Nothing beats enjoying an overseas adventure with the family in tow. Whether it be a tour of USA’s best theme parks, or a school holiday escape to a distant tropical shore, experiencing new things with the ones you love the most is unforgettable.

With the right travel insurance, it can be unforgettable for all the right reasons.

There are several things to consider when researching the best policy for your family, like whether the kids are covered for free, what activities they’re allowed to enjoy, and what benefits apply to each of you.

What does SCTI family travel insurance include?

We know how important it is for families to travel with the confidence that they’re insured when the unexpected happens. That’s why both our International Comprehensive and Domestic policies include a comprehensive schedule of benefits. Take a look at what you could get cover for below.  

International Comprehensive

Under our International Comprehensive policy, you can get covered for:  

• Unlimited medical and evacuation expenses 
• Stolen, lost and damaged valuables 
• Travel interruptions  
• Cancelling or changing your journey before you leave 
• Emergency dental treatment 
• Rental car excess
• Optional add-on options for cruise, ski, and moped cover.  

Domestic 

Under our Domestic policy, you can get cover for:  

• Stolen, lost and damaged valuables 
• Travel interruptions.  
• Cancelling or changing your journey before you leave 
• Rental car excess
• Optional add-on options for cruise journeys. 

When you protect your family with Southern Cross Travel Insurance, you also gain access to our worldwide emergency assistance team, who are available for emergency assistance 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. 

International Medical Only 

If you opt for our International Medical Only policy, you and your family will have cover for personal liability and unlimited medical and evacuation expenses. Be sure to read the Product Disclosure Statement to ensure this cover is right for your family’s needs.  

Kids don't have to pay an additional premium

We know that with flights, accommodation, tours and transport, the costs of a family holiday can really add up. That’s why there's no extra cost for kids (dependent children aged 20 and under who are included on your policy. 

They must be ‘dependent children’. By this we mean your children, stepchildren, foster children, grandchildren, nieces, and nephews who meet the following criteria: 

• They must be unmarried 
• They must be under 21 years old at the start date of your insurance (if you have a Single Trip policy) or the issue date of insurance (if you have an Annual Multi-Trip policy) 
• They must be primarily financially dependent on the adults listed on the certificate of insurance 
• They mustn’t be in full time employment 

Pre-existing medical conditions and high value items aren’t automatically covered by this policy. This means if your kids need cover for these, you may need to pay an additional premium. To find out if we’re able to offer you cover, you’ll need to let us know about any pre-existing medical conditions and high value items during the application process.

Is there a different level of cover for kids?

Your children receive the same great benefits as you do under our International Comprehensive and Domestic policies (apart from the ‘Personal Accident’ section of the policy).  

It’s important to note that the dependent children on a policy share the same benefit limits with the insured adult on the policy. For example, if your checked-in baggage has been delayed, and you are eligible to purchase essential toiletries and clothing under your policy, you and your children would share the $1,000 benefit limit, as opposed to each of you having your own benefit limit of $1,000. For more information, please check the relevant Product Disclosure Statement to ensure you’re aware of you and your family’s total benefit limits.  

Children aged 15 years and under have $1,000 per journey under the ‘Personal Accident’ section. This is because this section is intended to support adults that can’t continue their full-time job when they return home due to an unexpected accident or illness that occurs on their journey. 

Under our International Comprehensive and International Medical Only policies, the ‘Medical and evacuation’ section of the policy doesn’t have any age restrictions, so your children receive the same comprehensive cover for unexpected accidents and injuries that occur overseas. 

What activities are covered for kids?

Kids can be an adventurous bunch, which is why it’s so important that they’re insured in case of any unexpected bumps and scrapes. We know that adventure is all part of the fun, which is why our International Comprehensive policy includes medical and evacuation cover for things like:

• Snorkelling
• Surfing
• Hot air ballooning
• Scuba diving (with a qualified instructor or if you hold an open water diving certificate)
• Skateboarding
• Zip lining

We also offer cover for many adventure sports such as abseiling, bungee jumping, and white water rafting when you’re taking part with a licensed operator, following their safety instructions, and wearing all required safety equipment.

There are some activities that we don’t cover under our International Comprehensive policy, including:

• Kitesurfing
• Off-piste winter sport
• Outdoor rock climbing
• Sky diving
• Hunting
• Rodeo

Unfortunately, we’ve seen some serious claims for unlucky children who have been injured while participating in all kinds of activities. So it's important that you protect your family with a travel insurance policy that includes comprehensive medical and evacuation cover.

Travel insurance while pregnant

It’s becoming increasingly common for expectant mothers to take a short holiday before the birth of their child - referred to as a ‘babymoon’.

Travelling while pregnant can be a great way to unwind and take some much-needed ‘me time’, however babymoon holidays do require some more careful planning. First of all, you need to research whether or not you are even permitted to fly, as airline carriers each have rules about travelling while pregnant.

Our International Comprehensive policy automatically provides cover for up to and including the 24th week, as long as there were not complications before your start date of insurance. Cover includes:

• Single pregnancy
• Multiple pregnancy, such as twins or triplets
• Pregnancy through fertility treatment

If you have an International Comprehensive or International Medical Only policy, we’ll pay for emergency medical treatment if:

• There were no pregnancy related complications prior to your start date of insurance
• The claim is for a medical treatment related to an emergency pregnancy complication. Common pregnancy symptoms including breast tenderness, constipation, fatigue, frequent urination, heartburn and morning sickness are not covered.
• The claim is for the early childbirth costs associated with a person named on the policy.

Tips for travelling as a family

Whether it be a relaxing family holiday to Fiji or a staycation, your trip has the potential to be a blast for everyone involved. However, like most things in travel, a large part of this success depends on your research, planning and preparation. Our travel guides are a great resource of travel tips and hacks to help you start planning your family adventure.

*Terms, conditions and exclusions apply. Please refer to each policy's Product Disclosure Statement or contact us at info@scti.com.au for further information.

The content of this article is general and provided for information purposes only. Southern Cross Travel Insurance (SCTI) doesn’t guarantee or warrant the accuracy, completeness or currency of any article.

This article may contain hyperlinks to other websites owned or operated by third parties, or references to third party products or services. SCTI isn’t responsible for, and makes no recommendation about, the content or accuracy of any third party website, or for the suitability or performance of any product or service. The inclusion of a link in this article doesn’t imply that SCTI endorses the website or third party product/service.

What you need to know

This page includes some information about our products but, as with all insurance policies, terms and conditions apply. For our terms and conditions (including information about exclusions, excesses and sub limits) we recommend you read the relevant Financial Services Guide (FSG), Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) and Target Market Determination (TMD) to ensure our travel insurance products are right for you.  

You can find the relevant documents here: International Comprehensive, Annual Multi-trip, International Medical Only, Working Overseas, Domestic.