Travel insurance for New Zealand

It isn't required to enter, but most visitors will want it. New Zealand's public accident scheme, ACC, pays for treatment of injuries from accidents for everyone in the country, including tourists. It doesn't cover illness, disrupted travel plans or emergency travel to get you home. LUMA covers medical expenses for sudden illness, and medical evacuation and getting you home when local care isn't enough.

Yes. ACC doesn't cover illness, so as a visitor you pay in full for a GP visit, tests or a hospital stay if you fall sick. LUMA covers your medical expenses for sudden illness, and Medipro can help you work out whether you need a doctor and where to go.

Yes. Some parts of New Zealand's backcountry can only be reached by helicopter in an emergency. If local care isn't enough, LUMA arranges and pays for your medical evacuation, and if you're not fit to continue your trip, for getting you home, which ACC doesn't cover.

It can be, but it's the most significant safety risk for tourists according to the New Zealand Transport Agency. Visitors used to multi-lane highways struggle with New Zealand's narrow, winding and often unsealed rural roads, and GPS consistently underestimates drive times on scenic routes. Drive on the left, allow at least 30% more time than your map suggests, pull over to rest after long-haul arrivals, and avoid driving after dark in remote areas.

It depends on your nationality. As of November 2026, citizens of many countries, including the US, UK, Canada and EU nations, can enter New Zealand visa-free for short tourist stays, but must hold a valid New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority (NZeTA) obtained before departure. Indian passport holders need to apply for a visitor visa in advance. Your passport should be valid for at least three months beyond your planned departure date. Check the current requirements for your nationality on Immigration New Zealand's official website before booking.

Yes, and faster than most visitors expect. Conditions in backcountry and mountain areas can shift from sunshine to freezing rain within hours, whatever the season, and trail closures and helicopter cancellations happen regularly in the winter months. Build flexibility into any outdoor itinerary, check forecasts at MetService, New Zealand's official weather service, and never head into remote terrain without checking conditions first.

Very little, and nothing like Australia next door. New Zealand has no snakes and no large predatory animals, and its only venomous spider of note, the katipo, is rare and reclusive. The main things worth knowing about are sandflies in Fiordland and on the West Coast, which deliver an irritating but harmless bite, and wasps, which can be aggressive in forested areas in summer, particularly around beech forests. None of these pose a serious threat to a healthy visitor taking normal precautions.

No. Add both countries as destinations when you buy, and one LUMA policy covers you in each. Australia is where costs catch visitors out: most aren't covered by its public health system, and ambulances aren't free for tourists in most states. Read more on our Australia travel insurance page.