We love paddling out overseas, but from reef cuts to board damage in transit, sometimes accidents happen on surf trips. That’s why it might be a good idea to think about getting travel insurance.
Seeking barrels in Bali, pits in Polynesia or long rides in Sri Lanka? Whatever your destination, Freely’s Explorer Plan includes a number of benefits for travellers who love to surf.
If you get injured while surfing overseas, we may provide cover for unexpected medical and hospital expenses. Cover will not exceed 12 months from onset of illness or condition.
If your surfboard gets lost, stolen or damaged in transit due to the fault of your transport provider, we may reimburse you for your surfboard or for repairing it (please note that we don’t offer cover for surfboards while they’re in use).
If three or more adult travellers are on the same policy, we'll give you access to a discount that will automatically be applied at checkout. Win-win!
If you want extra cover for your surfboards, consider adding our Specified Items Trip Extra to your base policy (at an additional cost).
Our Explorer Plan offers cover for lost, stolen and damaged surfboards – but not while they're in use.
We've made buying travel insurance easier by bundling medical, trip and belongings cover in our single Explorer Plan. Get a quote and buy your policy in minutes.
If you need additional coverage for your trip or favourite gadgets, you can build upon the Explorer Plan by adding any of our Trip Extras.
Last-minute ski trip? Need a rental vehicle or motorcycle for the day? Embrace spontaneity and toggle on additional activity coverage for the days you need it.
We've simplified travel insurance with our bundled Explorer Plan that you can build upon with extra coverage. This way, you only pay for the coverage you need on the days you actually need it.
We provide coverage for overseas medical expenses, including hospital expenses for approvable claims. If things go really wrong, we can help with emergency repatriation or evacuation to bring you home.
Only applies to Overseas Explorer Plan
If you need to amend, delay or cancel your trip, we can help smooth out bumps in your travel plans. You can even increase your cancellation coverage in increments of $1,000 by paying additional premiums.
When things go wrong overseas, travel insurance can be the unexpected hero of your trip. Freely's Overseas Explorer Plan offers coverage for medical and dental, emergency evacuation and repatriation, trip cancellation and amendment, and lost and delayed luggage.
If you suffer an injury caused solely and directly by violent, accidental, visible and external means (as opposed to being caused by sickness or disease) that results in your death, we will pay your estate the amount (provided your death occurs within one year of the accident).
If you suffer an injury caused solely and directly by violent, accidental, visible and external means (as opposed to being caused by sickness or disease) that results in your permanent total loss of sight in one or both eyes or the loss of use of one or more limbs, we will pay you the amount shown in the Plan purchased (provided the loss occurs within one year of the accident).
If you become sick or injured while on your trip, we may provide cover for unexpected medical and hospital expenses.
If you need to pay for unexpected dental treatment during your trip, we may provide cover for emergency overseas dental expenses.
If you become sick or injured while on your trip and need emergency repatriation, we may provide cover for that.
Some existing medical conditions are automatically covered by our Explorer Plan (subject to the criteria outlined in the PDS). If your existing medical condition falls outside the criteria or isn’t on the list, we may still be able to provide cover for your condition subject to the outcome of a short medical assessment, an additional premium may apply.
If you become sick or injured while on your trip and need emergency evacuation, we may provide cover for that.
If you suffer an injury caused solely and directly by violent, accidental, visible and external means (as opposed to being caused by sickness or disease) that results in your death, if approved, we will pay your estate the amount (provided your death occurs within one year of the accident).
If you suffer an injury caused solely and directly by violent, accidental, visible and external means (as opposed to being caused by sickness or disease) that results in your permanent total loss of sight in one or both eyes or the loss of use of one or more limbs, if approved, we will pay you the amount shown in the Plan purchased (provided the loss occurs within one year of the accident).
If you need to unexpectedly amend or cancel your trip for a covered reason, we can reimburse you for the costs of your prepaid, non-refundable travel arrangements.
If you encounter unexpected accommodation and/or transport costs during your travels because of a covered event, we may provide cover for the additional expenses you incur.
If your pre-booked, prepaid transport is temporarily delayed during the journey for at least 6 hours due to an unforeseeable circumstance outside your control (including a cyber incident), we may provide cover for the related expenses you incur up to $2,000.
If you need to return to Australia while you're on your trip because of the sudden serious injury, sickness, disease, or death of your relative or business partner, we may provide cover for the cost of resuming the journey up to $2,000.
If, due to an unforeseeable circumstance outside your control, your journey would otherwise be delayed – resulting in you being unable to arrive in time to attend a wedding, funeral, 25th or 50th wedding anniversary, or a prepaid conference, music festival or sporting event that cannot be delayed due to your late arrival – we may pay for the reasonable additional cost of using alternative public transport to arrive at your destination on time.
If you become unintentionally legally liable to pay compensation for damage caused to someone, we may provide coverage of up to $3,000,000. Limits, sub-limits, conditions and exclusions apply.
If your luggage or travel documents are lost, stolen, or damaged on your trip, we can reimburse you for your items or for repairing your items. The limit per item is $750.
If your luggage is delayed by a transport provider for more than 12 hours during your trip, we can reimburse you for the costs of several personal items purchased.
We may pay you for the cost of replacing travel documents and credit cards lost or stolen on the journey. We may also pay for your legal liability arising from their illegal use. You must, however, comply with all the conditions of the issue of the document prior to and after the loss or theft.
If your cash, bank or currency notes, postal or money orders are accidentally lost or stolen on your trip, we can reimburse you for the cost of the loss.
It's easy to assume that travel insurance is only necessary for overseas holidays – but travelling domestically within Australia's borders carries many of the same risks! Freely offers coverage for all domestic travel: from the bustling hubs of Sydney and Melbourne to more regional, nature-based destinations such as Tasmania and the Gold Coast.
If you suffer an injury caused solely and directly by violent, accidental, visible and external means (as opposed to being caused by sickness or disease) that results in your death, we will pay your estate the amount (provided your death occurs within one year of the accident).
If you suffer an injury caused solely and directly by violent, accidental, visible and external means (as opposed to being caused by sickness or disease) that results in your permanent total loss of sight in one or both eyes or the loss of use of one or more limbs, we will pay you the amount shown in the Plan purchased (provided the loss occurs within one year of the accident).
If you need to unexpectedly amend or cancel your trip for a covered reason, we can reimburse you for the costs of your prepaid, non-refundable travel arrangements.
If you encounter unexpected accommodation and/or transport costs during your travels because of a covered event, we can provide cover for the additional expenses you incur.
If your pre-booked, prepaid transport is temporarily delayed during the journey for at least 6 hours due to an unforeseeable circumstance outside your control (including a cyber incident), we can provide cover for the related expenses you incur up to $2,000.
If you need to return to Australia while you're on your trip because of the sudden serious injury, sickness, disease, or death of your relative or business partner, we can provide cover for the cost of resuming the journey up to $2,000.
If, due to an unforseeable circumstance outside your control, your journey would otherwise be delayed – resulting in you being unable to arrive in time to attend a wedding, funeral, 25th or 50th wedding anniversary, or a prepaid conference, music festival or sporting event that cannot be delayed due to your late arrival – we will pay for the reasonable additional cost of using alternative public transport to arrive at your destination on time.
If you become unintentionally legally liable to pay compensation for damage caused to someone else's property or for the injury or death of someone, we may provide coverage of up to $200,000.
If your luggage or travel documents are lost, stolen, or damaged on your trip, we can reimburse you for the cost of replacing or repairing your items. The limit per item is $750.
If your luggage is delayed by a transport provider for more than 12 hours during your trip, we can reimburse you for the costs of several personal items purchased.
If your cash, bank or currency notes, postal or money orders are accidentally lost or stolen on your trip, we can reimburse you for the cost of the loss.
Build on your Explorer Plan by adding Trip Extras to get greater protection for your personal belongings, and enhanced delay and cancellation coverage. You can also toggle on Daily Boosts to get coverage for certain activities, from motorbike riding to adventure sports – and toggle them off when your plans change!
The Australian government’s Smartraveller website advises taking out a travel insurance policy “regardless of who you are, where you're going and what you're doing”.
Surfing can be fairly risky (no one loves a reef cut) and medical assistance tends to be the highest unexpected cost that Australians face when they’re overseas – let alone the cost of evacuations and repatriations.
Our Overseas Explorer Plan includes as a benefit cover for medical and hospital expenses incurred from surfing injuries overseas (cover will not exceed 12 months from onset of illness or condition) .
Plus, we offer 24-hour access to a team of medical and emergency specialists, who can help out during a medical emergency overseas.
Research the surf spot you’re headed to and understand the local conditions, such as tides, currents and potential hazards, including the location of rocks and reef.
Regularly check weather forecasts to avoid dangerous conditions and surf with a buddy. Make yourself aware of what medical facilities are closest to where you’re paddling out and consider taking out travel insurance – such as what Freely’s Explorer Plan offers – so that if anything goes wrong, you can access emergency support.
Here are some helpful tips to consider ...
Carefully go through the policy's Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) to grasp the details of your coverage. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to reach out to our customer support team – we're here to help.
If you’re heading overseas, you might want to consider getting travel insurance that includes medical cover in case you get sick or injured. You may want to consider a policy that also includes access to medical and emergency assistance for when you’re overseas.
Surfers travelling with surfboards and surf equipment might want to consider a policy that includes cover for those items as a benefit. Freely’s Explorer Plan offers cover for surfboards, but not for while they’re in use.
