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WAS Travel Insurance review

Our verdict: WAS Travel Insurance is a decent option if you’re looking for no-fuss insurance with the flexibility to add more cover to your policy to suit your particular needs.

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By

James Martin

Edited by

Jason Loewenthal

Updated

Fact checked

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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

  • 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.

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Find a WAS travel insurance policy

1 - 3 of 3
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Product AUFTI COVID-19 medical expenses Theft or damage to luggage Rental car excess insurance Standard excess
Wise and Silent International Travel Insurance - Domestic
Finder AwardExclusive
Wise and Silent International Travel Insurance - Domestic
$1,000
Optional
$100
⭐Finder Exclusive: Get 8% off a travel insurance policy with Wise and Silent. Use the promo code FINDER8. T&Cs apply.
Get quoteView details
Wise and Silent Travel Insurance - Covid Essentials
Finder AwardExclusive
Wise and Silent Travel Insurance - Covid Essentials
No Cover
No Cover
$250
⭐Finder Exclusive: Get 8% off a travel insurance policy with Wise and Silent. Use the promo code FINDER8. T&Cs apply.
Get quoteView details
Wise and Silent International Travel Insurance - Discovery Ultimate
Finder AwardExclusive
Wise and Silent International Travel Insurance - Discovery Ultimate
$2,000
Optional
$250
⭐Finder Exclusive: Get 8% off a travel insurance policy with Wise and Silent. Use the promo code FINDER8. T&Cs apply.
Get quoteView details
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Summary of WAS's Discovery policy

Overseas medical and hospital expensesUnlimited
Cancellation and amendment feesCover chosen
Luggage and Personal EffectsCover chosen
Maximum age limit99

Table updated July 2024

What policies does WAS offer?

WAS has 3 travel insurance policies to pick from. These are Domestic, COVID Essentials and Discovery. These are some of the main insured events a policy can cover you for:

Australian Map Icon

Domestic

Corona Virus

Covid Essentials

Travel plane luggage passport

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.

Here's a breakdown of WAS Travel Insurance features

Standard features
Optional add-on
Exclusions

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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 $5,000 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

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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 $10,000 (Domestic) or $40,000 (Discovery) in case an unforeseen event means you're forced to make big changes to your travel plans.
  • Personal accident cover of $50,000 (Discovery only).
  • Luggage and personal items. Choose up to $5,000 (Domestic) or $10,000(Discovery) 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. Up to $1,000 (Domestic) or $2,000 (Discovery).
  • Personal liability. Covers the compensation for damages, bodily injury or death to third parties including legal expenses. Pays up to $2.5 million. (Domestic and Discovery only)
  • Rental vehicle excess. Drive your hire car with peace of mind that you'll be covered for up to $6,000 (Discovery) or $8,000 (Domestic) 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.

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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 $6,000 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

If you're still not sure about WAS, you can compare other travel insurance companies here.

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Jason Loewenthal's headshot
To make sure you get accurate and helpful information, this guide has been edited by Jason Loewenthal as part of our fact-checking process.
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Written by

Editor

James Martin was the insurance editor at Finder. He has written on a range of insurance and finance topics for over 7 years. James often shares his insurance expertise as a media spokesperson and has appeared on Prime 7 News, WIN News, Insurance News, 7NEWS and The Guardian. He holds a Tier 1 General Insurance (General Advice) certification and a Tier 1 Generic Knowledge certification, both of which meet the requirements of ASIC Regulatory Guide 146 (RG146). See full bio

James's expertise
James has written 213 Finder guides across topics including:
  • Car, home, life, health, travel and pet insurance
  • Managing the cost of living
  • Money-saving tips
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