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South America Travel Insurance

The 1 Thing You Need, When 1 Thing Goes Wrong In South America.

 

Travel Alerts: 

Before you buy, please read our travel alerts.

"Exceeded all expectations with 5 star service and exceptional level of care"
— Sean Mar 17, 2021

Why Do I Need Travel Insurance In South America?

$300,000

Average cost of an air ambulance from Brazil to New Zealand.

$63,000

Average cost of a weekly hospital stay in Chile in ICU.

 

$65,000

Cost of repatriation on a plane from Argentina to New Zealand.


Travelling Safe In South America

  1. Whether it’s Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, or Chile, South America is incredibly diverse. There’s no list about it that could be exhaustive, but here are some of our top tips to help you keep safe in this sprawling and fascinating continent. 

    1. Many part of South America countries, like parts of Brazil, require you to have a Yellow Fever vaccination before entry. See the New Zealand Government’s website for more information about yellow fever, including re-entry requirements.

    2. The North Yungas Road in Bolivia, also known as the 'Road of Death', is considered by some to be one of the most dangerous roads  in the world. Every year, hundreds of deaths are caused by vehicles plunging off the road while trying risky overtaking manoeuvres.

    3. Driving around Chile can be dangerous due to aggressive driving practices. Some roads in Chile, especially in rural areas have no street lighting and are poorly maintained and in a lot of mountainous regions there aren't any guard rails.

    4. In South America, avoid looking lost or confused when you’re out in public - especially if you’re alone. Thieves and other criminals look out for people like this, no matter where you’re travelling,  so it’s best to look confident and at ease.

    5. Travelers generally recommend public transport in South America, especially in countries like Chile, Argentina, and Brazil. It’s always advisable to tour with a reputable bus company. 

    6. Research whether you need to buy or purify water, especially if you have a sensitive stomach.

    7. Scams still happen in South America, such as people spilling things on you and then robbing you while they help clean you up. 

    8. If you’re planning to travel all over South America, you might need a Worldwide travel insurance policy for this region. 

  2.  

Keep scrolling to find out more…

What Are My Travel Insurance Options For South America?

 

Option 1

Comprehensive

This is our highest level of cover.

 
 

Option 2

Medical Only

For medical expense coverage only.

 
 

Option 3

Frequent Traveller

If you travel more than once a year.READ MORE

We've provided an outline for each of the options below. If you need more information or need to view the terms and conditions, please take a look at the Policy Wording, or get an instant quote now.

 

Get a quote

 

Option 1: Comprehensive Cover

 

Comprehensive Travel Insurance is our highest level of cover, with optional add-ons for snow, cruise, extra rental vehicle excess, and high-value items.

If you have pets, we include vet fees if your pet gets sick while you're away, and we'll pay pet boarding fees if you're delayed. 

For a detailed outline of benefits and inclusions, as well terms and conditions, please refer to the Policy Wording, or get an instant quote now.

 
South America Travel Insurance Policy Benefit Overseas Single-Trip
Comprehensive
medical Cover 
 

Overseas Emergency Medical Assistance^

Unlimited

Overseas Emergency Medical & Hospital Expenses^*

Unlimited

Includes Dental Expenses (per adult)^

$1,000

Resumption Of Journey^*

$3,000

Hospital Cash Allowance^*

$5,000

Accidental Death*

$25,000

Permanent Disability^*

$25,000

Loss of Income^*

$10,400

luggage Cover 
 

Credit Card Fraud & Replacement^

$5,000

Includes Travel Documents & Traveller's Cheques^

Yes

Theft Of Cash^#

$250

Luggage & Personal Effects*

$15,000

Luggage & Personal Effects Delay Expenses^

$250

cancellation Cover 
 

Additional Accommodation & Travel Expenses*

$50,000

Includes Family Emergency*

Yes

Includes Emergency Companion Cover*

Yes

Cancellation Fees & Lost Deposits*

Unlimited

Disruption Of Journey*

$2,000

Alternative Transport Expenses^

$5,000

ancillary Cover 
 

Personal Liability#

$5 million

Domestic Pets^*

$500

Domestic Services^*

$500

Rental Vehicle Insurance Excess#*

$5,000

 

Choose Add-ons For your Comprehensive cover

If you’re travelling with expensive new items, going cruising, hitting the ski slopes, or you're worried about car rental insurance excess, then you may want to select the following add-ons. 

Cruise
Pack
 

Protect yourself
while cruising in
the South America with our
Cruise Pack add-on.

Winter Sports
Pack

Cover yourself and your gear on your ski or snowboarding trip with our Winter Sports Pack add-on.

More Cover for Your Rental Vehicle 

We automatically cover rental excess up to $5,000. But you can increase this up to $8,000 if you need to.

High Value
Items Cover

Protect high-value items that are not automatically covered by your policy. Note: items cannot be older than 12 months.


Option 2: Medical Only Cover

If you're travelling on a budget, and looking for cheap travel insurance to the South America, then 1Cover’s Medical Only policy offers a cheaper alternative to comprehensive travel insurance. It's our most basic policy and will only provide cover for any medical expenses and emergency assistance costs. 

For a detailed outline of benefits and inclusions, as well as terms and conditions, please refer to the Policy Wording, or get an instant quote now.

Medical Only Cover Policy
 
Medical Only Policy
Single Trip
medical Cover 
 

Overseas Emergency Medical Assistance^

Unlimited

Overseas Emergency Medical & Hospital Expenses^*

Unlimited

Includes Dental Expenses (per adult)^

$500

Ancillary
 

Personal Liability#

$5 million

Option 3: Annual or Frequent Traveller Cover

Do you travel more than once a year to the South America? Then it might make sense to buy a multi-trip annual policy. This works just like our comprehensive cover (detailed above), except you can take as many trips as you want in a year and you’ll still be covered.

Let us know the maximum trip duration of any one trip before selecting from the options below.

 

Frequent Traveller 21 days maximum

 

Frequent Traveller 45 days maximum

 

Find out which Annual Frequent Traveller cover policy would suit you best here. 

For a detailed outline of benefits and inclusions, as well as terms and conditions, please refer to the Policy Wording, or get an instant quote now.

  

South America Travel Insurance FAQs

  • Will You Pay My Hospital Bills If I get Sick Or Injured In South America?
  • Please refer to the Policy Wording and policy schedule and check if your sickness or injury is a claimable event and is covered. If you are hospitalised, or if you are treated as an outpatient, or if the total cost of the treatment will exceed $1000, please contact our emergency assistance service as soon as possible to obtain their prior approval.

    In circumstances where the claim is approved, we can then provide written guarantees of payment of reasonable expenses for emergency hospitalisation that may be required while you are in the South America.

  • Will You Fly Me Home If I Get Sick or Injured in South America?
  • If you have purchased Comprehensive, Essentials, Medical Only, Frequent Traveller, or Already Overseas, cover is available for your medical transfer or evacuation if you must be brought back to New Zealand with appropriate medical supervision.

    Cover is also available under these plans for the return to New Zealand of your dependants if they are left without supervision following your hospitalisation or evacuation.

    All expenses for medical evacuation must first be approved by 1Cover. 

    This only applies to the plans listed above, as there is no cover for medical/hospital expenses or repatriation under Domestic plans.

  • Will I Be Covered If I Ride A Scooter, Moped Or Motorcycle While In South America?
  • If you are in control of a motorcycle or scooter with an engine capacity greater than 50cc, you need to hold a current, valid New Zealand motorcycle license. 

    You also need to be aware that cover will not be provided to you if you are a passenger on a moped, scooter or motorcycle, and the person in control does not have a valid motorcylce license for that country.  

    Please note that it’s compulsory to wear a helmet while riding a motorbike or scooter in many countries. Regardless of local requirements, 1Cover advises you to wear a motorcycle helmet whenever you are a rider or passenger on a scooter or motorbike. 

  • What Is A Dependant?
  • Dependants are your children or grandchildren not in full time employment, who are under the age of 19. In order to be classed as a dependant, the child must be travelling with their parent or grandparent at all times.

    If you have a child under 16 years of age that requires a single adult policy you will need to contact our customer service centre to discuss your options.

    Whether it’s two adults, multiple adults or just a single adult travelling, we allow for an unlimited amount of dependants to be added to a policy. 

  • Can I Apply To Extend My Travel Insurance Policy While I’m Away?
  • Yes, of course. If you want to extend your policy while you’re in South America region, the easiest way to do this is via the Policy Manager.

    You'll need your policy number (available in the email confirming your policy), and a few other simple details. Log-in and extend your trip, add destinations, or buy add ons/extras.

    Make sure you extend your policy before it expires. 
    If you have trouble, you can email us at [email protected]

    Please note there may be instances where a policy extension is not available.  

  • What Happens If I Encounter Terrorism Or Political Unrest in South America?
  • In the event of a terrorist attack or political unrest, there is no cover for cancellation fees and lost deposits, disruption of journey or alternative transport expenses.

    However, if you do get caught up in an unforeseen event while you are in the South America region and you are injured, cover is available for all necessary medical/hospital expenses.

  • Can I Choose My Excess?
  • Sure. If you choose a lower excess, it means you'll pay less if you need to claim, but you'll pay a little bit more upfront. If you opt for a higher excess, it means you'll pay less now and a little bit more if you need to claim.

  • I travel to South America a few times a year. What’s the best policy for me?
  • Our Frequent Traveller policy allows you to take as many trips to the South America and other destinations under the one policy for 12 months - and enjoy comprehensive cover on each one.

    Find out more about our annual travel insurance policies here.

  • Do you cover seniors travelling to the South America?
  • We can provide cover to people of all ages. If you have any pre-existing medical conditions we may require a little more information from you and some exclusions may apply. See here for more details.

  • Am I covered if i'm pregnant when i'm travelling to South America?
    • If you're travelling to the South America while pregnant, you are covered for single foetus pregnancies, up to, and inclusive of, the 24th week of gestation. For multiple pregnancies, you'll be covered up to and inclusive of the 19th week of gestation. If you have had complications fromyour pregnancy, you’ll need to complete a medical screening.

      We will assess your application and decide whether and to what extent we can offer you insurance for your pregnancy and/or journey. If you have not told us about the circumstances of your pregnancy when you were required to do so, we may refuse your claim or reduce it to the amount we would have paid had you given us the required information.

      Please note: we will not pay any medical expenses for:
      a) Regular antenatal care;
      b) Childbirth at any gestation; or
      c) Care of the newborn child. 

      Find more here. 

  • Am I Covered For Travel Interruptions Caused By Cyclones And Other Natural Disasters?
  • Travel insurance provides cover for weather events as long as they are unforeseen. The most common types of natural disasters in the South America are cyclones, storms, and flooding. Our policies do not cover claims for losses caused by an event that you were aware of at the time of purchasing your policy.

    Once an event has become published in the mass media, it is expected that you have purchased your insurance with this knowledge in mind. 1Cover will, where possible, issue travel warnings in relation to such large scale events and the dates and times after which they are not seen as an unforeseen event.

  • Can I Get Extra Cover For My High-Value Items?
  • Laptop computers, cameras, mobile phones…they’re all things we need on at home and on holiday. That’s why you can choose a bit of extra protection for your can’t-live-withouts. All you need to do is include and specify certain high-value items that aren't automatically covered when you're buying your policy.

    Note: the items cannot be older than 12 month, and you can't specify items like jewellery, watches, bicycles and watercraft (apart from surfboards).

 

READ ALL FAQS

 

Travel Insurance Statistics

...they're interesting, really!

Nearly a quarter of travellers experienced an insurable event on their last trip overseas.*

Expensive Medical Bill

70% of travellers don’t realise travel insurance won’t cover you if you’re  intoxicated at the time of an event.**

35% of travellers think the government would pay to get them home in a medical emergency. Not true – you would be responsible for these costs. 

*in 2016/2017
**Research conducted in 2016

We've Already Helped 1.5 Million Customers

1Cover is rated 4.3 out of 5, Independently Rated On Feefo 
  • "Don't Leave Country Without it"

    Prompt support when unexpected happened. I don't know what I would have done if I didn't have it when I got robbed.

    By Damiliya, Feefo User

  • "Good Value, Good Service"

    Had to make a claim when my wife took ill & had to visit a doctor in the USA. Put a claim in back home ... accepted and paid within two weeks.

    By Kevin, Feefo User

  • "Exceptional Speed In Response To A Claim"

    First time I've had to make a claim. Speed of process was quite unbelievable.

    By Anon, Feefo User

Do you need to Know about...

Cover for Activities

You wouldn’t be going to South America if you weren’t going to be doing some activities. Find out all about the 100+ activities we cover. 

medical Questions

All sorts of medical issues could affect your travel in South America. Find out about pre-existing medical conditions, as well as pregnancy and emergencies

What Travel Insurance Covers

We always recommend you read the Policy Wording, but this page will give you an overview of what travel insurance will cover in South America.

 

One Last Thing: Emergency Contacts & How To Claim

We hope nothing goes wrong on your trip to the South America. But if it does, the resources in this section can help you.


New Zealand has an Embassy and several consulates throughout Asia. They provide a range of services to the general public, including consular, passport, visa and immigration, citizenship and cultural relations services.

 

Be informed. Be prepared. If you're across The New Zealand Government's SafeTravel website, you'll have all the latest information for your trip to the UK. SafeTravel is a trusted resource for New Zealander travellers and is updated regularly, so make sure you bookmark this handy resource.

 

 

 

 

 


If you need emergency assistance in South America, please call our 24/7 emergency medical assistance line on (+) 64 9884 0229 or email [email protected]

For non-emergency assistance, you can message our Sydney-based support centre seven days a week.


If something happens to you and it's not an emergency, you can start the claims process whenever it's convenient to you. Visit our online claims platform, and if you have all the necessary documentation, your claim will be processed in 10 business days.