THE BEST TRAVEL INSURANCE FOR AUSSIE TRAVELLERS

and the winner is…

But first, the good news is that the cost of travel insurance has dropped over the past few years, and according to data ratings provider Canstar, (which has reviewed over 160 travel insurance policies to rate the best options for Australian travellers), there is simply no good reason to travel without insurance.

"For the protection it provides, the cost of travel insurance is cheap," Canstar says. But the problem with travel insurance is that having the wrong policy is almost as bad as having no insurance at all. If your policy excludes a particular activity, medical condition or situation that applies to you, you can find yourself with a big fat problem or a big fat bill.

“So you simply can't escape reading the fine print, but Canstar has at least narrowed the field down a bit for us travellers by taking all the hard work out of comparing all these different policies”, warns travel writer Abby Warnes (www.CompareAllTravel.com).

So Who Has The Best Cover ?

Canstar's 5 Star Gold Rating was awarded to 1Cover Travel Insurance as offering the best overall value for international travel insurance in 2014.

1Cover was recognised for having unlimited cover for overseas medical expenses and cancellation expenses, with the added bonus of coverage for domestic services and pets if your return home is delayed.

If you're headed to Bali, travel insurance is still cheaper than for any other overseas destination. Canstar reviewed policy options for a person travelling to Bali and found the top five options were again in #1 position 1Cover Travel Insurance, followed by CityBank, DownUnder, Insure & Go, and Kango Cover.

As for the US, where medical bills can be quite costly (1Cover reports the case of a woman who suffered a brain aneurysm and whose medical expenses exceeded $1 million dollars), Canstar found the best options were again 1Cover Travel Insurance, CityBank, Down Under, Good 2 Go and Insure & Go.