Travel insurance by country
Medicare does not travel with you. Australia has reciprocal health care agreements with eleven countries, but they cover far less than people assume, and none of them cover the thing that actually bankrupts travellers: a medical evacuation home. Cover is priced by age band and by where you are going, so the sensible comparison is always country by country.
Travel insurance in 36 destinations
Prices are indicative, shown in AUD and refreshed from provider APIs where available. Always confirm the final price on the provider's site - it is the price that applies. We may earn a commission if you buy through our links, which never changes what you pay. Partners are listed before providers who pay us nothing, as our terms set out; sorting by price ignores all of that and orders on the number alone. How we make money.
Insurance by traveller type
Medicare stops at the gangway - why every cruise, including Australian coastal ones, needs its own cover.
Seniors travel insuranceAge limits, medical screening and pre-existing conditions - what actually changes, and what to compare on.
Annual multi-trip travel insuranceCheaper than per-trip cover from about the second international trip a year - if the per-trip cap fits.
How these comparisons are made
Policies are compared on the numbers that decide real claims: overseas medical cover, cancellation cover and excess, with the pricing basis stated under every table. Jamie has personally taken out policies with insurers recommended on this site. Premiums shown are indicative for the stated traveller and trip; the PDS for the specific policy is the binding document and the reason every page says to read it. Read the full editorial policy.
Read this first
Frequently asked questions
Does Medicare cover me overseas?
No. Medicare pays for treatment in Australia only. Australia has reciprocal agreements with the UK, Ireland, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Belgium, Finland, Italy, Malta, Norway, Slovenia and Sweden, and those cover only medically necessary public treatment, not private hospitals, repatriation or cancellation.
How much does a medical evacuation cost?
From roughly $75,000 for a medically escorted flight home from Southeast Asia, and well past $300,000 from the Americas. It is the single largest reason to hold travel insurance, and it is the one cost no reciprocal agreement will pay.
When should I buy travel insurance?
When you book, not when you leave. Cancellation cover only works for events that happen after the policy starts, so a policy bought the week you fly cannot cover a trip you had to abandon a month earlier.
What is actually worth booking.
New destination guides and side-by-side comparisons for Australian travellers - which eSIM, which travel card, which insurance is worth paying for, and what to sort before you go. Prices in Australian dollars, a few emails a year.