Flights, accommodations, and other trip-related expenses can be a lot, so we get that the cost of your travel insurance policy is important for you to understand. You might be wondering, how much does travel insurance cost, anyway? It’s got to be expensive, and it’s not totally necessary, right?
That’s where you’ll want to reconsider. Not only can travel insurance be affordable, but it could actually save you money if you face an unexpected illness, injury, or travel-related complication while travelling outside of Australia.
In this article, we’ll provide travel insurance cost breakdowns, dive into factors that influence cost, and provide tips to help you find affordable travel insurance cover. Once you understand how much travel insurance costs and the factors that influence its price, you’ll have the confidence to choose the best travel insurance plan for your needs without breaking your budget.
What Influences the Cost of Travel Insurance?
There are several factors that could influence the price of your travel insurance plan (also known as a premium). These include:
- Trip Cost: You’ll likely pay a higher premium if you cover a $10,000 trip than if you cover a $2,000 trip. Bigger budget trips could mean higher reimbursement, so keep this in mind when budgeting 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.
- Age: Older individuals are more likely to seek medical care while travelling, and they may be more likely to cancel their trip due to health issues. That’s why premiums tend to increase with age.
- Duration of Trip: Longer trips generally incur higher premiums because there’s more opportunity for things to go wrong.
- Destination: Planning to travel to a higher-risk area or a country with expensive medical care? Your premium may be higher to offset potential for costly medical expenses.
- Optional Covers: Let’s say you plan to rent a motorcycle during your trip so you can ride along the coastline. If you add an optional motorcycle and moped pack to your travel insurance policy, you can expect to pay a higher premium due to the broader coverage.
- Number of Travellers: If you’re insuring multiple individuals, the cost of cover will also increase.
Travel Insurance Terminology
Before we get going, here are some key travel insurance terms you should know. Getting a solid handle on these will make it easier to find the right policy for your trip.
- Premium: Your premium is the amount you pay to purchase a travel insurance policy.
- Excess: This is the amount you will contribute in the event of a claim.
- Optional Packs: These are cover packs you might select for your travel insurance plan to cover specific expenses, like trip cancellation, travel delay, and more.
How to Calculate Your Travel Insurance Cost
The quickest way to answer the question “How much does travel insurance cost?” is to use an online travel insurance quote engine like ours. Use this tool to calculate travel insurance costs, get a quote, and choose the best travel insurance plan for you:
Get Your Quote
You will input various trip and personal details to get an accurate quote for your travel insurance policy. For example, our travel insurance quote tool asks for your holiday start and end dates, the countries or regions you’re travelling to, and your date of birth. You have the option to add up to 9 additional travellers by hitting the “Add Traveller” button. Click “Get Quote” to generate your plan price.
Understand Your Quote
Let’s break down a sample quote using our quote tool. Imagine you’re a 40-year-old travelling to Fiji for the first 3 weeks of November. Once you click “Get Quote,” you’ll see your trip summary and options for personalising your quote at the top of the results page (or to the right on desktop). You can choose your excess amount and use the toggles to select or deselect covers.
The cost of your plan, including government fees and charges, will be displayed on the bottom left of your screen (or upper right-hand side of your screen on desktop). You will see this price increase or decrease as you add or remove covers. When you are happy with your plan benefits and price, click the “Checkout” button. You will then be asked to input your primary traveller information, accept the policy’s terms and conditions, and enter your payment details in order to buy.
Tips to Reduce Travel Insurance Costs
- Compare Multiple Policies: Shopping around and using comparison tools for travel insurance is crucial, as different insurers offer varying prices for similar cover. By comparing multiple quotes, you can identify the most affordable options that meet your needs.
- Adjust Cover Levels: Some policies allow you to add different packages to your plan to personalise your cover based on your needs. Select only what you need for your holiday in order to keep your premium low. You may also have the option to choose your sum insured for certain benefits, like your trip cancellation and interruption amount. Make sure you select enough to adequately reimburse your trip cost if your holiday were to be cancelled or interrupted due to a covered reason.
- Choose the Right Excess: Some travel insurance plans offer a range of excess amounts to choose from. Keep in mind that the higher the excess you choose, the lower your premium will be.
Travel Insurance Cost Examples
To get a better sense of how much your international travel insurance plan might cost, take a look at the examples below using our single trip international travel insurance:
- The First-Time Traveller
- Profile: A 25-year-old is taking her first international trip to Hungary for two weeks next month. She fills in her details in our travel insurance cost calculator to know how much her plan would cost for 14 days of travel.
- What’s Included? Her estimated plan cost is *$11 a day or *$154.11 in total. This includes $0 excess and the following packages: travel medical, trip cancellation and interruption (with a $5,000 sum insured), travel delay, personal accident, personal liability, and baggage cover (with a $1,000 sum insured).If she wants to lower her premium, she can select a higher excess amount, choose a smaller sum insured for her trip cancellation and interruption benefit (provided this is suitable for the trip in question), or remove any packages she doesn’t need for her trip.
- Budget-Conscious Family
- Profile: A young family of four consisting of two 35-year-old parents, a four-year-old son, and a two-year-old daughter are taking a one-week summer vacation to Indonesia.
- What’s Included? The estimated cost of their plan is *$26.39 per day or *$184.72 in total. Their plan includes an excess of $0, the travel medical package, the trip cancellation and interruption package (with a sum insured of $4,000), the travel delay package, personal accident package, personal liability package, and the baggage package (with a $1,000 sum insured).Because this cost is a bit higher than their current $120 budget for travel insurance, they decide to change their excess amount from $0 to $250 and remove the baggage package. This brings their new estimated total below their budget!
- Senior Travellers
- Profile: A couple, both 65-years-old, are taking a bucket-list vacation to Japan. They are travelling for two weeks and want a travel insurance plan that will work best for them.
- Travel Insurance Cost Breakdown: The couple inputs their trip details into the quote engine and learn their estimated premium is *$15.13 per day or *$211.86 total. Their plan of choice features the following packages: travel medical, trip cancellation and interruption (with a sum insured of $3,000), travel delay, personal accident, personal liability, and baggage (with a sum insured of $1,000).Reminded that they are only travelling with carry-on bags and plan to do laundry while travelling, they decided to decline the baggage package which drops the price of their plan below $200 in total.
Please note that these are hypothetical examples only and do not constitute advice. Prior to purchasing, please consider your financial situation and needs and read the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) & Financial Services Guide (FSG) and Target Market Determination (TMD).
*This is a cost estimate and is subject to change. Use our quote engine to know the cost of your unique plan.
As you can see, choosing a plan with flexibility means you can personalise it to meet your specific travel needs while also ensuring it’s within their budget. You can get a free, real-time quote right now for your unique international travel insurance plan here.
How to Choose the Right Travel Insurance Policy for Your Budget
Assess Your Travel Needs
- Destination Risks: Do some research to determine potential safety risks in your destination and evaluate the quality of the local medical facilities. Explore The Australian Government’s Smartraveller site for destination insights and safety information.
- Planned Activities: Make a list of all activities you plan to engage in during your trip. If any of these activities have increased risk, you may be more likely to get injured (and you may want more cover). Be sure to review your PDS so you know exactly which activities are excluded. You may have the option to add packages for certain activities, such as a motorcycle package if you plan to rent a motorcycle during your holiday.
- Personal Health: Assess any health concerns or conditions that may require cover, and read the PDS of any plan you’re considering carefully to ensure these concerns are not excluded from cover.
Review Your Policy Options
- Coverage Limits: Choose a plan with sufficient emergency medical and trip cancellation and interruption benefit limits.
- Included Benefits: Look for benefit packages that are most important to you.
Understand Policy Terms and Conditions
- Read the Fine Print: Pay attention to detailed policy language regarding exclusions or conditions that may affect your cover. Review your PDS in its entirety, paying special attention to the general exclusions. See more must-know information about travel insurance exclusions here.
Purchasing the Policy
- Timing: Buy the policy soon after booking your trip to ensure you can use all your benefits if needed, like your trip cancellation benefit.
- Documentation: Keep copies of all policy documents and emergency contact information accessible in case you need to use your insurance.
Tips for Travellers Regarding Travel Insurance Costs
Preparation Before Travel
- Visit Your Doctor for a Check-Up: Health Direct recommends visiting your doctor for a pre-travel health assessment at least 8 weeks prior to your international trip. Your doctor can advise you regarding vaccinations, medications, and other factors.
- Establish an Emergency Plan: Know how to contact local emergency services in case you need help during your time abroad. You can also subscribe to gov.au and download the app to receive up-to-date travel advice. It’s also important to know how to get a hold of your insurer. Some insurance companies, like ours, provide 24/7 in-house emergency assistance to policyholders. You will find contact information for these types of emergency services in your PDS. Click here to view the PDS for our single trip international plan.
During Your Trip
- Stay Safe: Exercise caution to stay safe and minimise the risk of injury or illness. Obey all local laws, use recommended safety equipment when partaking in sports and activities, and stick to well-cooked foods and bottled drinks in areas where food and water safety is a concern. See additional travel safety tips from smartraveller.gov.au.
- Avoid Exclusions: Remember that certain activities or behaviours could void your travel insurance. For example, your policy likely won’t cover you for an injury incurred while you’re under the influence of alcohol or another non-prescription drug.
- Respect Local Laws and Customs: Research and understand local customs and regulations to avoid legal issues that could affect your cover. For example, medicines that are available over the counter in Australia may be considered controlled substances in other countries. You can check with your destination’s embassy to learn what medications are permitted in your destination country.
Conclusion
Understanding travel insurance costs is key for anyone who wants to protect their trip and their peace of mind. There are many factors that influence how much you’ll pay for travel insurance, like your holiday cost, age, and length of travel. By taking a little time to evaluate these details and compare different plans, you can find the right travel insurance that fits your needs and your budget.
Understanding your options means you’re not just getting the best bang for your buck, but you’ll also feel a lot more at ease knowing you have cover for any surprises that might pop up. You can protect your travels by thoroughly reviewing your travel insurance options today. Use our travel insurance cost calculator to get a travel insurance quote that you can customise to your needs and budget in just a couple minutes or less!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. How much does travel insurance cost?
- Answer: Travel insurance costs vary widely based on factors like age, destination, trip duration, and coverage level.
2. What factors most influence the cost of travel insurance?
- Answer: Key factors include your age, destination, trip duration, lead time to departure, coverage limits, and optional covers.
3. Does the destination affect travel insurance cost?
- Answer: Travelling to countries with high medical costs or higher risks can increase your insurance premiums.
Please note that this blog provides a summary of the available coverage. Refer to the PDS for further information.
