The golden sands of Bondi Beach. The red flanks of Uluru. The lush green meadows of the Hobbiton movie set. The blue waters of Abel Tasman National Park.

Are Australia and New Zealand on top of your travel bucket list? Then maybe this is the year you should finally go! Just remember: When you’re making a major travel investment, you have to protect it. Here are just a few reasons we suggest buying travel insurance for Australia and New Zealand vacations.

1. The flight won’t be cheap.

Flights from the United States to Australia routinely cost more than $1,000 per person. Most direct flights (about 11 to 18 hours) depart from Los Angeles, although you can also fly nonstop from Honolulu, San Francisco, Dallas and Houston.ⁱ The same cities also offer direct flights to Auckland, NZ, that last 9 to 14 hours.ⁱⁱ

When you’re planning a long, expensive trip, travel insurance is absolutely indispensable. Why?

• If you must cancel your Australia/NZ trip for a covered reason, trip cancellation benefits can reimburse you for nonrefundable trip costs.
• If you must cut short your trip for a reason like the covered serious illness of an immediate family member, trip interruption benefits can reimburse you for reasonable transportation expenses to return home.
• If your flight is delayed for a covered reason, travel delay benefits can reimburse you for necessary meals and accommodations, or the portion of the trip you missed. Or, if you purchase the One Trip Prime or One Trip Premier Plan, you can receive a fixed payment of $100 per day for a covered travel delay. No receipts are required; just proof of delay.
• If your suitcase doesn’t make it all the way to Sydney, baggage delay benefits can reimburse you for the purchase of necessary items.

2. If an emergency happens, you’ll be very far from home.

You already know that travel insurance with emergency medical benefits can pay for medically necessary treatment of a covered and unexpected illness, injury, or medical condition. But what happens afterward, when you’re in a hospital 8,000 miles from home? That’s when your emergency transportation benefits can save the day.

Let’s say a traveler suffers a stroke while visiting Melbourne. Once she’s taken to the hospital, her condition is stabilized — but she’s all alone. Included in her emergency transportation coverage is the transport to bedside benefit, which means Allianz Global Assistance can arrange and pay for a friend or family member to come and stay with her if she’ll be hospitalized for more than 72 hours.

After a week, she’s ready to go back to the United States for rehabilitation, but she’s not yet strong enough to travel unassisted. This is when medical repatriation benefits can be invaluable. When you have these benefits, we can arrange and pay for an insured traveler’s transportation home, or to a U.S. hospital, including a medical escort if necessary. 

Without insurance, the cost of having a loved one come to your bedside, or arranging medical repatriation, can be astronomically expensive, especially if you’re visiting Australia or New Zealand. Travel insurance can cover the costs, with no deductible required.

3. You’ll be spending a lot of time behind the wheel.

To see the vast natural beauty of Australia and New Zealand, you’ll probably have to travel by car. In fact, one of the world’s best road trips is the Red Centre Way, a 700-mile drive through the Northern Territory.

Whenever you plan to drive overseas, travel insurance with emergency medical benefits is an absolute must. “Motor vehicle crashes — not crime or terrorism — are the number 1 killer of healthy U.S. citizens living, working, or traveling overseas,” the CDC reports.ⁱⁱⁱ If you’re involved in a covered collision, especially in a remote or rural area, emergency transportation benefits can pay for your evacuation to the nearest appropriate medical facility, and emergency medical benefits can pay for your care.

The good news is that Australia’s roads are safer than those in the United States. According to the World Health Organization, the rate of road deaths per 100,000 people is 5.4 in Australia and 6 in New Zealand, compared to 10.6 in the U.S.^iv Keep in mind, however, that Aussies and New Zealanders drive on the left-hand side of the road, which may be difficult for Americans to adjust to. Also, there are a few road hazards unique to Australia, such as roaming kangaroos and “road-trains,” which are strings of connected semi-truck trailers.^v If you’re renting a car, don’t forget to protect it with the low-cost Rental Car Damage Protector.

4. Australia is home to some dangerous creatures.

Australia is known for its surprisingly large number of deadly animals, many of which are found nowhere else in the world. While the massive saltwater crocs and great white sharks capture people’s imagination, it’s actually the smaller creatures that pose the greatest threat. At the top of the list (ranked by actual danger to humans, combined with the likelihood of encountering one) is the box jellyfish, the most toxic animal on earth. Found in coastal waters off Northern Australia, the box jellyfish delivers a sting “so overpoweringly painful, human victims have been known to go into shock and drown or die of heart failure before even reaching shore,” according to National Geographic.^vi Other animals you’ll want to avoid include the irukandji jellyfish, the eastern brown snake, the Sydney funnel web spider and the blue-ringed octopus, an adorable little cephalopod with venom 1,000 times stronger than cyanide.

We’re not trying to terrify you. Most visitors never even encounter these animals, let alone get injured by one. But if you plan to hike, swim or snorkel on your Australia trip, you should be cautious — and make sure you’re protected with substantial emergency medical and emergency transportation benefits.

If you think travel insurance for New Zealand and Australia is out of your reach, think again! We offer plans for every budget. Just get a quote to see your options. Remember, too, that when you purchase travel insurance from Allianz Global Assistance, you never travel alone. Call our Emergency Assistance hotline from anywhere in the world, anytime.

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