BNZ Advantage Visa Platinum: what does its travel insurance actually cover?

Covers the non-refundable part of all prepaid travel costs with no dollar cap for travellers under 75, from the day you pay the deposit, if you must cancel or change the trip for an unforeseeable reason outside your control. From 75 to 89 the limit drops to $5,000 per person, and travel agent cancellation fees are paid up to $500 per journey. A $300 excess applies per event.

Unlimited overseas hospital, medical and ambulance costs for travellers under 75, including medical evacuation and repatriation decided by Travel Guard, after a $300 excess per event. From 75 to 89 the benefit is not covered unless Mature Traveller Medical Cover is bought. Costs are paid for up to 24 months after the injury or illness, and up to $1,000 of follow-up treatment in New Zealand within three months of coming home.

Medical evacuation and repatriation sit inside the unlimited overseas medical benefit for travellers under 75, arranged at the sole determination of Travel Guard, the 24/7 emergency assistance service. If you die overseas, a funeral there or the return of your remains to New Zealand is paid up to $30,000.

Emergency dental treatment overseas is paid within the unlimited overseas medical benefit, with no separate sub-limit, for pain relief after acute dental pain or treatment of teeth injured in an accident. A $300 excess applies, and the benefit follows the medical age rule: not covered from 75 without Mature Traveller Medical Cover.

Pays $50 for each continuous 24 hours you spend as a hospital bed care patient overseas, up to $5,000 per person. It only applies alongside a valid overseas medical claim, and bed care means confinement for more than 24 hours under a registered nurse, certified by a doctor.

Reasonable extra travel, meal and accommodation costs are paid with no dollar cap for travellers under 75 when an injury, an illness, a death in the family or any other unforeseeable event outside your control forces you to change the itinerary or come home. From 75 to 89 the limit is $5,000 per person, and a $300 excess applies per event.

If your scheduled transport is delayed 6 hours or more for reasons outside your control, the card pays reasonable accommodation, meal and travel costs of $250 per person ($500 per family) for the first 6 hours. It pays the same again for each further 12 hours, up to $750 per person or $1,000 per family for one delay, with no excess.

Pays the reasonable extra cost of alternative public transport, up to $2,000 per person, to reach a wedding, funeral, convention or ticketed sporting event on time when your journey is delayed by something unexpected and outside your control. It only applies when the event itself cannot be moved, and a $300 excess applies.

If a relative under 80 dies or is seriously injured or ill, the extra cost of coming home early is paid with no dollar cap for travellers under 75, through unexpected travel expenses, and the unused prepaid costs through cancellation after departure. There is no benefit to fly back out and resume the trip. A $300 excess applies.

If an airline or other carrier delays or misplaces your checked luggage for more than 12 hours, essentials such as clothing and toiletries are reimbursed up to $300 per person or $600 per family. The policy wording applies its $300 excess to luggage claims, which can absorb a single traveller's claim entirely.

Luggage and personal belongings lost, damaged or stolen during the journey are covered up to $10,000 per person or $20,000 per family, with a $3,000 limit per item and $6,000 for a laptop. Items are paid at current value after depreciation, and a $300 excess applies. A high-value item can be covered up to $10,000 for an extra premium.

The non-recoverable cost of replacing travel documents and credit cards lost, damaged or stolen on the journey is paid within the $10,000 per person luggage limit, along with your liability for their unauthorised use after a theft. Loss or theft of cash is excluded, and a $300 excess applies.

Covers the damages, compensation and approved legal costs you are legally liable for after negligently injuring someone or damaging their property during the journey, up to $2,500,000 per person. A $300 excess applies, and you must not admit fault without the insurer's written consent.

Pays $100,000 to the cardholder's estate, or $50,000 for an accompanying spouse, if an accident on the journey causes death within 12 months. A separate common carrier benefit pays up to $1,000,000 per adult, or $50,000 per dependent child, for death or disablement on a plane, bus or train, but only if the ticket was paid in full with the card.

Pays your usual net weekly income, capped at $1,000 a week from all sources including ACC, for up to three months if an injury overseas stops you doing your normal work within 90 days of coming home. The first 30 days after you planned to go back to work are not paid, and the benefit is not available from age 75.

No domestic cancellation cover. This benefit is not included with this card, which only covers overseas journeys. Prepaid domestic flights and accommodation, such as a Queenstown ski week, are not reimbursable if you cancel.

No domestic delay cover. This benefit is not included with this card. Meals and accommodation during a delayed or cancelled domestic flight are the cardholder's responsibility.

No domestic disruption cover. This benefit is not included with this card. Extra accommodation and transport after a disruption on a trip within New Zealand are out of pocket.

No domestic luggage cover. This benefit is not included with this card. Lost or stolen luggage on a trip within New Zealand is not reimbursable through this card.

No domestic bag delay cover. This benefit is not included with this card. Essentials bought while your bag is delayed on a domestic flight are out of pocket.