Whether you’re travelling the world on your gap year or visiting Bali for a week, backpacking or travelling in style, going on a working or an adventure holiday, we’ve got a wide range of travel insurance for you to choose from.
Tell your loved ones not to worry: All of our international travel insurance policies provide cover for unlimited 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
Budget Direct offers five different types of travel insurance; the following two are popular among young travellers:
(When deciding what type of cover might suit you, you’ll need to consider your own particular circumstances.)
Comprehensive Travel Insurance
If you prefer to leave nothing to chance, 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
Last Minute Travel Insurance
If you’re looking for a basic level of protection at our lowest price but still want cover for your belongings and medical and hospital costs, this policy could be the one for you.
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.
Covered sports and activities
All of our international and domestic travel insurance policies cover you for 90+ sports and activities.
(Note that medical and hospital costs incurred in Australia are claimable from Medicare and/or your private health fund.)
What’s not covered?
There are some incidents and circumstances we do not cover – called ‘exclusions’ – including:
| Failure to get relevant inoculations or vaccinations | No |
| Errors or omissions in your travel bookings | No |
| Incidents involving drugs or alcohol | No |
| Loss of luggage and personal effects left unattended | No |
| Countries listed as ‘Do not travel’ on the federal government’s Smartraveller website | No |
| Pre-existing medical conditions – other than the 27 conditions we cover | No |
| Medical and hospital expenses incurred in Australia (which are already claimable from Medicare and/or your private health insurer). | No |
Get a quote
Whether you’re after a cheap price or a policy with all the 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
Can’t I get travel insurance through my airline or cruise line?
Yes – many airlines and cruise operators encourage you to buy travel insurance at the same time you buy your air or cruise tickets; often, all you need to do is tick a travel-insurance check box.
However, you can end up paying hundreds of dollars more (described by consumer advocacy group Choice as a “tick-box tax”) for the policy compared to one purchased through a direct insurer.
Also, the cover provided by an airline or cruise company may be less comprehensive than that offered by a direct insurer (like Budget Direct).
In short, it can pay to shop around.
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:
|
When should I get 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).
Are claims for lost or stolen mobile phones covered?
All of our travel insurance policies except Last Minute cover you for a lost or stolen mobile phone, as long as you:
- give us your phone’s international mobile equipment identity (IMEI) number, and
- have asked your provider to block the IMEI number (rendering the phone useless).
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.
