Travel insurance for Australians already overseas
Forgot travel insurance before you left home? While you can get travel insurance when you're already overseas, there are some limitations.
Key takeaways
- A handful of Australian travel insurers let you buy a policy if you are already overseas.
- It won't cover you for events that have already happened.
- You'll also have a waiting period of a few days before you will be covered.
Can you get travel insurance when you're already overseas?
Yup, you can still get travel insurance if you've already left Australia, or your home city if you're travelling domestically. However, there are some limitations to what and when you'll be able to claim, which will vary by insurer. These could include:
- Not all travel insurers offer cover if you're already overseas/have started a domestic trip.
- Those that do won't cover anything that's already happened.
- There'll be a waiting period where you won't be able to make a claim - typically 2 or 3 days.
- Your trip will need to end in Australia for you to be able to get cover.
- You'll probably need to be an Aussie resident.
When should you take out travel insurance?
You should get travel insurance as soon as you can - as soon as you've committed to the trip basically. This is because travel insurance can cover costs associated with your trip even before the trip starts, but only if you've already taken out cover.
For example, lets say you book flights and accomodation in February for a trip in April. Then let's say an insurable event forces you to cancel your trip in March. If you took out travel insurance when you booked your trip, you should be covered for any losses. However, if you'd waited until April to buy a policy, then you wouldn't be covered, and would need to cover the costs yourself.
It won't cost you any more to buy travel insurance in advance, but it can save you tonnes of cash if something goes wrong.
Already overseas travel insurance: Conditions for each insurer
| Brand | Waiting Period | Journey Must End in Australia? | Enquire |
|---|---|---|---|
 | 3 days for all claims | Bonus | |
 | 3 days for all claims | Bonus | |
 | 48 hours for other claims $500 excess for all claims except where the benefit excess is already $0 | Finder AwardBonus | |
 | 48 hours for all claims | ||
 | 48 hours for all claims | ||
 | 3 days for all claims | Bonus | |
 | 48 hours for all claims | ||
 | 3 days for all claims | ||
 | 3 days for all claims | ||
 | 72 hours for all claims |
Note: This information was last updated April 2025
What does already overseas travel insurance cover?
Already overseas travel insurance policies will generally offer the same level of cover as any other plan. This includes:
- Overseas medical assistance and hospital expenses.
- Medical evacuation and repatriation
- COVID-related losses
- Hire car excess
- Cancellation or amendment to your trip (e.g if you suffer a serious illness and are unable to travel home as planned)
- Theft, damage or loss of your belongings.
- Theft of cash, valuables and belongings
- Family emergencies
Tips for comparing travel insurance policies if you are already overseas
There are a number of tips you should be aware of to help ensure you end up with the best already overseas travel insurance policy to suit your needs.
- What is the waiting period? Most insurers will apply a waiting period of about 3 days before cover will commence.
- What excess will you pay? Some insurers will apply an increased excess for already overseas policies.
- What activities will you be covered for? Then you can consider the activities and experiences you plan on enjoying while travelling. Will you be just relaxing beside the pool most of the time or are you planning on engaging in higher-risk activities like skydiving? Some policies will exclude certain activities, so make sure you know what is and isn’t covered.
- Will you be covered for medical repatriation to Australia? If taking out travel insurance while overseas, it's important to find a policy that will cover the cost of medical repatriation to Australia where necessary.
- Need cover for the family? Most insurance companies offer Family cover so that you can cover your spouse and children under the one policy. Cover for dependents under the age of 21 is generally provided free of charge.
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Hi,
You say: “Requirements
The exact eligibility requirements for already overseas travel insurance cover varies from one insurer to the next. For example, some insurers will require that you are departing from and returning to Australia, while others don’t have this requirement.”
Which Insurance company provides insurance for Australian citizens already overseas that don’t require them to come back to Australia after they finish their trip?
In my daughters case, she study’s in USA (scholarship) and she wants to travel for Christmas to Europe to visit family and come back to USA after New Year. In USA she is covered from scholarship.
I could not find any Insurance that will give her Travel Insurance because she is not coming back to Australia after this trip! She is Australian citizen and yet again can not get insurance? She will be back to Australia at the end of term in May 2015. But why would I buy insurance for all this time till May as some insurers suggest when she doesn’t need insurance till this date?
Thank you.
Hi Bob,
Thanks for your question. The quotation above refers to people who have either a) left from Australia and are planning on returning to Australia, or b) are already overseas (e.g. you have been in the US) and are coming back to Australia.
Your daughter may be able to find travel insurance through a US provider.
I hope this was helpful,
Richard
Richard,
I found two Australian Travel Insurance providers that provide insurance for Australians who are already overseas and want to travel and not come back to Australia just yet.
insure4less.com.au/ choose one way trip
and
service.travelinsurancedirect.com.au/customer/portal/articles/526821-who-can-buy-
thanks
Hi Bob,
Thanks very much. I’ve added this to the page.
Cheers,
Richard
If you purchase cover one you have departed from Australia is there a waiting period or does cover start from one policy is purchased?
Hi Angela,
Thanks for your question. If you are referring specifically to the 1Cover Already Overseas policy, you are covered from the commencement date of the policy. However, there is a seven (7) day waiting period, which means that:
“… a waiting period of 7 days from the Start Date noted on your Certificate of Insurance applies to all claims arising from, related to or associated with any Injury or Sickness, regardless of the Section that applies to the claim. This means that you will not be covered for medical expenses, cancellation or Journey disruption costs, additional expenses, emergency companion cover or hospital cash allowance arising from, related to or associated with any Injury or Sickness which occurs within this waiting period”
These waiting periods can vary form policy to policy.
I hope this was helpful,
Richard