Whether you're backpacking South East Asia for a couple of months or on a working holiday in the UK, it's a good idea to consider travel insurance. Here are some features that may come in handy when you're away for a while.
If you get sick or injure yourself overseas, you may be able to claim unlimited medical expenses incurred overseas. Cover will not exceed 12 months from onset of illness or condition.
If necessary, we'll help with emergency evacuation or repatriation to bring you home. Only applies to our overseas plans.
If you plan to be away for a long time – we're talking more than a year long – Freely offers travel insurance plans to suit your needs.
Long trips, flexible cover. All our overseas plans include medical expenses cover, your choice for trip cancellation cover and varying luggage cover limits as standard.
~ Medical and dental cover will not exceed 12 months from onset of the illness or injury.
#The level of cover applies per policy.
^Limits, sub‑limits, conditions and exclusions apply.
*Liability collectively for Sections 12. Accidental Death, and 13. Disability is $25,000 on the Explorer plan, and $30,000 on the Explorer Pro plan.
ΔItem limit applies for any one item, set, or pair of items including attached and unattached accessories.
Build on your travel insurance plan by adding Trip Extras to get pay-per-day cover for activities like skiing, motorcycle riding and adventure sports, as well as increased limits for your valuable items and extra cancellation cover.
Long-term travel is its own category. A gap year in South America, a twelve-month posting abroad, or an extended working holiday in the UK all sit outside the shape of a regular two-week trip.
Long-term travel insurance is generally designed to help with the same broad areas as shorter-trip cover, including overseas medical and emergency assistance, trip disruption, and lost or damaged luggage, for trips that run for months rather than weeks.
Planning a twelve-month trip isn't the same as planning a fortnight in Fiji. The shape of the trip, the shape of your life around it, and the way the days and weeks add up all land a little differently. When it comes to the insurance side of a long trip, three questions tend to matter most.
Freely's long-term cover runs to a maximum trip duration of 18 months from your departure date. If your trip is approaching that timeframe, confirm the dates at the quote stage so the policy matches the actual trip, and keep in mind that any mid-trip extension also has to land within the 18-month window.
Long trips rarely follow the original itinerary all the way through. A side trip from Lisbon to Morocco, a ski week added once you're already in Japan, a motorbike road trip that comes up in Vietnam, these decisions usually get made on the go, not at the quote stage.
Our activity-based Trip Extras (Snow Sports, Motorcycle, Adventure Activities, and Cruise) can be added through the Freely app, including after you've left Australia, so coverage for those activities can be turned on for the days you actually need it and you pay-per-day.
For a lot of long-term travellers, overseas medical, emergency evacuation, and trip disruption are the parts of cover most likely to be drawn on. Cancellation is also included in all Freely plans. Y
You're only covered for unexpected events that happen after you buy the policy, so buying at the time of booking a trip can be worthwhile. The full benefits, including options to vary the cover, limits and exclusions are set out in the PDS.
A structured gap year through South America. A working-holiday visa in the UK that rolls on past the original return date. A twelve-month secondment in Singapore with a few weeks of leave on either end. Long trips come in different shapes and sizes, but no matter what they look like, Freely offers cover for up to 18 months.
Two practical things tend to matter for trips approaching that timeframe. First, declare the actual trip dates accurately at the quote stage so the policy matches the trip you're taking. Second, if your plans change mid-trip, the end date can be modified or the policy extended, as long as the total stays inside the 18-month window and the request lands before your existing end date.
One additional point worth knowing: if you buy a long-term policy while you're already overseas, there is no cover under any section of the policy for any event that has already occurred or that arises within the first 3 days of purchasing a policy while travelling.
Only pay for the extra cover you need on the days you actually need it.
Update your policy on your trip so you can embrace travel spontaneity.
Get 24/7 access to our medical and emergency specialists.
