Why choose comprehensive
travel insurance?

Does it suit what you need? Do you understand what you’re getting?

If you’ve checked out the website and the PDS (Product Disclosure Statement which essentially describes what you are and aren’t covered for, and the conditions of cover), see how it makes you feel. If you’re completely bewildered, or don’t like the conditions of a policy – don’t buy. There are lots of options out there, so give yourself some time to compare your ‘top contenders’ and choose what feels right to you. It’s your holiday, your family, and your life, so it should be a policy that feels right for you.

What does Holiday Rescue’s comprehensive policy cover?

Here are examples of some of the things we cover under our policy. Obviously all of the following examples have to meet the terms and conditions of the policy, which you can check out with this handy link to the PDS, but it gives you an idea of the cover we offer.

Because we like to be upfront about our policies, this is a great place to remind you that you’re responsible for the first $100 for each ‘unexpected event’ that you claim for – this is called the excess. Except for emergency medical, funeral and personal liability claims, because the excess doesn’t apply to these types of claims. By the way, the excess is just deducted from the amount we pay you for your claim,it’s not something you have to pay us first before we cover your claim. Click for more about what an excess is – and when you need to pay one.

Things we cover under our comprehensive policy:

– You unexpectedly become seriously ill on holiday, have your kids with you and no one to look after them? We’ll pay for an adult of your choice (who ideally knows the kids) to join you to look after the kids. We’ll cover the costs of a return flight from New Zealand to get them over to you, plus their meals and accommodation whilst they’re with you and your family.

– Seriously injured in a car accident overseas? We’ll pay for emergency medical treatment overseas until you’re well enough to either continue on with your holiday, or to be bought back home for treatment. If you need to be medically evacuated, we’ll arrange this with one of our trusted providers, and you’ll have medical professionals who are experts in aviation medicine to care for you on the flight as needed.

– Flight delayed so you miss your connecting flight? Yep, there’s cover for that.

– Someone on the policy dies? This is a sobering thought, but it does happen sometimes. We’ll cover the costs to cremate or embalm the body in the city or region they died. We’ll also pay for either a funeral in the city or region they died, or to bring their remains home, as well as a return flight for an immediate family member to assist with this.

– You accidentally crack your tooth on an olive pit – and it really hurts! Yeah, that’s covered under emergency dental treatment.

– Cyclone destroys your hotel so you need to make alternative accommodation arrangements? As long as you bought your policy before the cyclone was forecast or expected, we’ll pay for the cost of either your additional accommodation or your original accommodation, whichever is more expensive. We’ll deduct any refunds that the hotel provides from this amount. The alternative accommodation must be of reasonably similar standard. As in, we won’t cover the costs of a 5 star hotel if you were originally staying in a 1 star hotel.

– Stranded by a volcanic ash cloud and can’t return home? We’ll cover the extra accommodation expenses you incur whilst you’re stuck, although you would need to have bought your policy before the volcanic ash clouds were a known ‘thing’.

– Need to cancel your holiday because your nanna is admitted to hospital? There’s cover for you to cancel your trip so you can take your holiday at another, better time. Just be aware that this cover is limited to $5,000 per person on the policy if it relates to a health condition that your nanna already had when you purchased your policy.

– The ferry you conscientiously booked in advance to get to your cousin’s island wedding on time is cancelled… Yes you’re covered for costs to take ‘alternative transport’, like a different ferry or possibly water taxi or flight to get there in time. Just keep it real though, you’re only covered for reasonable costs up to $5,000 per policy.

– Minor prang in the campervan you hired and the rental company are charging you the $4,000 insurance excess fee? Yep. There’s cover for up to $5,000 per policy (so don’t make a habit of it), for your rental vehicle insurance excess or the costs to repair the damage.

– Your kids are running around the hotel lobby and they knock down an expensive vase. The hotel is charging you for the cost to replace the vase. Kids huh! There’s cover for that under personal liability. If they’re asking you to pay more than $10,000 (sheesh that’s an expensive vase), you need to get in touch with us before accepting any liability. For costs that high, we need to establish whether you’re legally liable first.

– Credit card swiped out of your hands by a daring thief as you get up to pay for the best New York pizza you’ve ever tasted? Yes again. There’s cover up to $2,000 per person to replace the credit card, but you’ll also need to do 3 things. 1. Report the theft to the police as soon as possible, but within 12 hours. 2. Call your bank swiftly, so they can cancel the card to limit any usage by the thief. 3. Keep receipts for any costs that you incur to replace the credit card.

– Feeling motion sick after watching the baggage carousel endlessly before realising your bags aren’t coming out? We include cover for essential items (like underwear, toothpaste and clothes), for those irritating luggage delays if you’re separated from your bags for more than 12 hours.

– Your laptop is stolen by a motorcyclist in a drive by robbery? Bad news! And good news! With a comprehensive policy, we’ll pay you the original value of the laptop up to $2,000, no matter how many years you’ve had it. If more stuff is stolen, you can claim a combined total of up to $5,000 worth of items per person. Certain items have sub limits that apply, like a maximum of $2,000 per laptop or camera, $1,000 per mobile phone, and $2,000 for engagement or wedding rings and watches. We don’t cover any other jewellery so leave those in the safety of your house at home.

Any hypothetical questions “for a friend”?

Just email us or direct message us on Facebook or Twitter. We can’t always give you a definitive answer because it often depends on the specific details of the event or circumstance, but we can give you guidance on what ‘your friend’ would need to do, and what ‘your friend’ would need to provide with a claim.