Source: Radio New Zealand
Last month Air New Zealand looked set to cancel around 1100 flights over fuel supply concerns. RNZ / Patrice Allen
With skyrocketing fuel prices and war in the Middle East making making international travel increasingly unpredictable, many Kiwis are opting to travel closer to home these school holidays.
But as we’ve seen during recent weather events and a rising number regional flight disruptions, even a short weekend away is not immune from disruption.
So is it worth getting travel insurance for domestic travel?
Ben Rose, head of financial services at the AA, told Checkpoint that domestic travel insurance usually accounted for around 5.5 percent of their policies, but it was on the rise.
“We’ve seen Kiwis chance their holiday destinations over the past few months – lots more domestic travel, lots more travel closer to home, so we are seeing interest in domestic travel insurance picking up.”
Rose said people did incur lots of costs on domestic trips, and the cost of insurance was “pretty low”.
The most common claims are for things like rental vehicle insurance excess, missed flights, lost luggage and accommodation.
So when does a trip merit getting out domestic travel insurance?
“Typically, if you’re incurring cost that is at risk as a result of your trip, then it’s worth having a look at insurance,” Rose said.
Ultimately, it depends on how much you’re spending.
“Your four days away might be costing five, ten thousand dollars or it might be costing a couple of hundred bucks so it really depends on how much you’re spending, how much is at risk and how much that insurance is going to cost you.”
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
