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      Home / Travel alerts / New Zealand White Island Volcano

      Important Information Regarding: New Zealand White Island Volcano

      Issued: 10 December 2019

      Background

      New Zealand’s most active cone volcano White Island (Whakaari) situated off the eastern coast of the North Island has erupted.

      It has been confirmed that multiple people have been killed, injured, or are still missing with police supporting other emergency services as the situation continues to evolve, with a number of bodies yet to be recovered from the site and many sustaining serious injuries.

      If you have been directly affected and need medical assistance, please call our 24 hour emergency assistance team immediately on +61 2 8907 5240. We further urge you to pay close attention to local media and emergency services, following any instructions provided and visit the MFAT page on Safetravel.

      If you are planning to travel, we encourage you to contact your travel agent, airline or tour operator as soon as possible to discuss whether there have been any changes to your itinerary.

      Policy Wording

      For policies/trips with the Relevant Time prior to 2pm December 9th 2019:

      If you have been directly affected from this event, there may be provision for you to claim for benefits provided by your travel insurance policy. Claims will be assessed in accordance with your Policy Wording and may vary depending on the type of policy you purchased.

      If you have already departed

      • If you have incurred medical expenses as a result of this event, there is cover up to the specified limits.
      • If you are directly affected due to this event, there is cover (up to the nominated policy sub limits) for reasonable Additional transport and accommodation expenses.
      • There is no cover if your existing travel plans are not directly affected.
      • There is no cover available for any portions of your Journey that have been utilised.

      If you have not yet departed

      • If your pre-booked travel arrangements are cancelled, delayed or rescheduled as a result of this event you may be able to claim for cancellation or amendment of your journey. Please note costs to rearrange Your trip must not exceed the costs you would have incurred had you cancelled Your trip outright.
      • You must take all reasonable steps to mitigate your out of pocket expenses and we encourage you to speak with your travel agent or transport provider as soon as possible to minimise these expenses.

      To submit your claim, please remember:

      • To keep all itemised receipts for additional purchases or costs incurred
      • Obtain documentation from the travel provider confirming the length and reason for delay
      • Claims can be submitted through our online claims portal: https://claims.covermore.co.nz/default

      Costs that are not covered by your policy

      • Travel arrangements that have already been utilised
      • Costs excluded or above the limits outlined in your Policy Wording
      • Costs that are incurred where your travel is not directly affected
      • Where alternate travel is at a higher fare class than originally booked
      • Depending on the policy benefit claimed and our assessment, there is no cover available for policies purchased on or after 2 pm December 9th 2019 as the event is no longer considered unforeseeable

      For policies/trips with the Relevant Time on or after 2 pm December 9th 2019

      There is no cover for policies issued after this date as it would no longer deemed an unforeseeable event.

      Important general advice

      This information must be read in conjunction with the Policy Wording as certain terms, conditions, limits, and exclusions apply. These terms, condition, limits and exclusions are detailed in the Policy Wording and in

      particular we draw your attention to ‘The Benefits’ and ‘General Exclusions’ section of the Policy Wording.

      Contact us

      If you are travelling and require travel or medical assistance, please contact our 24 hour emergency assistance team on +61 2 8907 5240.

      For any general enquiries regarding the event please contact our Customer Service team on 0800 500 225 between 8:30am and 5:30pm Monday to Friday and between 10am and 2pm Saturday.