16 April 2021

Trans-Tasman bubble: travel insurance considerations

New Zealanders have a love of travel, whether it's for business, a holiday or special events such as birthdays and weddings.  Following the New Zealand Government’s recent announcement of a ‘travel bubble’ between New Zealand and Australia, Kiwis want to know what to look out for when purchasing leisure travel insurance, and when cover may or may not apply.

We outline some of the risks involved, and protection to look for when purchasing leisure travel insurance for trips to Australia.

Covid-19 and travel insurance 

In addition to the usual risks travel insurance can cover such as sports injuries, medical care and delays due to weather-related events etc, the current Covid-19 pandemic has raised new scenarios to consider when buying insurance.

Scenarios you may need Covid-19 cover for before you leave on your journey could include:

• Cancellation of travel plans if you are diagnosed with Covid-19 before departing and can’t travel
• Additional expenses and/or cancellation costs if a relative or business partner in New Zealand or Australia (not travelling) is diagnosed with life threatening Covid-19
• Protection of your trip costs if it's cancelled due to you being an essential health care worker.

Scenarios you may need Covid-19 cover for when you are travelling could include:

• Medical costs and other unplanned accommodation and transport expenses arising if you (or another insured person) are diagnosed with Covid-19
• Additional expenses if you have to quarantine immediately after being confirmed as a close contact of a Covid-19 case by a local public health authority
• Your funeral expenses due to death from Covid-19 while on the journey.
  • View more COVID-19 client advisories
  • Broker support during COVID-19

Travel insurance and border closures 

Leisure travel insurance policies will generally exclude cover for imposed border closures – whether between Australian states or between New Zealand and Australia.

This means if a national or state government restricts travel to Australia, or back home to New Zealand , or from one state to another state within Australia, your extra costs such as mandatory hotel quarantine and cancellation costs will not be covered.

Some policies will only allow New Zealand residents to purchase Covid-19 cover leisure travel insurance for travel from New Zealand to Australia.

Help with your insurance 

One of our core responsibilities as a broker is to ensure you have the information you need to make informed decisions about the risks you face.  If you have any questions or if you would like to speak to us regarding your insurance please contact a broker.

Personal insurance