Travel insurance a must-have inclusion

Travel insurance a must-have inclusion

Plenty of Australians head overseas each year and travel insurance is a must-have inclusion, with insurance premiums representing a tiny percentage of the holiday costs.

Travel insurance is a highly competitive market, on both the price and features of policies, so how to know which one to choose can be tricky.

CANSTAR Group Manager, Research and Ratings, Mitchell Watson says “Based on our research, a family looking for a domestic travel insurance policy for a 10 day trip can expect to pay just $120 on average. The same family heading to Bali would be looking at just $154 on average for a 10-day trip. That is a very small price to pay for peace of mind – and remembering that cancellation costs or medical emergencies while you’re away can potentially run into tens of thousands of dollars of cost.”

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the top three overseas destinations for Australian residents in the 2016/16 year were New Zealand, Indonesia (including Bali), and the United States of America.

For a 21 day family holiday, CANSTAR’s research has found that the average travel insurance premiums people could expect would be $198, $219 and $322 respectively.

CANSTAR has researched eligible travel insurance policies across four categories:

  • International Travel Insurance
  • Domestic Travel Insurance
  • South Pacific Cruise Travel Insurance
  • Seniors Travel Insurance

What travellers are looking for

Based on approximately 30,000 visitors to CANSTAR’s travel insurance comparison tables this year, the most popular specific inclusions that travellers want to be covered for are:

  • Terrorism
  • Motor cycle/scooter/jet ski
  • Snow sports
  • Water sports

“Coverage for terrorism is an interesting search feature,” Watson said.

“It’s not something that all insurers cover as standard but we really noticed a peak in the proportion of CANSTAR visitors looking for a travel insurance policy that covers terrorism after the Nice terror attack; in July, almost 47 percent of visitors making a specific policy inclusion selection on CANSTAR’s travel insurance comparison tables were specifically looking for a travel insurance policy that covers terrorism. This is sharply higher than the ongoing average, which is around one-third of visitors.”

In November last year as well, after the Bataclan Concert Hall attacks, CANSTAR noted a spike in visitors searching for travel insurance that incorporates terrorism cover (43 percent).

“On a happier note, adventure sports are a popular activity overseas, whether on water or snow,” Watson concluded.

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