Travel Insurance can provide protection when unforeseen events occur whilst you are travelling and can help cover unexpected expenses. Travel Insurance can cover things like theft, accidents, or medical problems. To find out more about the benefits of travel insurance, visit the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade website.
Without travel insurance, you could be liable for thousands of dollars in medical bills, transportation costs in the case of cancelled flights, or the cost of replacing your personal valuables if your luggage is lost or stolen.
The Australian Government handles more than 20,000 cases of Australians in difficulty overseas every year (check out Smartraveller's informative guide to travel insurance) – that’s why buying travel insurance should be an essential item on your pre-holiday to-do list.
If you can't afford travel insurance, you can't afford to travel.
For information regarding Coronavirus (COVID-19) and your RAC travel policy, please refer to these frequently asked questions.
All of our RAC International policies provide 24-hour worldwide emergency assistance and unlimited reasonable overseas medical treatment (conditions, sub-limits and exclusions apply). We offer a number of policy options with varying benefits and limits for both International travel and Domestic travel, as well as a domestic rental car excess only policy. The policy also covers your children and grandchildren free of charge, provided they are travelling with you, are up to the age of 25, are financially dependent on their parents, are not working full time, and do not require medical assessment. Please refer to the table of benefits in the Product Disclosure Statement for further details.
RAC Travel Insurance is issued by Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance Co., Ltd (Tokio Marine & Nichido) ABN 80 000 438 291, AFSL 246548. Its managing agent, Tokio Marine Management (Australasia) Pty. Ltd. ABN 69 004 488 455 (TMMA) is authorised under a binder to act on behalf of Tokio Marine & Nichido to issue its policies and handle and settle claims in relation to those policies, subject to the terms of the authority. Royal Automobile Club of Western Australia (ABN 17 009 164 176 AR 228 577) (RAC) is an authorised representative of Tokio Marine & Nichido.
As well as travel insurance, Tokio Marine & Nichido also work with the general insurance market through insurance brokers and provide insurance for commercial and corporate businesses in Australia. Tokio Marine & Nichido was founded in 1879 in Japan, operates in multiple countries and employs thousands of people worldwide.
For all customer service enquiries including medical assessments please call us on 13 17 03, visit RAC or any RAC travel centre.
Cover is available to —
Australian residents over the age of 18, provided:
- you purchase your policy before you begin your trip; and
- for International cover your trip begins and ends in Australia; or
- for Domestic cover your trip must be wholly within Australia.
Temporary Residents over the age of 18, provided:
- you hold a current Australian Visa (excluding a tourist or working holiday visa) that will remain valid beyond the period of your return from your trip; and
- you hold a return ticket; and
- you have a permanent place of residence in Australia that you intend to return to; and
- you purchase your policy before you begin your Trip; and
- for International cover your trip begins and ends in Australia; or
- for Domestic cover your trip must be wholly within Australia.
This is an online set of medical questions (assessment) which you will need to complete if you wish to apply for travel insurance but have Medical Conditions which are not automatically covered under the policy. You can complete this as part of your travel insurance quote at www.rac.com/travelinsurance, call 1300 655 179 or visit an RAC travel centre for additional assistance. Upon completion of this assessment we will inform you if the Medical Condition is covered and any additional premium payable.
Under the policies, “Medical Condition” means:
- any physical condition, illness, disease, or complication, reasonably known to you, for which treatment, medication, surgery or advice (including investigation) has been received or prescribed by a medical practitioner, dental or health professional in the 24 months prior to Your purchase of this policy; and/or
- any chronic or ongoing (whether chronic or otherwise) medical or dental condition, illness or disease medically documented prior to Your purchase of this policy; and/or
- any new physical condition, illness, Mental Illness, disease or assessment that becomes reasonably known to You after Your purchase of this policy and prior to Your Trip departure as shown as the Period of Insurance on Your Certificate of Insurance; and/or
- any change to a current physical, condition, illness, Mental Illness, disease or assessment that becomes reasonably known to You after Your purchase of this policy and prior to Your Trip departure as shown as the Period of Insurance on Your Certificate of Insurance; and/or
- any condition medically documented that involves/involved Your heart, brain, circulatory system/blood vessels, Your lung or respiratory conditions, any type of cancer, or any Mental Illness, reasonably known to you, for which treatment, medication, surgery or advice has ever been received or prescribed by a medical practitioner or health professional prior to Your purchase of this policy and prior to Your Trip departure as shown as the Period of Insurance on Your Certificate of Insurance.
This definition applies to You, Your travelling companion, a relative or any other person. If you are unsure whether you have a Medical Condition, please call 1300 655 179 for assistance.
Capitalised terms used above are defined in the PDS which can be viewed here.
Under the policies, the following list of Medical Conditions are automatically covered with no additional premium provided the below criteria are met —
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they are not associated with any Medical Conditions you list as part of the medical assessment process; and
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You have not been hospitalised (including day surgery or emergency department attendance) for that condition in the past 24 months; and
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specific requirements are met as outlined in the automatically covered conditions list
Please also read the “General Exclusions” section of the PDS which can be viewed here.
There are some Medical Conditions that will not be covered in any circumstances. For all other medical conditions, which are not automatically covered, you will need to complete an online medical assessment. You can complete this as part of your travel insurance quote at www.rac.com/travelinsurance, call 1300 655 179 or visit an RAC travel centre for additional assistance.
This is an online set of medical questions (assessment) which you will need to complete if you wish to apply for travel insurance but have Medical Conditions which are not automatically covered under the policy. Upon completion of this assessment we will inform you if the Medical Condition can be covered and any additional premium that would be applicable.
Our policies provide limited cover for pregnancy. The following restrictions will apply for any person where a claim may arise in any way and is related to pregnancy regardless of whether it has been assessed or not. Cover is only provided for:
- Unexpected complications before the 26th week; or
- Childbirth before the 26th week which was accelerated by accidental injury
The policies cover single non-complicated pregnancies automatically. For all other pregnancies a medical assessment must be completed. As with all travel insurance it is important that expectant mothers consider if they should travel, seek their doctor's advice and ensure the policy they choose provides the coverage they need.
If you were not aware of any symptoms of the Medical Condition before you bought your policy, the insurer may cover you for cancellation costs if you have to cancel the trip prior to your departure due to this Medical Condition.
If you want to proceed with your trip you should contact us as soon as possible for a medical assessment before your trip starts to check if your medical condition can be covered or if any additional premium will apply. If you do not advise us before your trip starts, there might be no cover for any claim resulting from or related to this Medical Condition.
Your children and your grandchildren are covered for free if they meet the following criteria:
- they are 25 years old or younger;
- they are financially dependent on their parents;
- they are not working full time;
- they do not require a medical assessment;
- they are travelling with you the whole time; and
- they are listed on the certificate of insurance.
If they meet the above criteria and you choose our Ski and Winter Sports option, they’ll be covered for this as well. If you have omitted to list them, please contact us as soon as possible.
Your children and grandchildren will be covered for free if they meet the following criteria:
- they are 25 years old or younger;
- they are financially dependent on their parents;
- they are not working full time;
- they do not require a medical assessment;
- they are travelling with you the whole time; and
- they are listed on the certificate of insurance.
The limit for any benefit payable for children or grandchildren is included in the insured adult's sum insured. For example, if an adult has Total Travel Care cover on a single policy and a claim is made under Section 13 Travel Delay, the maximum amount that may be paid for 1 adult and their children combined is $3,000. Please note there are other sections of the policy whereby the limits are itemised per person which includes children and grandchildren individually eg. Funeral expenses in section 2G. Please refer to the Product Disclosure Statement for further details.
We will cover a variety of sports and activities in your travel insurance policy. Most amateur sporting and adventure activities are covered at no extra cost. There are some sports that have conditions of cover and some that we do not cover at all.
Whatever sport or activity you choose to do, it is a condition of cover that you act in a responsible way to protect yourself. Check which activities are covered check the PDS or click the link below.
If you are going on cruise which stops at other countries, you will need to select International Cover and select each country where the cruise stops.
If you are going on a cruise which is only in Australian waters or calling into ports in Australia and you still require a policy which includes medical cover whilst you are on board the ship as many on-board medical providers on cruises are not registered with Medicare (check with your cruise provider), you will need to select Australian Cruise as your destination. This will then allow the insurer to give you medical and evacuation cover whilst at sea but not if you go to a medical provider whilst in port in Australia. Please refer to the Product Disclosure Statement for further details.
Please note the Domestic policy does not include any medical cover as the insurer is a general insurer and cannot cover medical costs in Australia. Therefore the Domestic policy is not suitable for cruises if you require cover for on board medical treatment and evacuation.
If you are going on a cruise, you will need to select ‘Going on a cruise’ when you apply for your policy. An extra premium is payable for cruise cover.
Cover for cancellation, lost deposits and financial default commences from the date of purchase. All other benefits commence on the trip start date you have stated when purchasing your policy.
Please contact us on 1300 655 179 as soon as you realise the error so that we can review and arrange for amendments where possible. You can also advise us by email travelinsurance@rac.com.au with full details of the error and the correct details.
You have 21 days from the date of issue of this policy (as shown on your certificate of insurance) to make sure this is the right policy for you, provided you have not started your trip and that you do not want to make a claim or exercise any other right under this policy.
Simply advise us either by phone or by email if you wish to cancel your policy and we will arrange for the insurer to give you a full refund.
You can extend your policy under certain conditions.
The insurer will extend your cover free of charge if:
- your original return is delayed because of the transport provider (bus, plane, train, or ship) you are travelling on, or your luggage or personal items, are delayed; and
- the delay is due to a reason that you could make a claim for under your policy, subject to the insurer's written approval.
If you make a claim you may be required to pay an excess. An excess is an agreed dollar amount that is subtracted from each and every Insured Event — see the definitions of 'Excess' and 'Insured Event' in the PDS for more information. The default International policy excess is $250 but this can be reduced to $100 or $0 for an increased premium at the time of purchase. The default for our Domestic policy is $100 but can be reduced to $0 for an increased premium at the time of purchase. Your excess will be shown on your certificate of insurance.
Is there a maximum trip duration for an Annual Multi-Trip travel insurance policy?
The maximum days allowed on an Annual Multi-trip travel insurance policy per trip is either 30, 45 or 60 days. You must select the appropriate number of days that will cover any trip you may take during the 12 month period at the time of purchasing the travel insurance policy. The days allowed per trip can be increased to a longer duration during the period of the travel insurance policy and an additional premium will apply. Please contact us for assistance.
If you have an overseas emergency, our Emergency Assistance team is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to take your call.
+61 2 8055 1697 (reverse charges from the overseas operator).
It is always a good idea to register your details with Smart Traveller before you depart, at www.smartraveller.gov.au.
If you have an overseas medical emergency you should contact our Emergency Assistance team for help. Our team is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to take your call.
+61 2 8055 1697 (reverse charges from the overseas operator).
It is always a good idea to register your details with Smart Traveller before you depart, at www.smartraveller.gov.au.
Claims can be lodged either online, by phone, or by email. If lodging by phone or email the applicable claim form will be provided for completion together with details of the documentation that needs to be provided.
