for you:
- Overseas medical expenses – unlimited (for up to 12 months of treatment)
- Funeral expenses if you die on your trip (up to $10,000 with COVID Essentials or up to $20,000 with Discovery)
- Daily hospital benefit – $50 (up to a maximum of $500 with COVID Essentials or up to $1,000 with Discovery)
- Airfare reimbursement – up to $2,500 (Discovery only)
- Certain pre-existing medical conditions as stated by the policy
- Pregnancy – up to 24 weeks with a single child; or up to 19 weeks with twins or multiple children
Optional add-on
WAS offers a wide range of optional extras. You need to add these after you choose which policy you want to take out.
We've listed the core add-ons with the Discovery policy here:
- Trip cancellation or interruption. You choose a benefit limit of up to $40,000 in case an unforeseen event means you're forced to make big changes to your travel plans.
- Personal accident cover of $25,000.
- Luggage and personal items. Choose up to $10,000 to cover your lost, stolen or damaged items including belongings such as your laptop, phone, camera and travel documents.
- Travel delay. Get $50 per 6 hours if you're delayed.
- Personal liability. Covers the compensation for damages, bodily injury or death to third parties including legal expenses. Pays up to $2.5 million.
- Rental vehicle excess. Drive your hire car with peace of mind that you'll be covered for up to $5,000 in case you need to pay your rental company should your vehicle be damaged or stolen.
- Pet boarding. Get your beloved pet taken care of in case your return to Australia is delayed by 24 hours or more. This benefit pays up to $1,400.
- Cruise pack. Enjoy peace of mind against emergency medical costs, and lots more, if you're going on a cruise.
- Motorcycle and moped pack. Protect yourself and your bike against the unexpected.
- Snow pack. Get additional cover in case you injure yourself, or damage your equipment, or a ski run is closed, while skiing or snowboarding.
Exclusions
As with any travel insurance plan, some events won't be covered. General exclusions with WAS include the following situations:
- Any pre-existing condition that's excluded from your policy
- Pregnancy after the 24th week
- Childbirth at any stage of pregnancy
- Activities such as snow sports – to be covered, you'd need to have taken out an activity pack with your Discovery policy
- Indirect losses including loss of enjoyment or business opportunity
- A criminal or dishonest act by you or a person with whom you're in collusion
- Loss from, or related to, impairment due to alcohol
- Acts of war
- Going to a country with a "Do not travel" warning from the government
Make sure you read WAS's PDS for more detail on policy exclusions and restrictions.
Here's the bottom line about WAS
WAS offers 2 easy-to-understand policies with some competitive cover benefits. Both policies are aimed at international travellers. If you're one of the 27% of Aussies who intend to holiday in Australia in the next 12 months*, you'll need to look elsewhere.
Being able to add coverage of up to $40,000 for trip cancellation or interruption should be plenty for most travellers. On the other hand, its rental vehicle excess of $5,000 is half of the $10,000 limit offered by Southern Cross Travel Insurance (SCTI). WAS's website is refreshingly easy to navigate – not a given when it comes to insurance.
Don't forget to take out cover as soon as you've confirmed your travel dates, to get the most protection from your policy.
*According to a Finder survey in February 2023
