7 ways our travel app can help you travel smarter and more safely

Benefit #1: It can provide you with expert advice about your destination and any potential risks before you travel

When planning a trip, many of us may tend to focus on the joyful, exciting experiences our future travel adventures have in store for us. But, how often do we think about what could go wrong? Or the simple things we can do to avoid things going pear-shaped from the get-go?

Planning for all contingencies when travelling is next to impossible, but thankfully, some of the best travel apps can help New Zealand residents travel smarter. At Cover-More, our travel app can help you gain an understanding of your destination and its potential risks before you’ve even left New Zealand.

Upon entering your destination and travel dates into our Cover-More app, you’ll be able to access a wealth of up-to-date information about your destination and its risks – right in the palm of your hand. Because even if a destination seems relatively safe, that doesn’t mean an accident or incident is impossible.

Our travel safety app provides you with the following information about your destination and more:

• Its overall risk level
• Its security risk level
• Its COVID-19 risk level
• Vaccines you may want, or have to consider before travel
• Documentation, visa and insurance requirements for entry
• Current advice around terrorism, conflict, unrest, crime, natural and environmental risks, and health and medical risks
• Active alerts that may affect your travels
• How to contact local emergency services

Being aware of this information before you set off can help you travel smarter, because it may help you plan a smoother trip, set off prepared with your destination’s entry requirements, and understand risks you may realistically face once you reach your destination.

Benefit #2: It gives you easy access to your policy in your pocket, should you need it

With our travel insurance app, gone are the days of having to remember to print your Cover-More Certificate of Insurance before you set off — plus worrying about always keeping it on you while you travel. You’ll no longer have to spend ages searching through your emails for your Certificate of Insurance to find your policy number either.

That’s right, one of the biggest perks of our travel app is that it gives you instant access to your policy number at all times, right on the home screen. This means you’ll quickly be able to find the exact policy number to quote if you need it when making a claim or when speaking to our 24/7 emergency assistance team.

Benefit #3: It allows you to access 24/7 emergency assistance quickly and easily via its tap-to-call feature

If you’re experiencing an emergency situation mid-trip, sifting through emails or searching through printed documents or websites for the right number to call is the last thing you’ll want to do. When time is of the essence, you’ll likely want to reach those who can assist as quickly as possible.

Thanks to our travel safety app’s tap-to-call feature, locating the right number to call is a thing of the past.

That’s right, you can reach our emergency assistance helpline any time of day, wherever you are in the world, simply by pressing the 'Assistance' button on our app. Importantly, you’ll need to have access to an active phone plan, local SIM, or international roaming to do this, but if you do, help is only a few taps away.

Yes, when you press the 'Assistance' button, you’ll automatically be directed to the correct number to call. Then, you can select ‘Call Now’ to speak to our 24/7 emergency assistance team.

We have emergency assistance team members based in three major command centres globally, working around the clock to help our travellers in their time of need. So, you can be confident your call will be answered, whether you call at 3am or 5pm, from Paris, Tokyo or Marrakech.

Benefit #4: It houses all your policy details and coverage terms and limits so they’re easy to locate

Are you the type of traveller who seizes the day and tries new things on a whim while you’re on a trip? Spontaneity can lead to incredible travel experiences and some of the best memories too.

But, when impulse strikes, it’s still important to make sure your policy provides cover or contains benefits for the spontaneous activities you choose – for example, if they involve motorbikes, adventure sports or snow sports.

The good news is this: you no longer have to scour pages of printed paper or search through emails to find out if you’ve got cover or not. Yes, if you choose to download and log in to our Cover-More travel insurance app, you’ll be able to access your policy details, including coverage limits and included benefits, within the app itself.

If you find the spontaneous activity you have in mind is not covered under your policy, you then have the option of getting in touch with our Customer Service team to discuss the possibility of varying your cover.

Also, in the unfortunate event of misadventure, illness or lost luggage items, you’ll be able to check the app to understand your coverage and any applicable limits before you lodge a claim, should you wish to.

Benefit #5: It sends you notifications to help you stay on top of critical travel incidents during your trip

Did you know our travel app provides real-time alerts of risks or incidents of note via app notification while you travel to help you stay safer — or make smarter decisions — during your holiday? These alerts can help you remain aware of incidents of note around you while you travel, all without having to visit local news websites or read local newspapers regularly.

To benefit from this nifty feature, you’ll need to:

• Activate app notifications (so we can let you know about critical travel incidents that may affect you!)
• Allow access to your device’s geolocation (so we know where you are and what risks are around you!)
• Ensure you have access to Wi-Fi, international roaming or an active phone data plan (so our alerts can make their way to you!)

Then, if you are at risk at your location or need to be made aware of nearby threats, our Cover-More app will send you a notification and you can decide on the best next steps to help ensure your safety.

Benefit #6: It grants you access to our 24/7 global monitoring capabilities so we can help you during a crisis

Real-time destination-specific alerts aren’t the only safety benefit of this app. When you download our travel app, you can focus on enjoying your holiday knowing our 24/7 global monitoring capabilities are looking out for your safety. And, if we’re alerted to an imminent threat near your location, our emergency assistance team will attempt to call you.

With this feature activated, our emergency assistance team will likely be able to locate you with pinpoint accuracy in an emergency and then help you get to a safer spot. Without knowing your geolocation while you’re away from home, it could make it harder for our team to help you when you need it most.

What does this look like? If there is:

• a bushfire risk in Europe
• a hurricane in the Caribbean
• an unexpected volcano eruption in Bali
• a terrorist attack, act of war, or civil unrest anywhere in the world

…or any other event that could affect you, our team can quickly see that you may need our help, understand if we need to reach out to you to check you’re OK, continually monitor any potential risks, and inform you any dangers in real-time. It also means we can advise you of exit routes to guide you to safety as quickly as possible if needed.

At Cover-More, helping our travellers is what we do, and our travel safety app can help us help you when you need us most.

Benefit #7: It allows you to focus on having fun, knowing expert assistance and advice is just an 'app tap' away 

Travel should be exhilarating, right? When you download our Cover-More app to your phone before you set off on your holiday, you can focus on having the time of your life, knowing you have an award-winning resource to lean on if the unexpected happens.

Whether you need to check your policy inclusions, find out a destination’s visa requirements, access emergency assistance quickly or stay on top of your destination’s travel alerts, our travel app can assist you anywhere, anytime – with just the press of a button.

While our travel safety app may help you travel smarter and safer, there are some things you can do to make your experience of using our app smoother as well.

For starters, it’s best to download the app and log in using your policy number and last name before you depart New Zealand. Then, while you’re travelling, you must keep location services on to access our 24/7 global monitoring capabilities, keep notifications on to receive any of our important alerts, and have an active phone plan including data (such as via an eSIM international sim card, or data roaming via your New Zealand phone provider).

Once you’ve got this sorted, it’s time to focus on making the most of your holiday. If there’s risk, threat or emergency unfolding near you while you travel, our travel app will let you know — and our travel assistance experts will be there to help.