Our verdict: With comprehensive cover for COVID-19 and no age limit, COTA Travel Insurance is a good option all-round, but particularly so for older travellers.
COTA Travel Insurance has comprehensive COVID-19 benefits and may cover cancellation costs, quarantine costs, transport costs, medical fees, childcare costs, and pet boarding fees.
With no age limit and the option to take part in medical screening for some existing conditions, COTA Travel Insurance is a good option for older travellers.
Cons
Although COTA Travel Insurance covers cruises as standard, the PDS doesn't include information about cruise-specific risks so it's not clear exactly what's covered.
COTA Travel Insurance is not currently available via Finder. You can head to the COTA Travel Insurance website or compare alternative options available below.
COTA Travel Insurance offers strong COVID-19 protection. Travellers will be covered in a variety of situations including:
Overseas medical costs related to COVID-19
Cancellation or amendment costs if:
-you or a travelling partner is diagnosed with COVID-19
-a close relative or business partner is hospitalised or dies due to COVID-19
-you're permanently employed as a healthcare worker, residential care worker or law enforcement officer, and your pre-approved leave is cancelled due to COVID-19.
Travel and accommodation costs if a tour is cancelled due to your tour guide contracting COVID-19 or if your accommodation can't operate due to staff contracting COVID-19.
Travel, meals and accommodation if you're not permitted to board your scheduled public transport due to being suspected of having COVID-19.
Travel, meal and accommodation costs if you're required to enter compulsory quarantine due to COVID-19.
Childcare costs if COVID-19 renders you unable to care for your dependent children while on holiday.
Pet care costs if you can't travel back to Australia at your scheduled time due to COVID-19.
There are some scenarios that are not covered by COTA Travel Insurance including if you buy a policy knowing you already have COVID-19 or if you are not vaccinated against COVID-19.
What policies does COTA Travel Insurance offer?
COTA gives you the choice of four plans: Comprehensive, Essentials, Annual Multi-Trip, and Australian Travel.
Comprehensive
Essentials
Annual Multi-Trip
Domestic
The insurer of this product is Pacific International Insurance Pty Ltd. It comes with a cooling-off period of 21 days and choice of $250 standard excess for international plans.
Here's a breakdown of COTA Travel Insurance features
Self-inflicted injury or illness, suicide or attempted suicide
Make sure you review COTA's PDS for a detailed breakdown of what won't be covered, found under its list of general exclusions.
How to make a COTA Travel Insurance claim
You can download a claim form from COTA's website and follow the instructions.
If you need help, you can phone 1300 625 229 within Australia or +61 2 8263 0487 outside Australia. Alternatively you can email claims@nibtravel.com.
Here's the bottom line about COTA Travel Insurance
COTA offers strong travel insurance, particularly in relation to COVID-19 related expenses. It also extends cover for pregnancy up to 26 weeks, longer than some other providers, and will consider offering cover for existing medical conditions, if you complete an online health assessment.
With no age limit, it's a good option for a wide range of travellers. However, with limited information about how exactly cruising is covered, anyone setting sail might want to clarify the PDS with a CODA representative or consider a specific cruise travel insurance.
No. One of COTA's aims is to help older Australians but younger Australians are not excempt from its travel insurance policies.
If you cancel your policy within the first 21 days of buying it, you'll receive a full refund, as long as you haven't started your trip and you're not making any claims.
If you pay for your COTA travel insurance policy online or over the phone by credit card, you'll be covered as soon as you receive your certificate of insurance (which should be straight away).
Nicola Middlemiss is a journalist with nearly a decade of experience in personal finance and insurance. She has contributed to Domain, Yahoo Finance, Money Magazine and Insurance Business Australia, offering in-depth insights into commercial insurance in the Australian market. Nicola holds a Bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Leeds and a Tier 1 General Insurance (General Advice) certification, which complies with ASIC standards. See full bio
Nicola's expertise
Nicola has written 245 Finder guides across topics including:
Personal finance
Personal insurance, including car, health, home, life, pet and travel insurance
We are travelling to Kenya for 2 weeks on 3 October until 17 October 2024, and looking for travel insurance for that time. Can we please have a quote.
Thank you
Cota Travel Insurance is not currently one of the brands in our panel of travel insurers so you will need to contact them directly. If you would like to receive a quote from the brands in our panel, please head to our travel insurance home page.
Cheers,
Zubair
JudithFebruary 9, 2017
I only need to cover 2 airfares to Sydney 800 dollars
Finder
RichardFebruary 9, 2017Finder
Hi Judith,
Thanks for getting in touch with Finder.
If you wish to get covered by Cota, please visit their website where you can get a quote or purchase their policy.
While looking for insurers, please make sure you read the terms and conditions of the policy to learn more and know if it is the right policy for you or not.
I hope this helps. Should you have further questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out again.
Have a wonderful day!
All the best,
Richard
sandyJanuary 8, 2017
I am interested in taking out a travel cover.
Is it necessary to join COTA membership to be eligible?
Finder
RichardJanuary 9, 2017Finder
Hi Sandy,
Thanks for contacting Finder!
I’m afraid we currerntly don’t have a partnership with COTA. If you would like to get cover from COTA, you will need to head to their site directly.
If you would like to compare your cover options from brands in our panel, you can do so by entering your travel details into the comparison tool on the travel insurance home page.
All the best,
Richard
EvaAugust 1, 2016
Hi there,
I’m over 70, travel a lot overseas and am trying to find out if you have a yearly multi trip insurance. I have never had a claim, but finding it difficult to get yearly insurance at this age. For the next 12months I expect Asia and maybe Europe.
Many thanks
Eva
Finder
RichardAugust 2, 2016Finder
Hi Eva,
Thanks for your question. I’m afraid Cota is not currently one of the travel insurance brands in our panel.
However, many of the travel insurance brands in our panel do provide annual policies for people over 70 years of age. If you would like to compare these policies, you can do so on our annual travel insurance page. The comparison table does not only show the age cut-off but the maximum single trip length as well.
InsureandGo Travel Insurance can save you time with a comprehensive range of policies that are easy to digest and understand. Its policies include winter sports coverage plus both single and multiple trip policies.
Medibank is a leading travel insurance provider in Australia offering cover for international comprehensive, international medical only cover and more. Read the finder.com.au review for a breakdown of the policy and more.
A guide to understanding cruise insurance - why you need it, what's covered, and what's not.
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We are travelling to Kenya for 2 weeks on 3 October until 17 October 2024, and looking for travel insurance for that time. Can we please have a quote.
Thank you
Hi Inga & Ron,
We currently don’t have COTA on our panel. You can obtain a quote from them directly, or you can get a range of quotes from other travel insurance providers here.
I have diverticular disease, is this condition covered under your policy
Hi Mim,
Thank you for your question.
Pre-existing conditions are assessed on a case-by-case basis. You may find our article about travel insurance for pre-existing condition helpful.
Cota Travel Insurance is not currently one of the brands in our panel of travel insurers so you will need to contact them directly. If you would like to receive a quote from the brands in our panel, please head to our travel insurance home page.
Cheers,
Zubair
I only need to cover 2 airfares to Sydney 800 dollars
Hi Judith,
Thanks for getting in touch with Finder.
If you wish to get covered by Cota, please visit their website where you can get a quote or purchase their policy.
If you would like to compare the brands in our panel, please head over to our travel insurance home page. You may also find our travel insurance for flights only article helpful.
While looking for insurers, please make sure you read the terms and conditions of the policy to learn more and know if it is the right policy for you or not.
I hope this helps. Should you have further questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out again.
Have a wonderful day!
All the best,
Richard
I am interested in taking out a travel cover.
Is it necessary to join COTA membership to be eligible?
Hi Sandy,
Thanks for contacting Finder!
I’m afraid we currerntly don’t have a partnership with COTA. If you would like to get cover from COTA, you will need to head to their site directly.
If you would like to compare your cover options from brands in our panel, you can do so by entering your travel details into the comparison tool on the travel insurance home page.
All the best,
Richard
Hi there,
I’m over 70, travel a lot overseas and am trying to find out if you have a yearly multi trip insurance. I have never had a claim, but finding it difficult to get yearly insurance at this age. For the next 12months I expect Asia and maybe Europe.
Many thanks
Eva
Hi Eva,
Thanks for your question. I’m afraid Cota is not currently one of the travel insurance brands in our panel.
However, many of the travel insurance brands in our panel do provide annual policies for people over 70 years of age. If you would like to compare these policies, you can do so on our annual travel insurance page. The comparison table does not only show the age cut-off but the maximum single trip length as well.
I hope this was helpful,
Richard