When planning a trip within Australia, travel insurance might not be the first thing on your mind. After all, you’re not leaving the country – so do you really need it? While domestic travel doesn’t come with the same risks as international trips, unexpected disruptions can still happen. From flight cancellations to trip disruptions to lost luggage and rental car mishaps, domestic travel insurance can help protect your plans and your wallet.
Whether you’re heading to the Outback for a remote adventure, flying interstate for a special event, or taking a road trip along the coast, having the right cover can give you peace of mind. In this article, we’ll break down what is domestic travel insurance, what does it include, when does it make sense to get it, and why could it be a valuable addition to your travel plans.
What Is Domestic Travel Insurance?
Like international travel insurance, domestic travel insurance works like a financial safety net for your trip. Let’s say you’re planning a family holiday to the Gold Coast to check out the theme parks as well as fitting in some beach time. You buy tickets for the theme park of your choice, book a flight for the family, and a family-friendly resort in the area. A sudden, unexpected emergency could throw the entire trip off course and could mean all of your deposits and pre-trip purchases could go unused.
Your domestic travel insurance could help reimburse you for some of those losses and also support you through a variety of trip mishaps with travel assistance experts available over the phone. Travelling, whether it’s from city to city in Australia or between countries, always has some risk so having travel insurance can provide you with peace of mind.
How Is Domestic Travel Insurance Different from International Travel Insurance?
Domestic travel insurance and international travel insurance often feature similar covers and access to travel assistance services, but they vary slightly. The obvious difference is that international travel insurance is designed for travel outside of Australia, while domestic travel insurance is designed for trips within the country. Besides this, the differences are often a bit more subtle.
First, domestic travel insurance in Australia does not include cover for emergency medical expenses. You’ll only find this cover with international plans because domestic health insurance typically doesn’t cover medical emergencies you might experience outside of the country.
Instead, domestic travel insurance features a curated list of covers that specifically cater to domestic travel in Australia. With our domestic travel insurance, you can tailor your cover to suit your trip.
Common covers included in domestic travel insurance include:
- Cancellation or trip interruption cover
- Baggage cover
- Rental vehicle excess cover
- Personal liability cover
- Travel delay cover
Why Buy Domestic Travel Insurance?
Domestic travel insurance is an important part of travelling responsibly throughout Australia. Whether you’re venturing into the Outback or spending a week city hopping along the coast, you can only plan so much for hiccups during a holiday. What you can do is preemptively protect your trip deposits and purchases with a domestic travel insurance policy that you can turn to in a crisis.
No one wants to think about unexpected crises during a holiday with friends or family, but having travel insurance could make those moments a little easier to get through. Let’s take a look at an example to help you better understand why buying domestic travel insurance could really save you some headaches.
The Thompson family lives in Melbourne and had been looking forward to their Easter school holiday getaway to the Gold Coast, where they planned to visit theme parks and relax on the beach. However, just two days before their departure, their youngest child, Mia, came down with a severe case of the flu, and her doctor advises against travelling.
With their flights, accommodations, and theme park tickets already paid for, they feared they would lose thousands of dollars. Fortunately, their travel insurance included trip cancellation cover, allowing them to lodge a claim for reimbursement for their pre-paid, non-refundable expenses. While disappointed to postpone their holiday, they were relieved that they had purchased domestic travel insurance before their trip and plan to reschedule their trip for the next school holiday.
There are a number of unexpected issues, like a cyclone hitting North Queensland or losing luggage at a regional airport that has limited support for missing luggage. Also, popular holiday routes, like Sydney to Melbourne are some of the busiest in the world, so delays are more common than you think. This is where domestic travel insurance can help.
Do I Need Travel Insurance When Travelling Within Australia?
While you aren’t required to purchase travel insurance while travelling domestically, it could end up saving you in the long run. The Australian Government’s Smartraveller website, which provides official travel advice, says covers like trip cancellation, baggage cover, and rental vehicle excess cover could be good reasons to consider domestic travel insurance. We’ve heard plenty of stories about travel mishaps, both domestically and internationally, and we can say with confidence that domestic travel insurance could give you some peace of mind for your next holiday.
How Much Does Domestic Travel Insurance Cost?
The cost of domestic travel insurance in Australia can vary depending on a number of factors like when you purchase your policy, which company you purchase from, and how expensive your trip is. Generally, domestic travel insurance is cheaper than international travel insurance.
Let’s consider the factors that may influence the price of your domestic travel insurance plan:
- Trip Cost – You’ll likely pay a higher premium if you need cover for a $10,000 trip than if you need cover for a $2,000 trip. Bigger budget trips could mean higher reimbursement from your provider, so keep this in mind when you budget your trip expenses.
- When You Buy – Your premium may be higher when you purchase your travel insurance policy well in advance of your holiday start date. This is because the more time there is between your purchase date and your holiday start date, the higher the chances are that something will happen that causes you to cancel.
- Duration of Trip – Longer trips generally incur higher premiums because there’s more opportunity for things to go wrong.
- Number of Travellers – If you’re insuring multiple individuals, the cost of cover will also increase.
Use our online calculator to get a quick quote today!
Note premiums and savings are subject to changes in rating, underwriting and your individual circumstances. Cover and benefits may differ between insurance providers and therefore may not be completely comparable.
Why Choose Travel Insured Australia’s Domestic Cover?
Our domestic travel insurance policy is backed by years of experience in the travel insurance space. It features a curated range of benefits and the option to choose only the cover you need for your trip.
Are you on a budget and just need trip cancellation and interruption cover as well as personal liability cover and luggage and personal effects cover? Then just select those covers you need. No pressure.
Let’s look at each of the covers available with our domestic travel insurance cover:
Cancellation or Trip Interruption Package
This trip cancellation or interruption package can cover your pre-paid, non-refundable trip costs if you have to cancel or interrupt your trip for a covered reason. (Covered reasons are listed in your plan’s Product Disclosure Statement!)
Baggage Package
This baggage package can cover baggage that is damaged, stolen, or accidentally lost during your trip. It also includes up to $300 for essential purchases when your luggage is delayed or misplaced for more than 12 hours.
Rental Vehicle Damage Package
This rental vehicle damage package can cover up to $8,000 in insurance excess in the event of a theft or damage to your rental vehicle. You must have purchased comprehensive car insurance alongside this.
Personal Liability Package
This personal liability package can cover up to $2,500,000 if your negligence during the trip causes property damage or personal injury.
Travel Delay Package
This travel delay package can cover up to $200 per day and up to $1,000 per trip towards the cost of accommodation when you are unexpectedly delayed for more than 6 hours.
Our domestic travel insurance plan is flexible, which means you can pick and choose the covers you want for your plan and also pick from a range of cover amounts (or sum insured) for some of covers, like baggage cover and trip cancellation cover. Make sure you review your plan’s PDS and plan documents to know what is and isn’t covered with your plan.
What Is Not Included in Domestic Travel Insurance?
With any travel insurance plan, it’s important to know what is and isn’t covered. Here’s what is typically not covered with your domestic travel insurance.
This may seem obvious, but international cover is typically not included in domestic travel insurance plans. So if you plan to travel internationally during a holiday, make sure you choose an international travel insurance plan like our single-trip international travel insurance.
Additionally, Australian domestic travel insurance plans do not include cover for medical expenses. Look to your Medicare plan or other private medical insurance plans for cover because domestic travel insurance plans will not include cover for emergency medical expenses. And make sure you take your Medicare card with you wherever you are travelling!
Finally, domestic travel insurance predetermines what scenarios are considered covered events and not covered events. For example, domestic travel insurance will not cover your trip if you decide to cancel a trip just because you don’t feel like going. Make sure to review the covered events and general exclusions listed on your Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) for more details.
Do I Really Need Travel Insurance for Domestic Travel in Australia?
By now, you should know the ins and outs of domestic travel insurance for Australia. You know what’s covered (and what isn’t) and why you and your family could benefit from domestic cover. Now it’s up to you to decide what is best for you (and possibly your family). You can learn more about our domestic travel insurance plan here or get an accurate quote in just a few clicks to know how much your domestic insurance would cost.
Don’t let unexpected disruptions ruin your trip – get covered with domestic travel insurance today.
Please note that this blog provides a summary of the available coverage. Refer to the PDS for further information.
*Note that not all benefits apply and will depend on whether you have selected them (and are reflected on your Certificate of Insurance). Terms, conditions, exclusions, limits and sub-limits apply.
