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Canstar’s Best Value Travel Insurance NZ

Posted by Bruce Pitchers November 21, 2023

Holidays promise carefree relaxation away from work pressures and domestic chores. However, plenty of unforeseen events can ruin the best-laid vacation plans, from illness and accidents to the loss or theft of possessions.

If the worst does happen, a dream holiday can turn into a financial nightmare, especially if you’re left facing bills for medical treatments overseas or for life-saving repatriation. This is why ensuring you have adequate insurance cover before you jet off or sail away on your overseas adventure is a travel essential.

But trying to find the best insurance cover can be complicated. There’s no one-size-fits-all solution, as policy details and costs vary, depending on your age and choice of destination. And comparing different levels of cover and costs can be complicated.

But that’s where Canstar can help. As part of our mission to inform Kiwi consumers about the best financial products in the market, each year we analyse a wide range of travel insurance products and award the best providers our prestigious awards and Star Ratings for Outstanding Value Travel Insurance.

What are Canstar’s Travel Insurance Awards & Star Ratings?

Canstar’s Travel Insurance ratings score travel insurance providers and their products, and awards the best our prestigious 5-Star Ratings. Each insurance product is assessed and scored for its price and array of features.

For this year’s Travel Insurance Star Ratings, our expert research panel compared 44 travel insurance products from 18 providers across a range of different age profiles, including seniors. To be eligible for our ratings, each product had to meet certain basic requirements, including cover for:

• $1 million overseas medical and hospital cover per international traveller
• Repatriation and evacuation services
• Luggage and personal effects
• Cancellation fees and loss of deposit

For ease of comparison, the different insurance products are judged across six geographical regions and two cruise types:

• Africa & Middle East
• Tras-Tasman
• Domestic Cruise
• Pacific Cruise

Canstar’s Travel Insurance Awards

On the back of our Star Ratings research, we also award the best travel insurance providers and products our prestigious awards for Outstanding Value.

To be eligible for an Outstanding Value Award, insurance providers have to meet extra policy requirements. These include:

• 24-hour emergency helpline
• Period of cover automatically extends if a medical claim requires traveller to remain overseas for treatment
• $5 million or more family overseas medical and hospital cover
• $5 million or more family cover for repatriation and evacuation services
• Included cover claims arising from cruising holidays in domestic and international waters (cruise only)
• Availability to travellers aged over 70 (senior only)
• Covers cancellation and medical claims arising from COVID-19 related events (domestic cruise only)

Canstar’s Outstanding Value Travel Insurance Award Winners 2023

This year, four providers earn Canstar’s Outstanding Value Travel Insurance Awards, across our four award categories.

Outstanding Value: International Travel Insurance

House of travel, southern cross travel insurance.

Outstanding Value: Trans-Tasman Travel Insurance

Outstanding Value: South Pacific Cruise Travel Insurance

Outstanding Value: Seniors Travel Insurance

This is the second year in a row that AMP has earned an Outstanding Value | Seniors Travel Insurance Award . Our awards panel notes that AMP has achieved its back-to-back awards due to its consistently strong performance across all overseas regions, which is due to its competitive premiums for older travellers and above-average feature scores.

House of Travel once again earns three Outstanding Value Awards, in our International , South Pacific Cruise and  Trans-Tasman travel insurance profiles. The insurer’s performance continues to be driven by its competitive pricings, as well as its high levels of cover.

This year, Southern Cross wins two Outstanding Value Awards,  in our International   and  Seniors   profiles. Our research panel notes that Southern Cross Travel Insurance performs particularly well in senior profiles due to its competitive premiums for older travellers. However, premium increases across the brand’s cruise insurances did see them miss out on our South Pacific Cruise Award this year.

A newcomer to Canstar’s Travel Insurance Awards, Tower joins our Outstanding Value Awards recipients in the International , South Pacific Cruise and Trans-Tasman profiles this year due to its increased price performance and comprehensive policy offerings.

For the second consecutive year, Worldcare is the only travel insurance provider to earn an Outstanding Value Award across all award profiles.

This is due to Worldcare’s consistently competitive prices and strong range of policy features across all regions and age profiles.

In awarding Worldcare, our research panel noted the insurance brand’s exceptionally strong price performance and levels of cover in both the Trans-Tasman and South Pacific Cruise profiles.

To find out more about the best travel insurance in New Zealand, check out Canstar’s full 2023 travel insurance ratings report.

Compare Travel Insurance with Canstar

About the author of this page

This report was written by Canstar’s Editor, Bruce Pitchers. Bruce has three decades’ experience as a journalist and has worked for major media companies in the UK and Australasia, including ACP, Bauer Media Group, Fairfax, Pacific Magazines, News Corp and TVNZ. Prior to Canstar, he worked as a freelancer, including for  The Australian Financial Review , the NZ Financial Markets Authority, and for real estate companies on both sides of the Tasman.

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Please Note - If you are cruising around Australia you need to select Pacific. With Regions, variances can apply for Bali, Indonesia, Japan and Middle East. You are not required to enter stop-over countries if your stop-over is less than 48 hours.

If you don’t know where you’re traveling to within the next 12 months, choose Worldwide to ensure you’re covered no matter where you go. If you’re travelling to multiple countries choose the region that you are visiting that is furthest away (excluding stopovers less than 48 hours). In most cases you will be covered for the closer regions as well. For example, if you choose Europe, you will also be covered in the Middle East, Asia and Pacific.

Worldwide means anywhere in the world

Americas means USA, Canada, South America, Latin America, Hawaii and the Caribbean

Europe means all European countries, including UK

Middle East refers to the area from Syria to Yemen; Egypt to Iran

Asia generally means Asia and the Indian subcontinent. For some insurers this excludes Japan*

Pacific means the South West Pacific, Australia and Indonesia/Bali*. Select Pacific for domestic cruises in New Zealand waters

New Zealand means domestic travel within New Zealand only

*Note: Variances apply for Bali, Indonesia, Japan and Middle East. Check that your destination is covered once directed to your chosen insurer’s site.

Which Is The Best Travel Insurance On The Market?

This is not as simply answered as you may think. When it comes to travel insurance, finding the best travel insurance for your trip requires you to think about the type of holiday you are going on and the level of cover you will need. It is about matching your needs to the various insurance policies on the market and weighing up the options.

The easiest way to explain this is:

Different travellers + different trips + different budgets = different travel needs.

1. Determine The Type Of Cover You Need

There are different levels of cover available to suit the needs and budgets of different travellers. Holidaymakers should   look at the cover available and identify what you need and what you don’t need. There is no point paying top dollar for luggage cover, if you're only travelling with a backpack and fresh undies.  The best travel insurance is one that covers you for your particualr trip, whether that's a big international trip or a  domestic  weekend break.  Don't pay for more cover than your trip requires.

Overseas medical cover and personal liability cover are often considered to be the most essential coverage items.  These are standard in most basic travel insurance policies.  More comprehensive policies will include additional cover for things like cancellation cover and luggage and personal belongings.  If you have pre-paid your flights and accommodation a comprehensive policy may be the  best travel insurance  for you.

2. Compare, Compare, Compare

Comparing policies is a great way to find the right travel insurance for your needs. All insurers offer different benefits and pricing, so once you’ve identified what level of cover you need, the next step is start comparing to find yourself a good deal.

Comparison sites such as ours will help you do this. You simply enter your details in the quote box and you’re provided with a comparison of all the features and price in seconds.

3. Cheapest Is Not Always The Best

One of the biggest mistakes travellers make is purchasing a policy based on the cheapest price. Selecting the cheapest can sometimes mean missing out on valuable coverage options. The key is to get the right level of cover at the best price.

4. Not All Policies Are Created Equal

When shopping around for travel insurance in New Zealand, you may notice that many different brands are underwritten by one of a few big insurers, such as Allianz Australia Insurance Limited, Certain underwriters at Lloyd's, QBE Insurance Limited and others. Whilst they look similar on first glance, they will almost certainly not be the same. Each insurer negotiates a product policy and chooses what to include or exclude. So think about your trip and planned activities that you need cover for.

5. Get The Best Bang For Your Buck

With so many travel insurers in the market, how do you really know who covers more than the other? The ideal policy is one that provides real value for money. Some insurers definately do cover more than others. Luckily we've done all the hard work for you. If you want to know who offers the best cover for expensive items, or who has the best single item limit - see who really covers more in our handy guide right here.

6. Read The Print - Small Or Not

Whilst it can be extremely boring, the fine print in any policy needs to be read and understood. Understanding the insurance exclusions and loopholes will help you to avoid placing yourself in situations that your insurer will not cover.

Some additional considerations when purchasing a policy are:

• Is the insurer reputable?  Speaking with a few travellers and reading  travel insurance reviews  by customers can often reveal a very different tale to testimonials featured on the insurers’ site.
• Do they offer emergency assistance?  A 24-hour medical assistance hotline will be extremely useful to you if you are having troubles overseas.
• What is the excess?  The amount you pay in the event of a claim varies between insurers and may vary depending on the claim type. For instance, you may not have to pay an excess for medical claims but pay $200 for lost belongings claim. Make sure you’re comfortable with the excess amounts. You can often remove the excess by paying an additional fee around the $25 mark.
• Exclusions -  Even the best policy won't provide cover for everything. You should pay attention to your policy's exclutions before you set off. Typically you're not covered if you put yourself in danger (e.g. some  high risk activities  like skydiving might not be covered); for any items that you leave unattended which are then lost or stolen; or for any medical conditions you had before you left for your trip.

The best travel insurance is out there. All travellers have to do is have a clear understanding of what they need cover for and match this to the right provider.

Compare Comprehensive travel insurance

**Please note, the table above shows the listed insurer's most comprehensive policy - international trips only ** The information provided is of a general nature only and does not take into account any particular personal objectives, financial situation or needs. Before making a decision you should consider the appropriateness of the information having regard to your personal objectives, needs and circumstances.  Cover levels could change at any time.

WHAT DOES TRAVEL INSURANCE COVER?

24/7 Medical assistance

Don't fret should you get sick or injured on your trip, because this is exactly why you're buying protection for your holiday. Travel insurance covers your medical expenses for injury or illness including hospital stays, surgery, dental, prescription drugs and doctor visits.

cancellation cover

Sometimes trips just don't go to plan! Cancellation benefits cover the cost of rearranging or cancelling your journey because of unforeseen circumstances such as illness, accidents and extreme weather conditions. Remember, cover starts from the day you buy your policy not when your trip starts :)

Lost or damaged Luggage

It's a real pain in the ar*e when your stuff is lost, stolen or doesn't show up. At least if disasters happens on your holiday your policy will replace or reimbuirse you for your baggage and personal items if they disappear or are damaged.

Travel delays

Bummer, your flights delayed, now what!? If your transport is postponed due to an unforeseen reason, your out-of-pocket accommodation, meals, and transport costs would be covered until you get back-on-track. Note, this benefit probably won't kick in if you only have a short delay which is less than 6 hours. 

family emergency

It's always a worry going on holiday leaving loved ones behind. Never fear, should a close relative, or the person you’re travelling with become seriously ill, injured or heaven-forbid die, your travel expenses would be claimable. Restrictions can apply for relatives age, medical conditions and where they live. 

Personal liability

A lawsuit would certainly put a dampender on your dream holiday. Relax as you're covered in the event that you are found to be legally liable for accidental injury or damage you may have caused to another person or their property whilst on your trip. 

WHAT DOESN'T IT COVER?

Other handy  tips & guides.

What activities are covered?

Are you a self-confessed adrenaline junkie? If you’re planning on doing some risky activities on your trip make sure you know if they’re covered, as not all of them are!

Pre-existing medical conditions

Having pre-existing medical conditions doesn't mean you can't get cover or that it has to be expensive. It simply means that you need to dig a little deeper when doing your research.

Pregnancy travel insurance guide

Not all insurers will cover you automatically if you’re over 22 weeks gestation or have had pregnancy complications. See which companies offer cover for pregnant women.

Our Travel Insurance Comparision Helps You

Save time, worry and loads of money.

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Your privacy is important to us.

CoverDirect NZ Limited (INC 3526051) owns and operates this website.

Our comparison is a free service that makes it easy for users to compare multiple quotes, saving both time and money. Our comparison ranks quotes according to price and is limited to those insurers that have agreed to participate on the site. CoverDirect NZ Limited does not hold a financial services licence. The comparison does not take your personal circumstances into account; as such, all information provided should be considered general and should not be considered as advice or a recommendation. Whilst we take all reasonable care when preparing this information, we do not warrant its accuracy. Pricing information is supplied by the insurance providers and ALL policy details should be verified with the before you purchase. This site links users to the website of the insurance provider to verify quotes and access the relevant PDS to understand what is, and is not, covered by a policy prior to purchase. We do not issue insurance. Users purchase directly from the travel insurance provider.

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