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Comprehensive travel insurance

If you're looking for ultimate peace of mind while travelling, you'll want comprehensive travel insurance. Compare quotes from 15 brands – that’s more than any other site in Australia.

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By

Gary Ross Hunter

Edited by

Tim Bennett

Updated

Fact checked
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Key takeaways

  • Comprehensive travel insurance is the highest level of cover you can get.
  • It can cover medical costs, cancellations, lost luggage, personal liability and more.
  • While most brands have a comprehensive policy, not all policies are created equal.

What is covered by comprehensive travel insurance?

Hospital

24/7 medical assistance

Most comprehensive travel insurance policies cover you for unlimited medical expenses and 24/7 medical care, including repatriation.

Plane icon

Delays and cancellations

Comprehensive travel insurance can cover you for cancelled or delayed flights. This is the most common reason for claims. According to Finder research, 29% of Australians, equivalent to around 5.8 million people, have had their flight delayed or cancelled in the last 12 months.

Coronavirus

COVID-19 expenses

Comprehensive travel insurance policies now cover COVID. This includes medical expenses, cancellations and rearrangement costs.

Lost luggage

Luggage and personal belongings

Unlike a basic policy, comprehensive policies typically cover lost and delayed luggage and personal items. They also come with high limits so it can cover all of your expenses.

Is comprehensive travel insurance worth it?

Almost 1 in 3 Australians, equivalent to 3.5 million people, suffered a travel mishap while abroad in the past 12 months, according to a July 2023 Finder survey. 14% have endured travel delays, while 8% lost personal items. Comprehensive travel insurance can cover this but a basic policy often won't.

Reasons you might need better cover

  • If you're travelling with family. Because there are more of you travelling, there's more chance something could go wrong – and when it does, it's often very expensive.
  • If you're going on an expensive holiday. Planning that trip of a lifetime to North America or Europe costs a lot of money before you even get there. Cancellation cover here is vital. Can you imagine getting a bad flu or COVID a few days before take-off and your doctor advising against travel?
  • If you're going to a country where medical care is expensive. Making sure you have unlimited medical cover can be hugely important in countries such as US, Japan and Singapor.
  • If your luggage is expensive. Travelling for a longer period or as a family usually means your luggage is worth a lot. If it was to get lost, you could be out of pocket for hundreds or maybe even thousands of dollars.
  • If you're going to a country where petty crimes are common. It's so important to see different places in the world but that can sometimes mean theft and petty crimes are more common. A comprehensive policy can cover you for things like a stolen passport, phone or camera.

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Basic vs comprehensive travel insurance

Basic travel insurance is cheap and affordable, but it doesn't cover you for everything that's available in a top policy. Cheap travel insurance will generally cover basic medical costs, and some extra travel related costs, like delays or cancellations. However, a basic policy won't cover everything, and might have lower claim limits on some benefits.

Comprehensive travel insurance is a little more expensive, but still quite affordable for most people. A top policy will likely offer higher limits for common claims, and cover more of the 'nice to have' benefits like luggage delays, resumption of trip and more.

Frequently Asked Questions

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

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 649 Finder guides across topics including:
  • Health, home, life, car, pet and travel insurance
  • Managing the cost of living
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4 Responses

    Default Gravatar
    DenesSeptember 16, 2023

    I am an amateur photographer travelling overseas with a suite of camera equipment; what options do have for insuring a more expensive camera body and lens? My current travel insurance cover will not cover two of the most expensive pieces of equipment.

      AvatarFinder
      GarySeptember 29, 2023Finder

      Hi Denes,

      Thanks for getting in touch. You should look at our guide on travel insurance for expensive items. There are a handful of policies that will allow you to increase your cover on certain items for up to $10,000. Hopefully this helps.

      Thanks,
      Gary

    Default Gravatar
    KelJuly 22, 2017

    I am traveling to Fiji for business what insurance do I need?

      Default Gravatar
      JonathanJuly 22, 2017

      Hello Kel,

      Thank you for sending your inquiry. :)

      Please feel free to compare travel insurance for Fiji. Kindly input the travel details on the form and click “Get Quote Now” green button.

      Please take note of their benefits, exclusions and fees by looking at their individual product T&Cs.

      Hope this helps.

      Cheers,
      Jonathan

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