What is the best travel insurance in New Zealand?
With so many options out there, finding the best travel insurance for your trip can be difficult. Hidden fees and exclusions, legal jargon and flashy marketing can leave you confused and frustrated when all you want is the best cover at the best price.
The best travel insurance doesn’t always mean the cheapest insurance. Make sure that you choose a policy that has the right level of cover for you, so you can travel with peace of mind. For example, if you only travel overseas once a year, then a single trip policy might be your best option. However, if you’re a frequent flier who is likely to be overseas more than twice a year, an annual multi-trip policy might save you time and money.
When comparing travel insurance, look at the different benefits and excess options, and decide what is most important to you. The best place to find this information is in the policy wording, where you’ll also find any exclusions.
While this might not be the most thrilling read, it’s important to understand how you’re covered, as it could mean the difference between your claim being paid or declined.
At Southern Cross Travel Insurance (SCTI), we’re committed to providing comprehensive cover, so you can better protect yourself and your family overseas.
What should the best travel insurance cover?
When you choose to cover yourself with an International Comprehensive policy from SCTI, you’ll be able to travel with confidence knowing we’re here to help if the unexpected happens overseas and you need to make a claim. Our policy includes cover for:
- Unlimited medical and evacuation expenses
- Cancellation fees and lost deposits – with the option to increase your cover depending on the cost of your journey
- Damaged or lost baggage
- Personal items if they are stolen or damaged
- Rental vehicle excess
- Emergency dental treatment
- Funeral costs
Activities we cover
Whether it’s getting out of your comfort zone, ticking off items on your bucket list, or simply exploring a new city with the family, travel is all about adventure. That’s why our policies also include medical cover for adventure activities like:
- Snorkelling
- Surfing
- Mountain biking
- Skateboarding
- Zip lining
- Canoeing
- Horse riding
- Water skiing
- Windsurfing
Always read the policy wording when participating in any of these activities to check that you’re adhering to the requirements, and are aware of activities that are not covered.
Why choose us
Below are just some of the reasons why travellers chose cover with SCTI for themselves and their families.
Award winning travel insurance
We’re proud to have won a number of awards in the travel insurance category, both locally and internationally. Winning these awards is true testament of our dedication to creating positive experiences for customers. You can find out all the awards and achievements we’re proud of here.
Trusted New Zealand provider
We’ve been providing travel insurance since 1982, and now have over 40 years' experience as a specialist travel insurer. During that time, we’ve won several awards, earned thousands of great customer reviews and helped countless people travel with confidence. We’re 100% NZ owned and are proud to be one of the country’s most trusted brands.
We provide service directly to you
At SCTI, we provide travel insurance direct to you. We’re the underwriter and the insurer, meaning you deal with us directly, whatever stage of your journey you’re on – instead of having to speak to a different company that you bought from, in the event that you have to claim. Our team of experts are all based in our head office in Auckland.
Worldwide emergency assistance
When you purchase a policy from SCTI, you also gain access to our dedicated worldwide emergency assistance team, who are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Our emergency assistance team have many years of service excellence and include multilingual staff who can liaise directly with your overseas doctors and hospital staff.
If you get sick overseas and need an air ambulance to take you home, we have access to medical professionals who can escort you back to New Zealand. We can also help with other aspects of travel, such as arranging flights home if you’ve missed a flight through no fault of your own. Find out more >>
Unlimited medical and evacuation cover
Getting sick or injured on holiday can be a traveller’s nightmare. If you buy an International Comprehensive or Working Overseas policy, we offer unlimited medical and evacuation cover for unexpected events that arise while overseas on your journey because we want to ensure you get the help you need to be able to return home safe and sound. We can also provide a cash allowance to make your hospital stay more comfortable, cover extra travel and accommodation expenses, and pay for a support person or family member to be by your side if required.
Cruise cover
Cruises are a great way to unwind on the open seas and enjoy a hassle-free holiday with comfort at your fingertips.
If you’re heading on an overseas cruise, our International Comprehensive policy has an optional add-on for cruise cover, so you can sail away with confidence. If you’re staying close to home and planning a cruise around New Zealand, our Domestic policy may be the right choice as we also offer an add-on for cruise cover with our domestic policy.
Find the best travel insurance for you
Whether you’re travelling with family or friends, going on a two-month holiday or a two-day escape, going snorkelling or food tasting, or anything in between, make sure the cover that you buy meets your own specific needs.
What you need to know
This page includes some information about our products but, as with all insurance policies, terms and conditions apply. For our terms and conditions (including information about exclusions, excesses and sub limits) we recommend you read the relevant policy documents to ensure our travel insurance products are right for you.
You can find the relevant documents for all our policies here: International Comprehensive, Annual Multi-trip, Domestic, Working Overseas, Visiting New Zealand, International Student
The content of this article is general and provided for information purposes only. Southern Cross Travel Insurance (SCTI) doesn’t guarantee or warrant the accuracy, completeness or currency of any article.
This article may contain hyperlinks to other websites owned or operated by third parties, or references to third party products or services. SCTI isn’t responsible for, and makes no recommendation about, the content or accuracy of any third party website, or for the suitability or performance of any product or service. The inclusion of a link in this article doesn’t imply that SCTI endorses the website or third party product/service.
We're here to help
We know how important it is to be able to talk to someone when you need help, that’s why we are available via email, phone and live chat Monday to Friday, 8.30am - 7pm, and Saturday, 9am to 6pm, excluding public holidays. And if you find yourself in a medical emergency our Emergency Assistance team are available 24/7 to help, wherever you are in the world.
