Cover-More’s domestic travel insurance covers cancellation and Covid-19
Now that domestic travel is number one for New Zealanders and with summer holidays on the horizon, travel insurance still plays a key role in keeping travellers safe
In 2019, New Zealand Cover-More Travel Insurance paid more than NZ$1.3 million across thousands of claims for travel within New Zealand alone. So, the global travel insurance provider is now reminding travellers that just because we can’t travel abroad, doesn’t mean holidays will be free from potentially costly accidents and mishaps.
In the lead up to the festive period, Cover-More has opened its vault from 2019 and revealed some surprising claims. Will Ashcroft, General Manager, Distribution at Cover-More in New Zealand, said travel disasters can really add to a credit card bill alongside the Christmas shopping if travellers don’t prepare for the unexpected. “We find most people only tend to think about insurance for overseas travel, but we see time and again that the unexpected can strike at home too,” said Ashcroft.
Cover for groups and evacuations
“We receive many claims where the customer planned to travel with a friend, partner or family member, who then was unable to travel. Rather than travel alone, our customers were able to cancel their trips without being out of pocket.”
One instance included two couples who planned a New Year’s trek together in Fiordland National Park, but were required to cancel after one of their group fell and fractured their wrist, requiring a helicopter evacuation. Collectively, they would have been required to pay in excess of $5,000 in cancelled accommodation and transport costs without travel insurance.
Illness was another frequent cause of travel insurance claims in 2019; one domestic travel insurance claim came in at almost $10,000 when a customer had to cancel their tour of the South Island due to an upper respiratory infection.
Covid-19 cover for domestic travellers
In addition to regular travel insurance coverage, last month, Cover-More announced broad-ranging new Covid-19-related benefits for their travel policies on trips within New Zealand or to Australia.
These new benefits include medical costs cover for a traveller or their companion if they’re diagnosed with Covid-19 by a medical practitioner while on their trip, cancellation cover if the traveller is an essential healthcare worker whose leave is revoked due to Covid-19, and cover for cancellations or additional expenses if pre-paid accommodation is shut down. Other new benefits include cover for $250 per night if the person the customer was planning on staying with contracts Covid-19 or they are placed into quarantine, as well as cancellation costs if prepaid holiday activities are shut down due to Covid-19 cases.
“It’s been a tough year for many people, and the holidays are such an important time to reconnect with family and friends. The last thing anyone needs is an unexpected exploding tyre on the way to grandma’s, but travel insurance is there to cover the moments that don’t go exactly to plan,” concluded Ashcroft.
Recently, Cover-More appointed Cara Morton as global CEO. Morton is now overseeing businesses in 16 countries across the UK, Europe, US, Latin America and Asia Pacific.