Europe is one of the world’s greatest travel destinations, with many different countries and cultures to explore. We know that Kiwis love to take a nice long holiday when committing to those long-haul flights, whether it’s a rail trip through the Balkans or making your way along the French riviera. 

However, during the excitement of your Euro-trip planning, it’s crucial not to overlook the right travel insurance cover for your trip.  

What should my travel insurance for Europe include? 

As exciting as your Europe trip will be, there are unfortunately mishaps that could occur.  

Some countries in Europe may have a reciprocal health agreement with New Zealand, but this often offers only limited medical coverage, and you may be out of pocket with a hefty bill at the end of your treatment or hospital stay.  

As well as medical emergencies, things like lost luggage, flight delays and cancellations, theft and lost items can all occur – and it’s better to be covered, so you can focus on freeing your adventure!  

Why choose Southern Cross Travel Insurance?

⁺Based upon the total number of travellers we have insured across the markets where we operate for all our travel insurance products from January 1995 to June 2024.

What types of travel insurance could I get for Europe?

Our travel insurance offers a range of cover options for your trip overseas. 

International Comprehensive 

Our International Comprehensive travel insurance policy, can protect you with a variety of benefits, policy limits and a supportive claims team. You’ll gain access to our worldwide emergency assistance team, who are there to help 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  
 
Our International Comprehensive travel insurance includes cover for: 

• Unlimited medical and evacuation expenses that arise due to unexpected events while on your journey
• Cancellation fees and lost deposits – increase your cover depending on the cost of your journey
• Damaged or lost baggage
• Personal items if they are stolen or damaged
• Rental car excess should you have an accident
• Emergency dental treatment
• Funeral costs 
• Optional add-ons for cruise, moped and ski cover. 

Annual Multi-trip 

Heading to Europe a few times this year? Or maybe you’ve got Europe, Asia and America all planned out? We know family visits, events and holidays can mean you’re not just taking one overseas trip per year, so that’s why we offer an Annual Multi-trip policy that offers the same great benefits as our International Comprehensive policy, and means that you’re covered for an unlimited number of return journeys overseas, over a period of 12-months. This can make the travel insurance process a breeze, instead of having to shop around for travel insurance on each of your trips. Europe, here we come! 

What if I want to work in Europe? Check out our Working Overseas option 

From London to Amsterdam, Berlin to Dublin – Europe truly offers an iconic gap year or overseas experience, and we know how important it is to have cover during your stint in Europe. Our Working Overseas policy is designed to better protect you from the unexpected while away from home. It provides the comprehensive cover of a standard travel insurance policy, while also covering living and working abroad, with tailored benefits such as optical treatment, maternity care, rehabilitation and occupational therapy and repatriation You’ll also automatically have cover for all add-ons, such as skiing and snowboarding cover, cruise, and moped cover. 

A range of travel-related benefits are covered under the Working Overseas policy, such as medical expenses, emergency medical evacuation, trip cancellation, trip interruption, resuming your journey, lost or stolen baggage and more.  

Things to consider with Travel insurance for Europe

Does my cover include flight cancellations and delays? 

Whether it’s severe weather, volcanic ash clouds, or airline workers on strike, there are a number of ways your flight plans can be disrupted. For uninsured travellers, these disruptions can be costly and frustrating, especially when you need to extend your accommodation bookings. 
 
Our International Comprehensive, Working Overseas and Annual Multi-trip travel insurance policies include travel interruption cover, that can insure you for the additional costs of accommodation, transport and meals if your travel is interrupted for more than 12 hours. If you’re attending a special event (e.g. a wedding or concert) and your travel is disrupted by an unexpected event, we may also cover alternative transport costs to get you there on time. 

Does my insurance cover me for medical and hospital bills? 

Whether it’s a slip and fall, a contaminated restaurant meal, or a bad bout of the flu, medical emergencies can be incredibly expensive. As well as the cost of medical treatment, you may need to pay for more spacious seats on the plane (to accommodate a broken leg, for example). Some injuries and illnesses might force you to extend your holiday, meaning you have to pay for extra accommodation and living expenses until you’re fit to fly. 
 
We understand how upsetting medical emergencies can be while you’re on holiday, which is why our International Comprehensive and Working Overseas insurance policies can cover you for unlimited medical and evacuation expenses that arise due to unexpected events while on your journey. 

Am I covered for stolen or damaged valuables, like my phone, camera and laptop? 

Europe can feel like a well-tread and familiar place to many, however that shouldn’t make you complacent with your valuables. Pickpocketing and petty theft is common in many places across Europe, including London, Paris and Barcelona (to name a few!). We understand how upsetting it can be to have your valuables stolen overseas, which is why our International Comprehensive, Annual Multi-trip and Working Overseas travel insurance policies can cover you for loss, damage or theft to valuables that occurs from an unexpected event. 
 
What is an ‘unexpected event’? Your policy defines an unexpected event as something that was unforeseeable, sudden, unintended and out of your control. You can read more about your cover under our relevant travel insurance policy documents. 

Do I need to declare transit stops as destinations on my travel insurance policy?

It’s a given that you’ll have at least one transit stop on your way over to Europe, so it’s important to know whether you need to declare transit stops as destinations on your travel insurance policy.  

Under our International Comprehensive, Working Overseas, or Annual Multi-trip polices, you do not need to declare transit stops where you are there for less than 48 hours.  

Pre-Existing Medical Conditions

Pre-existing medical conditions are not automatically covered under your travel insurance policy. We want to help you understand what a pre-existing medical condition is, and what you need to do if you have any, so that you know what you are covered for under your travel insurance policy for your Europe trip.  

What is a pre-existing medical condition? 

We consider a pre-existing medical condition to be any illness, injury or health symptom to which all the following apply. 

• You know about it, or a reasonable person should have known about it before the date your insurance starts
• In the 3 years before the date your insurance starts, any of the following applied:
  • You sought or received medical help
  • Someone recommended you seek or receive medical help
  • A reasonable person would have sought or received medical help
  • You were waiting for medical help

In this definition, ‘medical help’ means any of the following:

• Advice from a health professional
• Tests, investigations, or specialist consultations
• Care, treatment, or medical attention, including surgery
• Medication or a script for medication

An illness, injury or health symptom doesn’t need a confirmed medical diagnosis to count as a pre-existing medical condition. 

Find out more about pre-existing medical conditions for our International Comprehensive, Annual Multi-trip and Working Overseas polices.  

We’re with Kiwis in Europe 

What you need to know

This page includes some information about our products but, as with all insurance policies, terms and conditions apply. For our terms and conditions (including information about exclusions, excesses and sub limits) we recommend you read the relevant policy documents to ensure our travel insurance products are right for you.

You can find the relevant documents for all our policies here: International Comprehensive, Annual Multi-trip, International Medical Only, Domestic, Working Overseas, Visiting New Zealand, International Student 

Need some help?

If you’d like to get in touch, check out the ways you can contact us. Our friendly insurance experts are happy to help!