Cover-More has been one of Australia's largest travel insurance providers for over 30 years. They insure more than 2 million Australians annually and are the provider behind many bank and credit card travel insurance policies. Here is our complete 2026 review based on policy documents, claims experiences from the Australian travel community, and direct testing.

Cover-More Policy Options

Cover-More offers three main individual policy tiers plus annual multi-trip policies:

  • Budget: Basic medical, limited cancellation (AUD $2,500), no adventure sports
  • Standard: Unlimited medical evacuation, AUD $5,000 cancellation, some adventure sports
  • Comprehensive: Unlimited medical, unlimited evacuation, high cancellation limits, adventure sports included, rental vehicle excess cover

For most Australian travellers going to Asia or Europe, the Comprehensive policy is the one worth buying. The Budget and Standard tiers cut corners on exactly the coverage scenarios most likely to cost you significant money.

Medical Coverage — What Matters Most

Cover-More Comprehensive offers unlimited overseas medical expenses and unlimited emergency evacuation. These are the two most critical numbers in any travel insurance policy. A medical evacuation from Bali to Singapore costs AUD $25,000-50,000. A serious illness requiring hospitalisation in the USA costs USD $50,000-500,000. "Unlimited" means Cover-More pays whatever the actual bill is — there is no cap above which you are personally liable.

The Standard policy caps medical at AUD $2,500,000 — technically "unlimited" in practice for most scenarios but with a stated cap that could theoretically be reached in catastrophic USA medical situations. For the USA specifically, always buy Comprehensive.

Cancellation Coverage

Cover-More Comprehensive covers trip cancellation and curtailment up to the value of your pre-paid, non-refundable expenses. You specify this amount when you buy the policy — if you have pre-paid AUD $8,000 in flights and accommodation, you declare AUD $8,000 in trip cost coverage. Covered reasons include illness, injury, death of a close relative, natural disaster, and redundancy. Not covered: changing your mind, work obligations that are not redundancy, or pre-existing medical conditions unless specifically declared and accepted at the time of purchase.

Adventure Activities Coverage

Cover-More Comprehensive includes a solid list of adventure activities: snorkelling, scuba diving (recreational), hiking on marked trails, white-water rafting Grade 1-4, skiing and snowboarding at commercial resorts, and motorbike riding under 250cc with a valid licence. The motorbike clause is particularly relevant for Bali — Cover-More covers scooter accidents if you have an appropriate licence (Indonesian or International Driving Permit). Many cheaper policies explicitly exclude motorbike accidents as a standard exclusion.

What Cover-More Does NOT Cover

Standard exclusions worth knowing: pre-existing medical conditions not declared at the time of purchase (though Cover-More has a reasonable pre-existing condition assessment process), incidents occurring while under the influence of alcohol (the threshold is "affected by alcohol," not "legally drunk"), and travelling against DFAT Smartraveller advice of "Do Not Travel." The alcohol clause is applied consistently — if you have an accident after drinking, expect the claim to be closely scrutinised.

Annual Multi-Trip Policies

For Australians who take 3+ overseas trips per year, Cover-More's Annual Multi-Trip policy is worth calculating against individual trip policies. Each trip is covered for up to 30 or 45 days (depending on the policy tier). Annual Multi-Trip costs AUD $350-600 depending on your age and the tier selected. If you take 3 trips averaging AUD $150-200 per individual policy, the annual policy pays for itself from trip three onwards.

How Is the Claims Process?

Cover-More processes claims through their online portal and phone line. Based on community feedback, straightforward medical claims (hospital bills while overseas, emergency treatment) are paid promptly with minimal dispute. Complex claims — particularly trip cancellation due to illness — require medical certificates from treating doctors and can take 4-8 weeks to process. The most common rejection reason is failure to declare a pre-existing condition at policy purchase. If you have any medical history, declare everything — Cover-More's pre-existing condition assessment process is genuinely reasonable, and undisclosed conditions that become relevant during a claim result in automatic rejection.

Cover-More vs World Nomads

The two most common choices for Australian travellers: Cover-More is better for families, older travellers and comprehensive coverage with high cancellation limits. World Nomads is better for young adventure travellers, backpackers and those doing extended trips — World Nomads covers a broader list of adventure activities and has a more flexible approach to trip extensions. For a standard 2-week holiday in Bali or Europe, Cover-More Comprehensive is excellent value.

Our Verdict

Cover-More Comprehensive is one of the better travel insurance options for Australian leisure travellers. The unlimited medical and evacuation coverage is the core reason to buy it — everything else is secondary. The adventure sports coverage is solid for typical Bali and Asia activities. The claims process is reasonable for straightforward claims.

The caution: declare every pre-existing condition. Do not assume a historical medical issue is irrelevant. Cover-More's pre-existing assessment team is thorough, and the difference between declaring and not declaring can be the difference between a paid claim and a rejected one.

Rating: 4.3/5 — Strong comprehensive coverage, reasonable price, good for families and leisure travellers.

Cover-More vs the Competition

Cover-More competes primarily with World Nomads, 1Cover and Allianz for the Australian comprehensive travel insurance market. The key differentiators: Cover-More has stronger pre-existing condition coverage options than World Nomads at comparable price points, making it a better choice for older Australian travellers or those with managed health conditions. World Nomads has more explicit adventure sports inclusions by default -- Cover-More requires careful policy tier selection to ensure specific activities are covered. 1Cover is typically 10-20% cheaper than Cover-More for equivalent coverage, though Cover-More's claims service reputation is marginally stronger.

For families, Cover-More's family policy structure (children covered free with insured adults on most policies) represents excellent value compared to individually priced competitor policies. For Australian travellers over 65, Cover-More's specific senior travel insurance products offer coverage where many standard travel policies decline or heavily load premiums. Always purchase Cover-More directly at covermore.com.au rather than through comparison sites -- direct purchase occasionally includes additional benefits not available through aggregators.

Cover-More's 24-hour emergency assistance line is a genuine differentiator versus discount travel insurance. When you need emergency medical assistance overseas, the quality of that assistance line -- whether it answers, whether the person understands international medical systems, whether they can arrange direct billing to avoid large upfront payments -- matters more than the premium difference. Cover-More's emergency assistance is underwritten by a major Australian insurer and has a strong track record for Australian travellers in medical emergencies in Southeast Asia and Europe.