Best Value Insurance (examples 14 day trip to Asia):
Insure and Go Travel Insurance from $44 from 14 day asia trip – Recommended by Independent Choice Consumer Magazine – 17 million travellers insured annually.
1Cover Travel Insurance from $50 from $44 from 14 day asia trip – Helped 1.5 million travellers.
The cheapest way to buy travel insurance is online and we have some of the best deals in Australia below. Travel agents often charge over the odds for insurance so it pays to check us out.
Always read terms & conditions of what is covered but more importantly what isn’t covered in your policy if you are doing more unusual or risky activities.
More than a half of Aussie travellers aren’t properly insured according to the Government’s smart traveller survey.
Problems can lie in undeclared medical issues (if past medical history and haven’t declared you may not be covered) or behaviour that makes them ineligible to claim on their insurance so make sure you read the fine print. The PDS – product disclosure statement is best to make sure you have the right insurance cover for the activities you are doing and if you decide to do risky behaviour you may not be covered unless you opt for extra cover.
Examples include:
skiing, white water rafting, skydiving, water skiing, riding a moped if not you’re not properly licensed (very common) , baggage left unattended, high risk travel countries – see Smart Traveller website etc, partners medical condition – needing to return if partner becomes unwell.
Also if you are injured when you have drunk too much alcohol or take illegal drugs, most insurers won’t cover you as you’re responsible for the fall or accident.
Examples 15 day trip to SE Asia: (NOTE: Prices for comparison only & vary based on age & any medical conditions)
Insure and Go from $44
1Cover from $50
WorldCare from $58
iTrek from $59
Southern Cross from $66
Woolworths from $67
Ouch from $70
Down Under Travel Insurance $71.97
Insure for Less from $75.10
Cheap Travel Insurance $78
Columbus $79
Travel Insurance Direct $82.00
Cover More $100
QBE $102
SureSave $107
AussieTravelCover $113
Chi Travel Insurance $116
Chartis Travel Insurance $154
Remember to check level of cover as some maybe basic medical only cover whilst others include luggage, we quote the cheapest prices
If you do buy online, check the agent has an Australian Financial Services Licence or is an Authorised Representative of a licence holder by checking with ASIC, www.asic.gov.au.
Domestic Ticket & Baggage Insurance through Jetstar
Costs $12.95
It offers baggage cover whilst on their flight but did you know you that Jetstar offer you up to $1600 of liability per passenger for loss or damage under their conditions of carriage.
Credit Card Travel Insurance
Normally you need to spend a certain amount on accommodation or flights for you to be get cover – check your card’s policy and often only activates if you book a return travel .
Always check the terms & conditions of this policy very carefully to make sure your covered as it often means you have free cover but you must activate the cover correctly or you may not be covered!! You could always make sure before you travel that the cover has been activated so that you don’t get any nasty surprises.
Otherwise this can be a free way to get travel insurance.
Check your credit card provider does in fact provide proper travel insurance on your card. Some cards only provide cover for injuries at the trip’s point of departure or arrival, not while you’re at your destination; others don’t cover domestic travel, even for trips to Norfolk Island; and there may also be a time limit to your trip, such as three months.
Make sure you always have proof of purchase for anything in your baggage you may want to claim as the insurance company will always ask for this.
You may need to call your insurance company before you can get medical treatment.
Moral of the story: always check your policy before leaving home to check what it covers and to see if there are any requirements before you can submit a claim. Always read the fine print & PDS.
Compare Car Insurance
Current Deals
You should always shop around for your car insurance each year as often deals can change each year.
- Shop around. Can save you $100s if you get best deal. Amazing that people spend time trying to get few extra % interest but don’t shop around for car insurance.
- Combine home, contents & car insurance. Up to 30% discount if you have them all with the same company. (State
- Always maximise no claims discount (after 1st yr often 30% up to max 66%). Some companies offer no claims protection but remember this is only if you stay with the same company!
- Consider getting immobiliser or alarm fitted as often get discount (check with your insurance company first)
- Check the value of the car. May be more than it is worth.
- Consider a higher excess (you agree to pay the first $250 instead of $100) may give you a discount.
- Older drivers (usually over 50s) can get discount of up to 20% in some situations
- Pay premium annually rather than monthly if you can get a lower quote or no surcharge
- Restrict younger drivers. If you declare no one under 25 will drive the car you may get a discount.
- Look at 3rd party, fire & theft insurance if your car isn’t worth much.
Overall winner
Money Magazine Best of the Best 2014 & Your Money Magazine listed Budget Car Insurance as the cheapest car insurance overall:
Choice Magazine has recommended in the past:
(Note with Bingle car insurance if you need to claim they take the excess from you before claim and then give it back to you if they can find the other at fault driver etc. If they can’t find they & even if it wasn’t your fault they can keep the excess. It is in their PDS (Product Disclosure Statement) and that is probably why they are cheap as there have been stories on forums where people have been unable to get the excess back if it wasn’t their fault. Just take note)
Always check the PDS to check about how what happens if you are not at fault and other terms of the insurance. It may catch you out with a claim so take note.
Other Car Insurance Deals:
Progressive Car InsuranceThey also offer a discounted pay as you drive option. If you drive few kilometres you may get a discount on your insurance quote.
Compare Health Insurance Deals
Easy Comparison ToolsiSelectHelpmechooseGMHBAYou can also use the government’s Health Insurance Tool but the premiums are similar to Better Bills without the cashback! (To get the cashback you have to go throught the link above)Frank Insurance seems to offer some of the cheapest insurance policies around for young people, followed by GMHBAHow to save on your Health Insurance?There is a big range in prices so always check out the best deal with the above tools.Policies increase in price each year and so it it worth trying to pay for a yearly plan for the whole year before 1st April of each year, when the prices go up.Cover is means tested.Private Health Insurance Rebate & Medicare Levy Surcharge (MLS):source: privatehealth.gov.au
- As you can see from the table above if you earn over $88,000 a year then it is worth signing up for a policy as there is a 1% Medicare Levy Surcharge on your tax = $880 of tax. If you find a health insurance policy under this price then you are saving yourself money.
- Only take on the level of cover you really need- don’t pay ofr extras if you rarely use them.
- Preimums for people in their 30s can start from only $400
- Make sure you sign up for health insurance before your 31st birthday if you are a high earner. Otherwise you’ll pay a loading fee of 2% per year on your health insurance.
Lifetime Health Cover (LHC) Surcharge
Consider signing up to a policy before your 31st Birthday otherwise you will have to pay 2% loading each year after that! ie you pay a 20% loading on top of the standard rate if you are 40.
If you move/migrate to Australia you have until 1 year after you sign up to Medicare to avoid this fee, even if you are over 31.
Did you know your health fund may allow you to suspend your membership whilst you are away overseas or if you become unemployed. This mean you that your LHC stays in place, so when you restart it you don’t have to pay the LHC surcharge. MLS still applies.
You can also use your LHC “Days of abscence” you can be without cover for 1094 days (confirm this with your policy provider first) without having to pay the surcharge when you take it up again.
Compare Home & Contents Insurance
Home & contents insurance is a little more complicated than most other insurances.
You should check your quotes each year. We have had insurance increase by 70% one year from $1000 to $1700 with one insurance company only to search other companies to find a quote for $830! So always check your quotes each year.
To try to compare insurance policies you really need to look at the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) or Key Facts brochure from the insurance company. This will then reveal if there are key differences in the insurance cover.
When we recently checked policies prices and coverage we found:
Cheapest
Coles & Woolworths home & contents insurances had the cheapest price at approx $650 but have to check the coverage to make sure it matches your needs.
CGU insurance Appeared to have the good cover with a larger range of items covered compared to Coles but also more expensive at $1050. It also increased significantly one year without reason.
Other quotes
AAMI $830
Allianz $750
QBE $1500
Westpac $1150
ING Direct $1269
Apparently water damage is one of the commonest reasons for home or contents claims.
To check at likelihood of claims being paid out or disputed check out the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) comparative tables which compare insurance companies for this.
Choice Magazine always has useful advice such as What kind of flood will your insurance cover?
To get the best deals:
- Always shop around so get a quote from as many of the companies below as you can.
- Check between Combined home, contents & car insurance for discount but also remember to check to:
- Shop separately for home & contents insurance. Consumer magazines found that it is often cheaper buy from different companies as they may offer good deal with one but poor with other
- Some companies offer no claims discount on contents
- You can get a discount if you have an approved burglar alarm installed.
- You may qualify for discount if you stay with same insurer for more than a year but always check this discount against what you can get from others
Compare Pet Insurance Deals