On this page,you will find all historic Coronavirus updates. To see the latest Coronavirus updates and all current information, please visit our Travel Alerts Page.
On 19 March 2020, the New Zealand Government issued its highest travel advice warning ('Do Not Travel') advising all New Zealanders not to travel overseas to any country in the world.
The upgraded advice is in response to the global coronavirus pandemic:
"ALERT - COVID-19 - Do not travel overseas at this time. We urge New Zealanders currently travelling overseas to consider returning home while commercial options remain available.
If you choose to remain overseas despite our advice, note that the ability of the New Zealand Government to provide consular assistance may be limited due to restrictions on movement and other services."
Emergency Contacts
It is always our priority to assist our customers when they need help. If you are overseas and have contracted the Coronavirus or have developed symptoms, please contact our 24/7 Emergency Assistance team on listed on this page.
Our 24/7 Emergency Assistance providers are receiving a high number of enquiries from people who are not in an emergency medical situation. We will all get through this situation by working together and prioritising people who are sick, injured and vulnerable. Please do not call this line if you are not in a medical emergency.
Policy coverage position
Our policies contain an exclusion relating to an epidemic or pandemic.
Therefore, regardless of when you purchased your policy and the destination to which you are travelling:
Why is there a general exclusion for pandemics and epidemics?
We understand that this is a difficult and stressful time for our customers. It is extremely difficult to assess and predict the scope and severity of wide-reaching catastrophic global events like pandemics, epidemics, or the outbreak of war. We do continue to assess all claims on a case-by-case basis, even with the general exclusion in place.
Can I still make a claim if you have an exclusion in your policy?
If you suffer a loss, you are still entitled to lodge a claim. Please do this through our online claims process. Every claim is assessed individually on a case-by-case basis by our claims team, and we will consider the policy wording and personal circumstances. Before and during the claims process, you can ask our claims team questions regarding your claim if you are unsure of what documents you need to provide. If, after your claim has been assessed, you are unhappy with the outcome, you can make a complaint, and will reconsider your claim in accordance with our Complaints Policy.
Your duty to mitigate costs
Your policy requires you to mitigate your costs. If your travel has been affected, we recommend you contact your travel agent, airline and accommodation provider as soon as possible if you would like to amend your travel plans. Some airlines, accommodation and tour providers have announced they are offering refunds and rescheduling.
Some airlines have announced they are offering refunds, and some are even offering to waive cancellation fees. Some hotel providers have issued statements that they will offer free cancellations on all bookings in countries affected by the coronavirus.
Further information
If you need more information on how you can recover your costs, please read this guide.
For historic Coronavirus travel alerts, please visit this page.
In order to help customers who have questions about Coronavirus, please read our latest update below.
The New Zealand Government advises all New Zealanders to avoid all non-essential travel overseas due to the outbreak of COVID-19, associated health risks and travel restrictions.
Should you choose to travel, the policy exclusion regarding epidemics/pandemics means that no matter when you purchased your policy, you are unlikely to be covered for cancelling your trip to any destination. This applies to all countries, even those that MFAT has not raised a travel-warning about.
Policy coverage position
Our policies contain exclusions relating to an epidemic or pandemic and also known events in the mass media.
Therefore, regardless of when you purchased your policy and the destination:
Why is there a general exclusion for pandemics and epidemics?
We understand that this is a difficult and stressful time for our customers. It is extremely difficult to assess and predict the scope and severity of wide-reaching catastrophic global events like pandemics, epidemics, or the outbreak of war. We do continue to assess all claims on a case-by-case basis, even with the general exclusion in place.
Can I still make a claim if you have an exclusion in your policy?
If you suffer a loss, you are still entitled to lodge a claim. Please do this through our online claims process. Every claim is assessed individually on a case-by-case basis by our Claims Team, and will consider the policy wording and personal circumstances. During the claims process, you can ask your Claim Manager questions regarding your claim if you are unsure of what documents you need. If, after your claim has been assessed, you are unhappy with the outcome, you can make a complaint, and will reconsider your claim in accordance to our Complaints Policy.
Your duty to mitigate costs
When submitting a claim, you must do everything you can to minimise and reduce the cost of your claim and provide all supporting documentation of the event and expenses incurred. If your travel has been affected, we recommend you contact your airline and accommodation provider as soon as possible if you would like to amend your travel plans.
Some airlines have announced they are offering refunds, and some are even offering to waive cancellation fees. Some hotel providers have issued statements that they will offer free cancellations on all bookings in countries affected by the coronavirus.
Emergency response assistance
It is always our priority to assist our customers when they need help. If you are overseas and have contracted the Coronavirus or have developed symptoms, please contact our 24/7 Emergency Assistance team details can be found here https://www.1cover.com.au/contact/
In order to help customers who have questions about Coronavirus, please read our latest update below.
Policy coverage position
Our policies contain exclusions relating to an epidemic or pandemic and also known events in the mass media.
Therefore, regardless of when you purchased your policy and the destination:
Emergency response assistance
Government Advice
Your duty to mitigate costs
When submitting a claim, you must do everything you can to minimise and reduce the cost of your claim and provide all supporting documentation of the event and expenses incurred. If your travel has been affected, we recommend you contact your airline and accommodation provider as soon as possible if you would like to amend your travel plans.
Some airlines have announced they are offering refunds, and some are even offering to waive cancellation fees. Some hotel providers have issued statements that they will offer free cancellations on all bookings in countries affected by the coronavirus.
It is always our priority to assist our customers when they need help. If you are overseas and have contracted the Coronavirus or have developed symptoms, please contact our 24/7 Emergency Assistance team on +64 9884 0229.
The novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) has been widely reported in the media and continues to make headlines around the world.
The New Zealand Government (MFAT) raised its travel advice level to 'Do Not Travel' to all of China on 2 February 2020.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) declared it a global health emergency on 31 January 2020.
All of our policies contain exclusions relating to an epidemic or pandemic and also known events in the mass media. Therefore, regardless of when you purchased your policy, it is unlikely that any claim (to anywhere in the world) will be covered if it relates to the coronavirus. However, we will assess each claim based on its individual facts and circumstances and policy terms and conditions.
Your policy requires you to mitigate your costs. If your travel has been affected, we recommend you contact your airline and accommodation provider as soon as possible if you would like to amend your travel plans in and out of China.
Some airlines have announced they are offering refunds for travel to and from mainland China, and some are even offering to waive cancellation fees. Some hotel providers have issued statements that they will offer free cancellations on all bookings in Wuhan or in greater China.
The New Zealand Government raised its travel advice level to 'Do Not Travel' to all of Hubei Province, China on 25 January 2020.
The novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) has been widely reported in the media and by authorities such as the World Health Organisation (WHO), and continues to make headlines around the world. The situation of the outbreak, which originated in Wuhan, China, has rapidly escalated. There are now more than 4,500 reported cases in mainland China.
Travel restrictions have been heightened and wearing masks in public is now mandatory in some cities. The outbreak of the virus comes during the Lunar New Year celebration resulting in an expected increase in travel disruptions.
For any policies that may offer cover for risks associated with contagious disease, there is unlikely to be any cover for claims arising from any event related to coronavirus (2019-nCoV) for travel to and/or from China on policies purchased after: Midday NZDT on Saturday, 25 January 2020.
Policies purchased before the time above may also be subject to exclusions relating to an epidemic or pandemic. Please read your policy wording for the full policy terms, conditions, limitations and exclusions.
We recommend you contact your airline and accomodation provider as soon as possible if you would like to amend your travel plans in and out of China. Some airlines have announced they are offering refunds for travel to and from mainland China, and some are even offering to waive cancellation fees.
Some hotel providers have issues statements that they will offer free cancellations on all bookings in Wuhan or in greater China.
If you already have travel booked and you are concerned about whether you should travel to China, we recommend that you contact your airline, hotel and tour providers regarding the best option in altering your trip. There is no provision to claim under your policy for change of mind or fear of travel. Some travel service providers may provide penalty-free options to amend travel arrangements.
If you were planning on travelling to Wuhan, you must have purchased a policy before 2AM (NZDT), 23 January in order to be covered. If you entered into a policy after 2AM on the 23 January 2020, we would expect that this was done with an awareness of this event, the upgraded travel warning for Wuhan and the applied travel restrictions.
Limits, conditions and exclusions apply under your policy and for full details you should refer to the Policy Wording (PDS) and Certificate of Insurance you received when you purchased your travel insurance.
To see the latest Coronavirus updates and all current information, please visit our Travel Alerts Page.
From Overseas:
+64 9884 0229
Within New Zealand:
0800 367 729
NZ
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