What's covered by Comprehensive Travel Insurance?
- Amendment or cancellation costs (e.g. for non-refundable prepaid travel and accommodation expenses) – Up to $10,000 (or the amount you choose) per policy
- $Unlimited* overseas medical expenses benefit, including COVID-19 related medical expenses. Cover will not exceed 12 months from onset of the illness, condition or injury.
- Overseas dental expenses – Up to $2,000
- If you are diagnosed with COVID-19 – self-isolation expenses if you are too sick to travel – up to $5,000
- Luggage and personal effects – Up to $10,000 (sub-limits apply)
- Personal liability
- Activities (e.g. surfing, bungee jumping, zip lining)
- Travel delay and missed connections
*Where ‘$Unlimited’ is used here, it means that there is no capped dollar sum insured.
What do we cover at an additional cost?
- Amendment or cancellation costs due to COVID-19**
- Adventure activities (e.g. skydiving, water skiing)**
- Snow sports (e.g. skiing, snowboarding)**
- Motorcycle/moped riding**
**Cover is available to buy via options to vary cover. Additional premium applies.
Medical cover will not exceed 12 months from onset. Terms, conditions, limits, sub-limits and exclusions apply. Please check the Combined Financial Services Guide and Product Disclosure Statement for further details.
Benefits Included in Travel Insurance
Amendment or Cancellation Costs
This benefit provides cover for costs associated with rescheduling your trip or the cancellation of your non-refundable, non-recoverable prepaid travel tickets, hotels, tours or other travel related expenses so that you're not left out of pocket. Cover for rescheduling your trip is limited to the amount it would have cost to cancel your trip.
Please note that COVID-19 Amendment or Cancellation Costs cover is NOT automatically included but is available for you to purchase as a separate option if you wish.
Overseas Medical and Dental Expenses
If you need medical treatment, you'll have $unlimited cover (for up to 12 months from onset of the illness, condition or injury) for the cost of emergency overseas hospital and medical treatment. “$Unlimited” means no dollar capped sum insured.
You’ll also have cover for emergency dental treatment up to $2,000. This means you can focus on staying healthy while you're away from home.
Existing Medical Conditions
You can still get cover for travel insurance, if you have an existing medical condition.
Budget Direct travel insurance covers a range of existing medical conditions automatically (subject to the criteria).
For others, you can complete a health assessment at the same time you get your quote. If approved, an additional premium may apply.
Check the Combined FSG & PDS for more information about existing medical conditions and what the policy covers.
Rental Vehicle Insurance Excess
If you rent a car while you're travelling and it is damaged or stolen, you'll be covered for the lower of the rental vehicle excess or the repair costs for the vehicle, which you become liable to pay (excluded from our Basic plan).
Luggage and Personal Effects
We can cover the cost of repairing, replacing or reimbursing you for your belongings if they're lost, stolen or damaged (limits and sub-limits apply). Depreciation only applies to items more than 2 years old.
Personal Liability
Personal legal liability provides cover if you accidentally damage someone else's property or injure someone else during your trip and as a result of your negligent act, you become unintentionally legally liable to pay compensation. For full details regarding Personal Liability cover, please read the Combined FSG/PDS. For example, there is no cover for personal liability claims arising from using a mechanically propelled vehicle such as a car or motorcycle.
Get a Quote Online and Save 15%^
Get a quote online – it’s quick and easy. If you get a quote and buy a new Budget Direct Travel Insurance policy online, you’ll receive a 15%^ discount.
Upgrade Your Travel Insurance Cover
For an additional cost to your policy, you can customise your Travel Insurance when you add one or more of the following optional covers to your policy:
There are two levels of Snow Sports Cover:
Snow Sports includes On-Piste snow skiing, snowboarding and snowmobiling, and cross-country skiing only.
Snow Sports+ includes everything covered in Snow Sports, plus Off-Piste snow skiing and snowboarding (conditions apply) as well as heli-skiing/boarding.
See the full list of snow sports included in Snow Sports and Snow Sports+ cover.
There are two levels of Adventure Cover:
Adventure cover includes paragliding/parascending/parasailing (over land), sailing, water skiing and more.
Adventure+ includes everything covered in Adventure, plus BMX riding, horse jumping, trekking the Kokoda track and more.
See the full list of activities included in Adventure and Adventure+ cover.
Cruise Cover
Going on a cruise for 2 or more nights?
If your ocean or sea cruise is overseas or outside Australian Coastal Waters, to be insured for claims relating to cruise travel, or that occur while on a cruise, you must pay an extra premium to have Cruise Cover added to your Comprehensive, Essential or Basic plan for cruise-specific coverage.
With Cruise Cover we cover $unlimited medical expenses (for up to 12 months from onset of the illness, condition or injury), and dental expenses (up to $2,000) when you receive treatment onboard a cruise ship outside Australia by or on the advice of a qualified medical practitioner. “$Unlimited” means no dollar capped sum insured.
You'll also be covered for ship to shore emergency transportation, sea sickness cover, missed ports and shore excursions and cabin confinement up to the specified policy limits.
You do not need to add Cruise Cover for one night cruises or for river cruises.
COVID-19 Amendment or Cancellation Costs
Optional COVID-19 Amendment or Cancellation Costs can cover costs associated with rescheduling your trip or cancelling non-refundable, non-recoverable prepaid travel tickets, hotels, tours or other travel related expenses of up to a limit based on your policy.
This cover is available if you or your travelling companion are diagnosed with COVID-19 before your trip and can't travel, as well as during your trip if you or your travelling companion are diagnosed with COVID-19 and your trip is cancelled.
Please read the Combined FSG/PDS to learn more about what you'll be covered for.
This benefit is excluded from our Basic policy.
Increase Luggage Item Limit
You can increase your luggage item limit on your travel insurance policy if you're carrying a valuable item that you want to insure for more (maximum limits apply). Make sure you also have receipts or valuations of that item on hand.
Motorcycle/Moped Riding Cover
With two levels of cover available, Motorcycle/Moped Riding covers riding a motorcycle or moped with an engine capacity of 250cc or less while Motorcycle/Moped Riding+ insures unlimited engine capacity. Conditions apply.
Increase Cancellation Cover
Available on the International Comprehensive and Essential plans and the Domestic plan.
You can increase the amount of cancellation cover to suit your travel needs such as particularly expensive flights and/or travel arrangements. Select an amount from the options available when you get a quote.
Typically, people look to choose an amount that will, in total, cover all prepaid travel tickets, hotels, tours or other travel related expenses, that are non-refundable in any other way, for all travellers on the policy.
For Amendment or cancellation costs due to COVID-19, cover is available to buy via options to vary cover.
Cover Multiple Trips for Frequent Travellers
Our Comprehensive Travel Insurance plan is available for you to buy in two ways: as a Single Trip policy or an Annual Multi-Trip policy.
If you travel more than twice a year, our Annual Multi-Trip policy may suit you. When it comes to this type of cover, you choose a maximum length for each trip, and then for 12 months, you will be covered for an unlimited number of trips to your chosen destinations (so long as each trip does not go over your chosen maximum trip length).
Learn more about our Annual Multi-Trip Travel Insurance.
Overseas Medical Expenses and Emergency Assistance
With Budget Direct Travel Insurance Cover, you have 24/7 access to a network of doctors, nurses, case managers and travel agents.
Depending on your needs, we can help you:
Find a medical facility and monitor your medical care
Pay medical bills (if your claim is approved)
Emergency assistance when it comes to returning home
Deal with lost passports, travel documents and credit cards
Change your travel plans
Make a claim
If your trip didn't go entirely to plan and you need to make a claim on your travel insurance, we're here to help. Having your details, receipts and documents from the trip on hand can also make it easier to claim.
Travel Insurance FAQs
Can I buy travel insurance after booking my trip?
Yes – you can buy a Budget Direct travel insurance policy after booking your trip – but it should be purchased before your trip commences.
If you have left home and are already on your trip when buying the policy, this cover is subject to a 3 day no-cover period. This means the Period of Insurance will not commence until 3 days after the travel start date/policy issue date shown on your Certificate of Insurance.
By getting travel insurance as soon as you’ve booked and paid for some or all of your trip, you can be covered for things like your prepaid travel and accommodation if you’re forced to cancel your trip due to an insured event (e.g. an unforeseen injury).
(This is unless you have a Basic plan policy, which does not include cancellation cover.)
How much does travel insurance cost?
The cost of travel insurance depends on a number of factors, including your:
Your area of travel. Some higher risk areas will increase your premium and cost more.
Departure date and trip duration. The longer your trip duration, the higher the cost may be.
Age. Those at higher risk age groups cost more.
Cruise cover. An additional premium applies if you need cover for a cruise trip.
- Cancellation cover. You can choose your own level of cancellation cover. The more cancellation cover you require, the higher the cost may be.
- Adding cover for existing medical conditions and pregnancy (where available). An additional premium may apply if a medical assessment is completed and cover is accepted by us.