Choosing the right travel insurance for your holiday can be a frustrating challenge. Confusing policies, hidden costs and lengthy exclusions can mean you end up paying more than you need to. At Southern Cross Travel Insurance, we want to take the mystery out of finding the right cover for your holiday. We’re here to help you to protect yourself with a comprehensive and affordable policy for your next adventure.

How can I save money on my insurance?

Travel insurance can seem like an annoying extra expense, especially when you consider the cost of flights, accommodation and activities overseas. However, compared to the price of emergency medical care, lost luggage, delayed flights and damaged valuables, it’s easy to see why protecting yourself with comprehensive travel insurance is the smart financial choice. There are some simple ways you can save money on your travel insurance. 

Don’t always choose the lowest price cover

You may be tempted to select dirt-cheap travel insurance, however before you commit to buy, it always pays to research the policy carefully. 

Saving a few dollars on a budget policy may seem like a good option now, but when the unexpected happens overseas and you find you’re not covered, it can end up costing you lots in the long run.

Reading customer reviews is a great place to start when researching the quality of a travel insurance provider.

Understand your travel insurance

There’s nothing more frustrating than having an insurance claim rejected because unexpectedly your claim doesn’t meet your policy’s rules. For example, you may not be covered if your electronics are damaged in checked luggage, or if your bags are stolen while left out of your sight.

A common mistake travellers make with travel insurance is failing to understand their cover. Always read your policy carefully so you can be confident that you stay insured, wherever your adventure takes you.

The majority of our policy documents have been written in ‘plain language’ to better help customers understand the cover that may be available to them. These documents have both been awarded the WriteMark, an independent endorsement awarded to documents that achieve a high standard of plain language.

How do I choose the right cheap policy?

There are several things to consider when choosing the best policy for your holiday, which will also impact the price of your insurance:

1. Your destination

If you're travelling overseas, your destination can affect the price of your international policy, because of the cost of medical care in the country and its risk rating. It's important that you let your insurer know all the destinations that you're planning to visit on your trip. Insurers may not be able to provide cover for some destinations if there are certain travel warnings on Smartraveller – it pays to check before you plan your trip.

2. The length of your journey

The duration of your holiday can also impact the price of your insurance. Our International Comprehensive Single Trip policy covers you for a single return journey of up to 365 days.

3. Who you travel with

Our International Comprehensive policy provides cover for dependent children (aged under 21 years old at the date your insurance starts) under the policy of their guardian for no extra cost.

4. Your excess

The excess you choose will affect the price of your policy. An ‘excess’ is the amount you’ll pay in the event you need to make a claim with us. The higher your excess, the lower the premium of your policy. When you're looking at multiple insurers, make sure the excesses are as similar as possible, to get a more 'like-for-like' comparison.

5. Whether you are taking high value items with you

Travel insurance often includes cover for the items you're taking with you. However, if you're travelling with items that are a higher value items than the standard benefit limit, it can affect the price of your insurance. If you'd like to cover these items, you may need to specify them when you purchase your policy and pay an additional premium.

6. What activities you do

At Southern Cross Travel Insurance, we give you the flexibility to tailor your plan. For example, if you’re going sightseeing on a motorbike, heading on a cruise or skiing in the mountains you can add cover for these activities. It’s important though that you also read and understand the general exclusions of your policy before you buy. For example, under our policies, you won’t be covered if you’re mountaineering in certain circumstances or participating in any professional sports.

7. Your pre-existing medical conditions

With our International Comprehensive and Domestic policies you can carry out a medical assessment to see if we can offer you cover for your pre-existing medical conditions. It only takes a few minutes to do and, if we can offer you cover, you can decide if you want to add it and pay the extra premium.

8. How often you travel

How frequently you travel is another thing to consider when finding the right policy for you. If you’re travelling internationally more than three times in a year, our Annual Multi-trip policy could be a cheaper option. Under the policy, you’re covered for 12 months from the start date of insurance you select, no matter how many times you travel. You can also select the number of days you’ll be covered for each trip - from up to 30, 60 or 90 days. The trip duration can change your overall pricing, so be sure to check before purchasing your policy.

Find travel insurance promotions

Travel insurers often run promotions that can be a great way to get yourself in the draw for a little extra on your next trip. Keep an eye out to see what’s running, when you’re looking to buy your policy. Check out our current promotions here.

Get a quote for cheap travel insurance

To find out if our award-winning international travel insurance is the best value for your next overseas holiday, get a quick quote today. Or if your holiday is a little bit closer to home, get a quote for our domestic travel insurance instead.

What you need to know

This page includes some information about our products but, as with all insurance policies, terms and conditions apply. For our terms and conditions (including information about exclusions, excesses and sub limits) we recommend you read the relevant Financial Services Guide (FSG), Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) and Target Market Determination (TMD) to ensure our travel insurance products are right for you.  

You can find the relevant documents here: International Comprehensive, Annual Multi-trip, International Medical Only, Working Overseas, Domestic.