Travel insurance is non-negotiable when it comes to planning your overseas adventure – as essential as your passport, your sunscreen and a cute holiday 'fit. And you need to ensure you're choosing a policy that actually gives you the cover you need.
Research by Smartraveller found that one in four Australian travellers experienced an insurable event on their last overseas trip – this includes anything from lost luggage, to delayed or missed flights, or more serious medical emergencies.
And although reading small print isn't as much fun as researching luxury hotels, the devil is in the details – insurance policies are not all created equal.
In fact, we've compared international travel insurance policies from over 30 insurers (over 100 policies in total) and found that many have tricky exclusions, miserly limits, or just don't offer good value for money.
What makes a good travel insurance policy?
CHOICE travel insurance expert Jodi Bird says the best policies cover your needs for a good price. They should cover where you're travelling to and the activities you'll be doing, whether that's cruising, riding a moped or skiing.
And as we're all trying to save a few bucks where we can these days, they should also be competitively priced based on your age, and include cover for any medical conditions you might have.
In our travel insurance comparison you can compare policies on the cover they offer, and view how each policy compares on cost using our 'price score'.
CHOICE tip: You'll save money and get better cover with insurance policies recommended by CHOICE. Unlike other insurance comparison websites, we don't get paid by any of the insurers we're comparing. CHOICE is nonprofit, so your membership fees help us fight for fair consumer rights, and empower you to get the best products.
Annual or single-trip policy?
If you're just going on one holiday, you only need a standalone or 'one-trip' travel insurance policy.
We've listed the worst value single trip policies below so you know which ones to avoid. If you travel often, you might like to consider an annual multi-trip policy. If you visit our insurance review, and filter by annual policies, you'll find these policies can provide good value for money. Check the fine print as some can restrict the length of each trip you take.
Best travel insurance for your destination
The lowest scoring travel insurance policies
The best CHOICE Expert Rating we've given a one-trip policy in our review is 71%. The policies we list below get 56% or less.
We rate travel insurance based on the value you get for the price. The lowest rated policies cover overseas emergency medical and hospital expenses, so they're better than no cover at all, but there are cheaper policies out there with better cover.
CHOICE experts recommend you give these policies a wide berth in your travel planning.
1. Flight Centre Silver and Gold Travel Insurance
- CHOICE Expert Rating: 50% (Gold); 48% (Silver)
- Cover score: 78% (Gold); 67% (Silver)
- Price score: 7% (Gold); 19% (Silver)
The lowest ranked policies in our comparison are good examples of why it pays to shop around. Both of these policies have good overall cover, with the Gold policy scoring among the highest for cover.
But the high cover comes at a price – some of the highest prices in the market, in fact. With just a bit of research, you can get better cover at a cheaper price from a policy recommended by CHOICE.
Read the full Flight Centre Gold policy review and the Flight Centre Silver policy review.
2. 1Cover Medical Only
- CHOICE Expert Rating: 55%
- Cover score: 35%
- Price score: 86%
This is a medical-only policy, which means it will only provide coverage for certain types of medical expenses, and not for other travel-related costs such as lost baggage or missed flights.
Unfortunately, CHOICE experts say that even with the lower than average price, the minimal cover means it's not a great deal.
Read the full 1Cover Medical Only policy review.
3. World Nomads Standard
- CHOICE Expert Rating: 56%
- Cover score: 55%
- Price score: 57%
This is a perfectly average policy with average cover at an average price. If you want average, this is the policy to get. But, there are a lot of other policies with a cheaper than average price that offer better than average cover. We suggest you buy one of those policies instead.
Read the full World Nomads travel insurance review
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Stock images: Getty, unless otherwise stated.
