Following the Government’s recent announcement of a ‘travel bubble’ between New Zealand and Australia, Kiwis want to know what to look out for when purchasing travel insurance, and when cover may or may not apply.

With the trans-Tasman travel bubble now open, Crombie Lockwood Regional Director for Bay of Plenty Brett Down says it’s important to be prepared for unexpected changes.

“COVID-19 has had an adverse effect on the tourism industry across the world and Tauranga is no different.

“While the opening of the travel bubble is great news for the sector (and other industries) on both sides of the Tasman, it’s always wise to be well prepared in case something unexpected happens.”

Whatever the size of your business, travel insurance for business should be providing cover for your employees when they travel.

“The right business travel insurance should cover a range of travel risks including overseas medical and hospital costs, stolen/lost luggage, trip cancellations, flight delays etc. However, COVID-19 pandemic has raised new scenarios to consider when arranging insurance.”

Brett outlines some of the risks involved and protection to look for when purchasing travel insurance for trips to Australia.

Travel insurance and border closures 

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.

What do the corporate/business travel policies cover?

• Most of the corporate/business travel insurance policies continue to exclude cover for COVID-19 related events, such as loss of deposits, cancellation of flights, and disruption costs etc. 
• However, most business travel policies continue to provide medical cover for COVID-19, for example, if you contract COVID-19 while overseas (including Australia).
• Business travel policies also do not cover claims arising from government or locally imposed lockdowns or changes in alert levels, or if travellers have to go into mandatory quarantine or isolation while overseas.

Note: As international borders reopen, insurers may change their stance or update policies to provide some business travel cover for COVID-19 related events.

What should the business owners consider?

As travel policies don’t cover all scenarios that may arise due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important to weigh up the risks involved with employees travelling overseas.

Could your business cope with carrying the costs of non-insurable events, such as expenses for travel delays, flight and accommodation cancellations, or border closures?

What about the loss of productivity in the event of the imposed quarantine/ isolation of employees, or the employee contracts COVID-19 and is unable to work?

These costs currently are not covered in business travel policies and could amount to a large sum.

Remember to follow all travel advice issued by the New Zealand Government and check with your insurance provider to see exactly what you are covered for. You can also talk to your local Crombie Lockwood Tauranga team to get your travel insurance sorted.