Don’t book travel insurance until you read these 5 policy quirks

The end of the year holiday season is now rapidly approaching and if you’re travelling overseas, it’s time to cross ‘purchase travel insurance’ off your list of to-dos.

But before you plug your itinerary details to compare travel insurance quotes, you might want to scan the list below to see if there are any relevant to your upcoming trip. It could save you hundreds of dollars which can go towards your holiday fun budget instead.

Always thoroughly read the PDS before purchasing as cover and criteria varies across insurers and the type of policy purchased.

Did you know that there isn’t a standard age among insurance providers for a dependent child? So if you are travelling with your older kids, some insurers will cover financially dependent offspring up to the age of 25 on the same policy as you. There is no need to pay for them as an extra adult. 

If you’re taking the grandkids away, you generally don’t need to buy a separate policy as long as they are included on your certificate of insurance, are financially dependent, and they are travelling with you for 100% of the trip. Age limits for grandchildren may vary between insurers. 

Say you decide to take a short side trip and meet up with the rest of your party a few days later or come home on a different date. You won’t necessarily need to purchase a separate insurance policy with all insurance providers as long as the majority of the trip is travelled together and the policy is taken out for the duration of the traveller who is away for the longest time. Check the PDS for specific insurer requirements regarding shared travel duration. 

While the rules do vary between insurers, generally you do not need to list airport stopover destinations on your travel insurance as long as you remain in transit in the airport. The exception to this is the USA - even if you are transiting through a US airport you will need to list this on your policy.

If you do plan on leaving the airport, even if it is for a short period of time,  you should list that destination on your policy.   

If you’re lucky enough to be in the situation where you’re considering multiple overseas trips over a 12 month period, getting an annual insurance policy could save you significant money over purchasing single trip insurance each time you go. Annual cover covers you for unlimited travel during a 12 month period. You’ll need to select a maximum trip duration (typically 30 days, 45 days or 60 days) and no single trip can exceed this limit.