How Excess Works on a Travel Policy
Like most insurance, travel policies let you choose an excess — the amount you pay toward a claim before the insurer covers the rest — which directly trades off against your premium.
The Trade-Off
A higher excess lowers your premium, sometimes meaningfully, but increases what you'd pay out of pocket if you actually claim. For a short, low-cost domestic trip, a higher excess against a lower premium often makes sense; for an expensive international trip with real medical exposure, a lower excess is usually worth the extra premium.
Per-Claim, Not Per-Trip
Excess typically applies per claim, not once per trip — if you make two separate claims on the same trip (say, a lost bag and later a medical issue), you may pay the excess twice, once for each. This is worth factoring in for longer or more complex trips where multiple smaller claims are plausible.
Excess-Free Options
Some insurers offer a 'no excess' or reduced-excess option for an additional premium — worth comparing directly against simply choosing the standard excess, especially if you're the type of traveller more likely to make a smaller claim (lost item, minor illness) than a large one.
This page is for educational purposes and isn't personalised financial advice. Premiums, terms and eligibility vary by insurer, destination and individual circumstances — always check the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) and Smartraveller advice before travelling.