Whether you’re travelling overseas to visit family and friends, going on a cruise, or grey-nomading around Australia, we’ve got a wide range of travel insurance for you to choose from.
All of our international travel insurance policies cover what’s most important – your health and safety – with cover for overseas emergency medical and hospital expenses.
What’s covered?
Depending on the type of travel insurance you choose, your cover can include:
Terms, conditions, limits and exclusions apply.
For full details, please read the Product Disclosure Statement.
Choose your cover
We offer five different types of travel insurance; the following two are popular among seniors:
(When deciding what type of cover might suit you, you’ll need to consider your own particular circumstances.)
Comprehensive Travel Insurance
If you travel in style, you may wish to consider comprehensive cover, which includes our full list of benefits and entitles you to claim up to our highest benefit amounts.
Read more
Domestic Travel Insurance
Planning to explore our sunburnt country? You might want to get this policy, which includes cover for cancellations and luggage and personal effects.
Read more
Compare all insurance
Compare all Budget Direct travel insurance before you buy and get the cover you want.
Compare all benefits and features
Upgrade your cover
For an additional premium, you can customise your travel insurance policy by adding one or more of the following optional extras to your policy:
How do I add these optional extras to my policy?
You can add one or more of these optional extras when you get a quote and buy a policy.
If you’ve already purchased a policy, you can add Snow Sports and/or Additional Specified Items cover only. To do this, call us on 1800 444 424 or log into your online account and edit your policy – before you depart on your trip and within 14 days of the purchase date.
Pre-existing medical conditions
Budget Direct travel insurance covers 27 pre-existing health conditions.
These are diagnosed conditions that, in the past five years, you or any insured person has suffered from or has received any form of medical advice, tests, treatment or medication for.
If you have one (or more) of the 27 conditions listed below, we will cover it as long as you:
- have not been hospitalised (including day surgery or emergency department attendance) for that condition within the past 24 months
- tell us you have the condition by selecting 'Yes' when you get a quote and buy a policy.
If your pre-existing medical condition is not covered, you can still be covered for claims (including unlimited overseas emergency medical and hospital expenses) not related to your condition.
A-D
- Acne
- Asthma, as long as you:
- have no other lung disease, and
- are less than 60 years old when you buy travel insurance.
- Bunions
- Carpal tunnel syndrome
- Cataracts
- Coeliac disease
- Congenital blindness
- Congenital deafness
- Diabetes mellitus (Type I), as long as you:
- were diagnosed more than 12 months ago, and
- have no eye, kidney, nerve or vascular complications, and
- do not suffer from a known cardiovascular disease, hypertension or hypercholesterolaemia, and
- are less than 50 years old when you buy travel insurance.
- Diabetes mellitus (Type II), as long as you:
- were diagnosed more than 12 months ago, and
- have no eye, kidney, nerve or vascular complications, and
- do not suffer from a known cardiovascular disease, hypertension or hypercholesterolaemia.
- Dry eye syndrome
E-Z
- Ear grommets
- Eczema
- Epilepsy, as long as in the past 24 months you have not had any:
- seizures, or
- change to your medication.
- Food intolerance
- Gastric reflux
- Glaucoma
- Gout
- Hay fever
- Hiatus hernia
- Hypercholesterolaemia (high cholesterol), as long as you do not also suffer from:
- a known cardiovascular disease, and/or
- diabetes
- Hypertension (high blood pressure), as long as you do not also suffer from:
- a known cardiovascular disease, and/or
- diabetes
- Hypothyroidism
- Macular degeneration
- Meniere's disease
- Rhinitis
- Sinusitis
Get a quote
Whether you’re after a cheap price or a policy with lots of bells and whistles, we’ve got a wide range of travel insurance cover for you to choose from.
Get a quote online in 30 seconds or call us on 1800 444 424.
Find out more
The information on this page is a summary only. For more details about Budget Direct travel insurance, including the terms, conditions, limits and exclusions that apply, please read the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS).
How to make a claim
If your trip didn’t go entirely to plan and you need to make a claim, we’re here to help. Make a claim on your travel insurance policy.
Award-winning travel insurance
After comparing all the policies in their database, Australia’s largest comparison site, finder, awarded us their Best Travel Insurance (Comprehensive) title in 2018.
We also won Mozo Experts Choice 2018 Exceptional Value travel insurance awards in the 'Basic' category (for our Last Minute policy) and the 'Annual' category (for our Annual Multi-Trip policy).
Frequently asked questions
Which overseas destinations does Budget Direct travel insurance cover?
The following table shows the regions and countries covered by Budget Direct travel insurance:
| Pacific |
|---|
Includes American Samoa, Cook Islands, Fiji Islands, French Polynesia (including Tahiti), Kiribati, New Caledonia, Niue, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea; and domestic cruises within Australian territorial waters. |
Asia |
| Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam only. |
| Europe/Africa |
| Includes countries in Africa, Europe, Scandinavia, the Middle East, the Caribbean, and Russia. |
| Americas |
| Includes United States of America, Canada, Mexico, Central and South America and Antarctica (Antarctic cruises only). |
| Not covered |
We do not cover travel to countries:
|
Who can get Budget Direct travel insurance?
You can get Budget Direct travel insurance if you meet these two conditions:
- You have the required residency or citizenship status, namely:
- you are a citizen or permanent resident of Australia, or
- you are a non-permanent resident with a valid Medicare card, private health insurance or overseas student travel insurance in Australia
- You fall under the maximum age limits (see table below):
| Maximum age | Type of cover |
|---|---|
| 75 years | Essential, Annual Multi-Trip, Last Minute |
100 years |
Comprehensive, Domestic |
When should I buy cover for my trip?
It’s up to you exactly when to buy travel insurance, however it must be purchased before you depart on your trip.
By getting travel insurance as soon as you’ve booked and paid for some or all of your trip, you’ll be covered for things like your pre-paid travel, accommodation, meals and tours if you’re forced to cancel your trip due to an insured event (unless you have a Last Minute policy, which does not include cancellation cover).
If you’re a frequent traveller with an Annual Multi-Trip policy, you’re covered for an unlimited number of up-to-30-days trips you take within 12 months to your chosen destination/s.
Before each trip, you won’t need to let us know where you’re going – unless your destination is not one you selected originally, in which case you would need to contact us or log into your online account and edit your policy.
What’s the longest amount of time I can get cover for one trip?
Twelve months for travellers aged 65 or under and 90 days for travellers aged between 66 and 100 (single-trip policy).
An Annual Multi-Trip policy is effective for 12 months, however each trip must last 30 days or less (if you plan on taking a longer trip, you’ll need to purchase another, single-trip policy).
What insurance documents can I expect to receive?
Immediately after you’ve paid for your policy, we’ll email you:
- your certificate of insurance, which will show your selected level of cover and travel destination/s
- a product disclosure statement, which tells you everything you need to know about the product
- a link to register an online account, so you can manage your travel insurance policy at your convenience, 24/7.
If you have any questions or concerns about your policy, please contact us.
Travel Insurance Knowledge Base
Your questions about insurance all
answered in one place.
§ Our Domestic policy does not cover medical and hospital expenses, as these are claimable in Australia from Medicare and/or your private health fund.
