Essential travel insurance tips
Whether you’re bungee jumping in Christchurch or skiing in Queenstown, find out how and if World Nomads travel insurance policies can cover you. And, because New Zealand is the home of extreme sports, there are a few risky activities that we can’t cover you for, so we’ll go over those too.
Bungee jumping
As New Zealand is the commercial home to bungee, a lot of travellers visit knowing they’re going to try it. Under both the Standard and Explorer Plans, Canadian travellers are covered for emergency medical expenses when taking the plunge including: hospitalization, out-patient treatment and transport to the most appropriate hospital. If you’re seriously injured and need to be flown home for ongoing treatment, travel insurance covers that too. But once you’re home, coverage stops, so you’ll need your government healthcare plan to take care of any continuing costs.
Skiing and snowboarding
New Zealand’s slopes provide ample opportunity to hone your skills. Our plans cover skiing and ski boarding, though you may have to pay an additional premium. When you request a quote online, there’s a box where you can enter the activities you’re planning to participate in. You’ll get prompted if you need to buy a sports upgrade. You should be careful to get the correct level of coverage at the time of purchase, because you won’t be able to switch policies or upgrade once you’ve paid for it.
If you’re adhering to the policy terms and conditions and you tear an ACL or MCL, pop a knee, or are involved in any other injury as a result of skiing or snowboarding, your travel insurance may cover evacuation including ski patrol, hospitalization, out-patient treatment, and other medical expenses. You can read more about that here.
What’s not covered by travel insurance?
Some risky sports may not be covered. Go to our Help Centre article about covered sports and activities and check to see if your intended adventures are on the list. If you don’t see something, you can contact the customer service team to get clarification.
There are also general exclusions and limits to how you’re covered. If you expose yourself to a needless risk and do something ridiculous – like trying to ski a black run when you’re a beginner, going bungee jumping with an unlicensed provider, or participating in any activity that your policy doesn’t cover – then we’re not able to help you with any financial assistance.
This is only a summary of coverage and does not include the full terms and conditions of the policy. It is important you read and understand your policy as it contains benefits, conditions, exclusions and pre-existing condition exclusions. If you do not understand your coverage, of if you have questions about your coverage, just ask us.
