Best travel insurance in New Zealand - Compare top providers, coverage, and more

Each year hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders travel abroad to explore new places, visit family and follow up on exciting opportunities. Many choose to buy travel insurance for the peace of mind of knowing they’re covered if the unexpected were to happen. Without it, the financial fallout could be life changing.

In this guide we’re going to take a look at what travel insurance, what's usually covered and what’s not, and compare five of the top international travel insurance options available in New Zealand. We'll also introduce you to Wise, a handy companion for saving on your spending during your travels.

What does travel insurance cover?

Travel insurance is coverage that’s designed to help you financially if something were to go wrong during your travels. There tends to be different policies offered for domestic and international travel, but some of the benefits that are often included are:

• Emergency overseas medical, dental
• Overseas medical evacuation and repatriation
• Travel cancellations, interruptions, delays and resumption
• Lost, stolen or damaged personal belongings
• Lost or stolen travel documents and cash
• Personal liability
• Rental card access

Most insurers also have optional add-ons that expand cover to include cruises, snow sports, adventure spots, motorcycling and high value items.

What’s usually excluded from travel insurance policies?

When you buy travel insurance the specific exclusions will be detailed in the insurer’s policy wording. To give you an idea, these are some of the common things that travel insurers don’t pay out for.

• Pre-existing medical conditions that haven’t been disclosed or approved in advance
• High-risk or adventure activities not included in your plan or added as extras
• Travelling against medical advice
• Travel to high risk areas against government travel warning advice
• Leaving belongings unattended
• Medical tourism
• Incidents related to alcohol or drug use
• Reckless or dangerous behaviour that puts you at unnecessary risk

Things to note when choosing travel insurance

Here’s some tips to keep in mind when comparing and choosing a travel insurance policy.

1. Check the medical limits to make sure it’s adequate for the cost of healthcare at your destination
2. Read the the policy wording carefully to understand what’s excluded
3. Look at the out-of-pocket costs for the excess, and when it applies
4. Find out how claims are handled, including whether they can pay medical providers directly
5. Think about any add-ons you might need, like cover for high-risk sports, rental cars, or expensive electronics.

Comparison of best travel insurance providers in New Zealand

To get you started in your search, here is a travel insurance comparison of five of the top insurers in New Zealand.

Cover-More Travel Insurance

Cover-More offers domestic and international travel insurance, each with three levels of cover.¹ For international travellers there’s a choice of International Basic, International Comprehensive and International Comprehensive+ plan.

The policies are underwritten by Zurich New Zealand and are available to New Zealand residents. The cost depends on factors like age, number of people on the policy, destination, trip duration and if there’s any pre-existing conditions, but you can get a personalised quote on their website.

Here are some of the key benefits and features of the Cover-More New Zealand international travel insurance policies.

• No matter which plan you choose, overseas medical expense coverage is unlimited
• Offers two tiers of add-on cover for snow sports, adventure activities and moped/motorcycle riding
• International Comprehensive+ plan has benefits targeted towards business travellers, like business equipment, kidnap and ransom, and alternative staff
• International Comprehensive+ includes comprehensive cover for rental vehicles
• You get to choose the cover limit for amendment or cancellation costs
• Some plans include pet related benefits for cats and dogs, like boarding and cancellation if the pet is ill or injured

AA Travel Insurance

At AA there are a huge range of insurance policies available, including car insurance, home insurance, health insurance and of course, travel insurance.² For their international travel insurance there’s two options; Essentials and Comprehensive.⁴

The AA travel insurance policies are underwritten by Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Company and managed by Allianz Partners. For an up-to-date quote for your trip, you can use their online quote system.

Here are some of the key benefits and features of the AA international travel insurance policies.

• 10% discount on new policies for existing AA members
• Free cover for dependent children up to 18 years old for domestic policies and 21 for international policies
• Automatic coverage for some adventure activities, including hot air ballooning, bungee jumping and white-water rafting (Grade 1-4).
• Essentials international travel insurance offers some travel related cover with lower limits, including missed connections, travel documents and rental vehicle excess
• Snow boarding and skiing is automatically covered within resort boundaries
• Riding a motorcycle under under 200cc is automatically allowed with a valid drivers licence and helmet

AMI Travel Insurance

Keeping things simple, AMI only has one travel insurance policy for international travellers and two for domestic.⁵ Like most insurers though, the international plan can be purchased as a single or multi-trip policy.

The AMI policy is underwritten by Zurich New Zealand and is administered by another insurer on this list, Cover-More. The pricing and policy wording is different though, so you can generate a personalised quote on the AMI website.

Here are some of the key benefits and features of the AMI international travel insurance policy.

• 10% discount on new policies for existing AMI members
• Motorcycle and moped riding is automatically covered for engines up to 250cc, provided the conditions are met⁶
• The policy wording includes a list of covered activities, including jet skiing, horse riding, flying fox and snorkelling
• Working holidays are acceptable with the International cover
• No excess applies for some claims such travel delays and rental vehicle excess
• There is some automatic cover for cruises, including overseas cruises and cruises that start in New Zealand

Southern Cross Travel Insurance

An award winning travel insurer that’s serviced Kiwi travellers for more than 40 years, Southern Cross (SCTI) are actually 100% New Zealand owned.⁷ For international travellers, they offer International Medical Only and International Comprehensive plans.

SCTI underwrite their own policies, holding multiple licences including licensed insurer and licensed financial provider. You can get an instant quote from their website.

Here are some of the key benefits and features of the Southern Cross New Zealand international travel insurance policies.⁸

• The excess doesn’t apply to some claims like rental vehicle excess and personal liability
• Able to upgrade cover for moped and motorcycle riding, skiing and snowboarding, and cruises
• Cover is available for childcare expenses
• If your return is delayed there’s coverage for pets to stay at a boarding facility
• Medical Only cover offers a budget friendly alternative
• Support is available if there’s a medical emergency including qualified medical advisors, medical expense guarantees and contact with family back home

Tower Travel Insurance

Tower is another that offers travel insurance among a range of other forms of insurance. For international travellers, there’s International Comprehensive and International Essentials.

Tower’s travel insurance products are managed by Allianz Partners but are underwritten by Tower Limited. To get a quote to see how much it’d cost for your next trip, you can visit their website.

Here are some of the key benefits and features of the Tower international travel insurance policies.

• Access to the 24/7 Allianz Partners Emergency Assistance team
• Free cover for dependent children up to 18 years old for domestic policies and 21 for international policies
• The Essentials policy still comes with some travel related benefits like $500 for missed connections and $5000 for epidemics and pandemics
• Some recreational activities like cycling, surfing and paddleboarding are automatically covered, but not the more adventurous activities
• Cover for motorcycle and moped riding is available with restrictions
• Comprehensive has benefits for things some other policies exclude, like overseas medical expenses due to terrorism, and search and rescue in the event of a natural disaster

Travelling soon? Bring Wise to stretch your NZD further with the mid-market rate

Once you’ve got your travel insurance lined up, it’s time to work out the best way to spend when you’re overseas. The Wise card is a simple way to save up to 8x when you're spending internationally. You can spend in 150+ countries at mid-market rate — basically the rate you see on Google. With no foreign transaction fees and low, transparent pricing, Wise usually gives you the best value for your money.

Simply create a Wise account for free, order a card and top-up NZD to get started. Having a physical Wise card allows you to make chip and pin payments, as well as make some free ATM withdrawals each month for when you're abroad. You can get digital cards and add to your Google or Apple Pay wallet for instant use. Spend directly with the Wise account in NZD and let auto-conversion do the trick or convert in advance to your desired currency. You can hold and exchange 40+ currencies in your Wise account and spend the currencies you hold for free.

Wherever your travel takes you, the Wise card makes spending money abroad cheaper and easier.

🚀 Get your Wise card