Making the right travel insurance decision

IN Partnership with

Cover-More stands out from the crowd in travel insurance, not least due to its unwavering focus on serving the ever-evolving needs of customers

ONCE SOMETHING of a sleepy backwater for travel insurance, New Zealand today offers Kiwis a wide array of options when it comes to ensuring they are well covered in case of unfortunate events while away from home. “We’ve seen an increase in travel insurance brands over the last 10 to 15 years. This increase in options is a positive development, as it fosters competition and keeps pricing competitive,” says Will Ashcroft, Cover-More Travel Insurance managing director for New Zealand. The market displays both push and pull dynamics, with more firms pushing their wares and more travellers wanting to buy insurance after the unsettling events of the last few years. “We’re seeing an increased awareness of travel insurance, and the pandemic has played a big part in this. Some destinations and individual travel operators have made travel

Cover-More Travel Insurance has been part of the New Zealand travel sector since 2007 and is one of the country’s leading providers of travel insurance and emergency medical and security assistance for international travellers. We are here to provide more cover and more care for all Kiwis. Cover-More NZ works with well-known local brands and offers travel insurance directly to travellers via www.covermore.co.nz. Based in Auckland, Cover-More NZ has the global backing of parent company Zurich Insurance Group, a global multiline insurer with 56,000 employees, and operations in more than 210 countries and territories.

Find out more

“[An] abundance of choices can present a challenge for travellers trying to navigate and select the most suitable policy for their needs”

Will Ashcroft, Cover-More Travel Insurance

insurance compulsory, and this is helping,” says Ashcroft. But something funny happens in the human brain when presented with too much choice. Information overload can result in difficulty understanding the key issues and making effective decisions. “This abundance of choices can present a challenge for travellers trying to navigate and select the most suitable policy for their needs. Insurance brokers have a unique opportunity to offer valuable assistance and may be qualified to provide you with financial advice.” Even total decision paralysis is not unheard of. “Many argue that travelling without cover is simply too risky, but people still do it,” says Ashcroft.

It can be hard to stand out in a crowded field, but Cover-More must be doing something right – it has a 4.6-star rating on Google and a Net Promotor Score that far exceeds industry averages. “We handle claims swiftly, and we often find ourselves being able to process claims on day three of receipt, or even the same day during the quieter periods. Our claims NPS for the last six months sits at 63,” says Ashcroft. This compares with an industry benchmark for travel insurance of 19 as measured by market research firm Perceptive.

Ashcroft puts Cover-More’s good standing down to a range of factors, including a broad selection of useful products, ease of use, a strong service ethic and customer-first mentality, and a focus on the future in terms of technology.

While employee happiness is sometimes dismissed as having little relation to a company’s bottom line, academic research shows the opposite is true. A study by the University of Oxford business school has even put a number on it, finding that workers are 13% more productive when happy. Open communication and a supportive team environment are also part of the recipe. “We love seeing collaboration and teamwork, which in turn means that everyone is vested in looking after our partners and customers to our best ability.” The robust service mentality extends to payouts as well, where customer needs are prioritised. “Cover-More places a significantly strong emphasis on how we can pay claims rather than not pay them.” Keeping customers happy creates a virtuous circle that lifts service even higher.

One of the most important secrets to Cover-More’s success in keeping customers happy lies in keeping its employees happy. “A strong workplace culture is absolutely critical for success. In our New Zealand business, there is a strong correlation between our employee satisfaction NPS score of 64 and our claims NPS score of 63,” says Ashcroft. He points out that it probably wouldn’t be possible to have such high customer satisfaction if employee morale and engagement were low. Employee satisfaction is the engine that drives strong customer-facing results. “We foster employee engagement, which rewards us with performance that goes the extra mile to provide excellent customer service.” Cover-More also encourages a healthy work-life balance and aims to create a positive and fun work environment. “We find that happier teams care more and provide better, more genuine positive outcomes for our customers,” says Ashcroft.

“Since it feels great to be able to help customers when they need it, this way of operating has resulted in many of our staff being proud to stand alongside our brand,” says Ashcroft. “If we can’t fully cover a claim, we’ll always take the time to explain why.”

What’s important when selecting travel insurance?

Good service requires happy employees

Published 20 May 2024

Specialty

Best in Insurance

Resources

Risk Management

News

RSS

Sitemap

About us

Conditions of Use

Terms & conditions

People

Specialty

Best in Insurance

Resources

Risk Management

News

RSS

Sitemap

About us

Conditions of Use

Terms & conditions

People

RSS

Sitemap

About us

Conditions of Use

Terms & conditions

People

“We find that happier teams care more and provide better, more genuine positive outcomes for our customers”

Will Ashcroft, Cover-More Travel Insurance

Cover-More’s claims and customer service teams are located in Auckland and made up of a diverse range of dedicated, experienced and well-trained individuals with a good general understanding of New Zealand culture and the expectations of its people. The company also has a range of travel insurance products designed for the post-pandemic world. Its insurance cover is coupled with care and assistance delivered by Cover-More’s own emergency assistance team. “Our experienced and skilled case managers, nurses, doctors and travel specialists stand ready 24/7 to assist our customers while they are travelling,” says Ashcroft.

Relevant, useful, localised service and products

Cover-More makes it easy for brokers to support clients. Both clients and brokers can lodge claims online on the company’s claims portal, for example. But it’s the quality and range of products on offer that can make the broker’s role in supporting clients easier, especially for business travel. The YourCover product, perhaps Cover-More’s most comprehensive policy, offers a range of plans for international, inbound and domestic travel with both single-trip and annual multi-trip plans available.

Support that empowers brokers

The product has inbuilt flexibility that allows adventure activities or add-on cover for a range of travel activities that can sometimes be excluded from a policy. It's also frequently used by schools or sports groups due to the options for groups of over 10 travellers. Cover-More’s regular business travel policy is designed for a single business traveller who travels multiple times during the year. “[It] provides cover for an unlimited number of trips throughout the year, flexibility to select maximum days’ duration, and is a cost-effective way to purchase travel insurance annually rather than paying for each individual trip,” says Ashcroft. For the growing number of business travellers wanting to add on some holiday time at either end of their business trips, this policy can be modified to include coverage for up to six weeks of leisure travel. Cover-More also provides a B2B portal for brokers that allows them to quote, bind, cancel and endorse policies, and an online training platform that helps them become familiar with its products and certified to sell them. The process takes about one hour to complete, using simple learning modules, videos and other training documentation. For those who prefer in-person training, a roaming Cover-More account manager regularly heads out to the regions.

Last year, Cover-More launched a new app for travellers to use while they’re away. It offers destination risk ratings, up-to-the-minute travel advice, real-time safety alerts, policy document storage and 24/7 emergency assistance call buttons. The app quickly turned heads, winning the International Travel & Health Insurance Journal (ITIJ) Product Innovation of the Year award for 2023. Cover-More Travel Insurance hopes to repeat this success with another app-based innovation that allows users to not only customise an insurance package to suit specific travel needs but also add incidental insurance. This could cover activities that a traveller may not have originally planned on doing that lie outside the scope of the cover they hold – think an impulsive decision to hit the slopes while on a trip to Canada, or to rent a moped while in Bali. An on-the-go addition to an existing premium, the app leverages AI, combined with a smartphone’s motion capture and geolocation capabilities. “[This means it] can detect, in real time, specific high-risk activities that a customer is engaged in and, via a push notification, immediately send tailored insurance options to cover this activity,” says Ashcroft. One way of looking at the innovation is as the ultimate in customer service, a dynamic policy that can adjust itself based on real-time information about the policyholder’s status. It seems fitting for a company that’s as dedicated to serving customers’ needs as Cover-More. “[It demonstrates] we’re listening and we’re meeting the exact demands of the end traveller, making it really customised and tailored to the end individual.”

Leveraging tech to move with the times

Average NPS score for travel insurance in New Zealand Cover-More NZ claims NPS score (last 6 months) Cover-More NZ employee satisfaction NPS score Average Google review star rating for Cover-More NZ

A sterling reputation

Sources: Perceptive, Cover-More Group, Google

4.6

24/7 security assistance Global security alerts Country intelligence Physical security support Traveller training Bespoke security consulting Travel risk management best practices

Features of Cover-More’s Travel Risk Management program

Specialty

Best in Insurance

Resources

Risk Management

News