Expert tips for choosing the right travel insurance for your family
Our Executive General Manager of General Insurance, Adrian Taylor, has put together some tips on how to find the right travel insurance policy for your family.
Check age limits and eligibility for dependants
When you take out travel insurance for families, your dependent children may be covered under the same policy at no extra cost. However, your child’s eligibility may vary between insurers due to age limits and other criteria, so always check the PDS before buying.
Weigh up what level of cover best suits your family
While medical-only or standard policies may be more budget friendly, comprehensive cover may have higher claim limits and more inclusions. For example, with your whole family travelling together, there may be a lot of electronics and valuables. For this reason, you might want to consider higher levels of cover for theft or damage to belongings.
Add-on coverage for greater protection
Depending on what type of holiday you’re taking, there are a number of optional add-ons that could provide extra cover for certain activities. This might include rental car excess cover if you plan to hire a car, or depending on your itinerary, cover for cruises, skiing and more.
Understanding travel insurance for families
What is travel insurance for families?
While you can’t purchase a ‘family travel insurance policy’ as an individual product, you can still get travel insurance for families that covers you, your partner and your dependent children under the same policy. This type of travel insurance typically has higher cover limits due to the number of travellers it covers.
Most travel insurance policies will cover dependent children at no extra cost if they’re under a certain age limit (typically 18 to 25 years of age), named on your policy, are financially dependent on you and not in full time employment. These conditions usually apply to both international and domestic travel insurance.
Be sure to check the full details in your PDS to understand the inclusions, sub-limits and exclusions of your level of cover.
What can travel insurance for families cover?
Travel insurance for families should offer comparable protection to a standard travel insurance plan. Depending on which type of policy you choose and your cover options, travel insurance for families can include:
- Overseas medical and hospital expenses
- Trip cancellation costs and travel delays
- Lost, damaged or stolen luggage and valuables
- Theft of cash
- Rental vehicle excess
- Some out-of-pocket or additional expenses
- Personal liability
- Permanent disability and loss of income
- Accidental death
- Dependents under 21
- 24-hour emergency assistance.
All cover is subject to the limits of your policy (i.e. terms, conditions and any exclusions), which are outlined in your PDS. Carefully read this document before purchasing travel insurance.
Exclusions and what to watch out for
Travel insurance policies come with common exclusions, including things like:
- Lost, damaged or stolen belongings that were left unattended
- Claims due to unlawful or reckless behaviour, intoxication or drug use
- Unapproved high-risk sports or activities (e.g. snowboarding without snow sports cover)
- Travelling against government advice (refer to the Smartraveller site for travel warnings)
- Acts of war, terrorism or civil unrest.
Before purchasing any policy, ensure you read and understand all exclusions on the PDS.
How much does travel insurance for families cost?
The cost of your family’s travel insurance is affected by factors including (but not limited to):
- The level of cover you choose
- The number of travellers on your policy
- Where you’re travelling
- Your trip’s duration
- The activities on your itinerary.
As travel insurance automatically covers dependent children under their parent’s policy, the cost rarely differs between those who travel with or without children, though be mindful of age limits.
However, if a minor is travelling alone they’ll need to be covered by their own single policy.
Just as you should shop around when buying flights, it’s important to do the same when purchasing travel insurance. Thanks to our free service, you can compare a range of travel insurance policies in one place.
Which situations should my travel insurance for families cover?
Medical expenses
Without proper cover, you’ll need to pay the medical bills yourself if anyone in your family falls ill or is injured during the trip. Medical treatment overseas can be costly (particularly in countries like the USA), not to mention the cost of a medical evacuation or repatriation.
Including medical cover in your travel insurance is a good idea, even when you’re visiting a country with a Reciprocal Health Care Agreement with Australia. These agreements are often limited to emergency treatment only and may not cover the full cost of your medical expenses.
Travel insurance for families can be crucial when it comes to providing cover when you’re sick or injured, so you aren’t left with major out-of-pocket expenses. Be sure to thoroughly check your policy’s PDS to know exactly what you’re covered for before purchasing.
Theft or loss of belongings
With the right travel insurance for families in place, if your belongings are stolen, lost or damaged, you can claim on your policy and you may be reimbursed for the value of your lost luggage. This includes your valuables, cash, credit cards and travel documents. Just make sure you report the incident to your insurer, the airline and local police within 24 hours. However, if you leave your belongings unattended in public, you won’t be covered.
Your policy will also have limits and sub-limits, so read the PDS to understand how much you can claim.
Cancellations and delays
Postponed flights and missed tours are common. However, in many cases, you can be compensated for this misfortune by ensuring your travel insurance policy covers lost deposits and cancellations if you aren’t compensated by your airline, or accommodation or event booking provider.
Travel insurance for families can also cover situations like if your flights are cancelled and not rescheduled by your airline provider, or if a natural disaster unexpectedly impacts your destination and you need to be reimbursed for pre-booked accommodation, tours and flights.
More on travel insurance for families
What are my options if my family travels several times a year?
You might get value from an annual multi-trip policy for your family if you plan on travelling more than three times throughout the year. A multi-trip policy can cover any number of journeys within a 12-month period up to the maximum trip duration listed in your policy and can sometimes be cheaper than buying multiple single trip policies.
What about group travel insurance?
Group policies can be suitable when more than two adults are travelling together (with or without children). Many insurers cater for groups of up to 25 people travelling together. Group policies may be well-priced and save time by buying just one policy to cover all travellers.
However, when children travel in a group, travel insurance for families may be a cheaper option because dependent children are usually covered for free up to varying ages (depending on your insurer). Additionally, not all insurers offer group travel insurance policies.
Learn more about group travel insurance.
What if I’m pregnant?
Getting travel insurance when you’re pregnant is slightly different from taking out a family policy. Before you do anything, speak to your doctor about your travel plans and see if you’re able to go.
Typically, first and second trimester pregnancies are safe for travel (provided you don’t experience any complications) and can be covered. Unfortunately, you may struggle to get travel insurance in your third trimester. You also won’t be covered for childbirth and newborn expenses.
Find out more about travel insurance and pregnancy.
Can the Australian Government help my family members if we run into trouble?
If you or your family members experience trouble overseas, you may be able to get assistance from an Australian embassy or consulate. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) can assist by:
- Providing replacement passports (for a fee)
- Providing support and general advice after a crime or legal incident
- Contacting family or friends via an authorised representative.
However, there are many things that DFAT won’t be able to assist you with, and they don’t provide a financial safety net in the way that international travel insurance cover can.
Want to know more about travel insurance?
- Compare travel insurance
- Comprehensive travel insurance
- Travel insurance for cruises
- Car hire excess insurance cover
- How much does travel insurance cost?
- Domestic travel insurance
