“[For example], one of our customers was hit in the head by the propeller of a boat whilst snorkelling in Fiji. Whilst the iPhone replacement is important, having critical care both in Fiji [and] bringing them back to New Zealand, having experts there throughout that journey, they’re the moments of truth for us and critical things to think about when considering whether travel insurance is important for you.”
There are two main types of travel insurance that people can look to get.
" So there’s a comprehensive policy that will cover nearly everything and provide you quite a high level of cover. I suppose it’s almost the Rolls Royce type cover so that if something goes wrong, you know you’re well and truly covered.
“And then there’ll be a more essentials or a basic type policy that will cover some of the core things, but maybe not to the same value that it might be with a more comprehensive policy.
“As well as that, for those that are regular travellers, you can also get a multi trip policy or a frequent flyer policy, which will cover you for a whole 12 months. So if you’d like to go and visit the family in Australia and see them a few times a year, then it might be worthwhile getting a policy that keeps you covered and saves you having to go in every time you book a new trip.”
Wallace said that a third of claims coming in at the moment are coming from people cancelling a trip before they get to the airport, which highlights the need to get this booked early.
He cited Cyclone Alfred that hit Australia recently, and how people rushed to get insurance once they saw that it was coming and might disrupt their trip - but no coverage would take place due to the event already taking place.
And while you may think that you don’t need to get insurance for your family trip around New Zealand, Wallace said that those same costs can come up here.
“People going to their favorite holiday park down in Taupo or catching a ferry across to the South Island, it may seem like it’s reasonably small outlay compared to a big European trip, but all of those costs are costs on a household.
“Not being able to take that trip due to cancelling it due to your own medical reasons, weather impacting the ferry sailings, or something else going wrong, would mean that you can at least get that, that money back through a claim and, uh, enjoy that trip sometime later.”
The same goes for Australia, even though New Zealand has a reciprocal agreement to cover most healthcare.
“So whilst we’re not paying American style medical bills in Australia, just the cost of a few hundred dollars out of pocket for an ambulance might be unplanned.
“Similarly, if you’ve got delays and cancellations due to weather, you want to know that you’re not losing that money if it’s something that the airline’s not going to refund you for.”
Listen to the full episode for more on what you need to know about travel insurance.
Trip Notes is an NZ Herald podcast hosted by Lorna Riley, a keen travel writer and enthusiast and host of Coast Days. New episodes are available every Tuesday.
This season of Trip Notes is sponsored by AA Travel Insurance.
You can follow the podcast at iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
