Hundreds of Rugby World Cup insurance claims expected

Richie McCaw of the New Zealand All Blacks meets with fans in London. Photo / Getty Images

A travel insurance company is expecting to receive hundreds of claims from Kiwi fans heading to the UK for this year's Rugby World Cup tournament.

Allianz Global Assistance expects from the more than 4,000 fans travelling to the UK during the Rugby World Cup it'll get more than 450 claims.

Twenty-one of these it expects will be due to food poisoning, 15 will be lost luggage, 30 per cent of trips will be cancelled prior to travelling, 26 will be related to lost smartphones, 13 broken bones and two heart attacks.

It's also painted a picture of the "hard costs of not being covered".

It estimates the cost of being flown back to New Zealand by air ambulance in the case of a medical emergency would be around $100,000 - the equivalent of twice the average annual salary in New Zealand.

The costs of cancelling a trip due to illness could cost some $78,000.

So far Allianz Global Assistance NZ has already received a handful of claims for cancelled travel plans.

The largest, $78,000 worth, was for a couple who had been saving for the last four years to attend the RWC.

Chief executive Philip Hibbert says the husband suffered an injury so was unable to travel.

"They had tickets to games all the way through, including the four pool games featuring the All Blacks, the quarter finals, semis and even the final."

The company is now working with a tour operator to redistribute and sell on these tickets.

Mr Hibbert says it's a "completely devastating situation" for the couple who were due to fly out tomorrow.

"It's a huge disappointment, but they won't lose out financially," he says. "If they didn't have travel insurance, they would surely be in a much more sorry state."

He says another similar claim was made for $40,000 and yet another couple who has made it to the United States looks like their travel plans might also have fallen through due to an unexpected illness.