Australia is now the world’s fastest-growing cruise market

Sydney, 30 July 2014 – Global online travel insurance provider, InsureandGo has launched a new cruise travel insurance policy to the Australian online marketplace to meet growing demand from Australian travellers who have recently become the world’s fastest growing cruise market.

InsureandGo’s General Manager Sebastien Kaisin said InsureandGo was delighted to offer a cruise travel insurance policy at a time when cruise holidays are at an all-time high and are more popular in Australia than in any other part of the world.

A recent report from the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) showed that more than 830,000 Australians took a cruise last year, an increase of 20 percent from the previous year (more than double the growth rate of any other major cruise market) meaning that Australia now tops the world for market growth and penetration of cruising holidays.

“InsureandGo strives to provide innovative and comprehensive travel insurance products that are tailored to the shifting needs of Australian travellers. No one else in the Australian online travel insurance marketplace is offering such a customised cruise insurance policy which demonstrates our commitment to listening to what our customers are looking for and developing our products to meet their needs,” Mr Kaisin said.

InsureandGo’s new cruise policy has been created to provide exceptional cover for cruise related incidents that are not covered to such an extent through traditional single-trip or multi-trip travel insurance policies.

Key benefits of InsureandGo’s new cruise policy include:

• Missed cruise departure cover from $5,000 to $50,000 to cover additional expenses if you miss your cruise.
• Missed port cover, economic compensation for not being able to visit a scheduled port due to weather or mechanical breakdown.
• Delays, loss, theft and damage to your luggage and belongings including cover while in Australia up to 72 hours before your cruise departure
• Unlimited cover for Medical Expenses on board and onshore (Except for expenses incurred in Australia – onshore)
• Reimbursements for shore excursions
• Cabin confinement – if you are confined to your cabin for medical reasons by a ship medical officer, InsureandGo will pay $75 for every 24 hours a passenger is confined
• Cruise delays, where a passenger’s commencing or returning international journey is delayed
• Emergency Medical Transportation to cover a passenger if they require urgent transportation to a medical facility or need to return home for emergency treatment.

“Before this policy was launched, passengers would have taken the usual ‘comprehensive’ or ‘basic’ insurance policy but most of the above specific items which relate to cruise travel were not included,” Mr Kaisin said.

Aside from the cruise-specific features of InsureandGo’s new cruise travel insurance policy, customers also benefit from all the usual advantages of booking travel insurance with InsureandGo such as the security of booking with a global brand that covers millions of travellers per year, 24 hour emergency assistance and a quick and easy claims process.

“Cruise enthusiasts can now rest assured they are covered should the unexpected arise during their voyage at sea” Mr Kaisin said.

The Cruise Lines International Association’s (CLIA) 2014 report showed that Australians spent an estimated 8.7 million days at sea in 2013, up 22 per cent on 2012, with the number taking a trip of between eight and 14 days rising almost 35%.

Australians account for 40 per cent of those cruising within the South Pacific region, and the Mediterranean is Australia’s favourite long-haul destination to go cruising.

The number of Australians cruising to New Zealand has almost reached 100,000 according to the CLIA 2014 report.

Customers can also opt for policies which incorporate both international and domestic destinations depending on their itinerary.