Complete Guide to Traveling to USA from New Zealand: Everything you need to know [2026]
Explore everything you need to know about traveling from New Zealand to the USA. Get tips on visas, flights, must-see destinations, and local customs.
Best travel insurance for USA - Guide to providers, coverage, and more
Travelling to the USA can be the adventure of a lifetime, but without adequate coverage, a medical emergency could lead to staggeringly expensive healthcare bills. Even a simple doctor's visit can cost hundreds, so securing travel insurance should be a fundamental part of your plan.
To help you choose the ideal travel insurance for your USA adventure, we'll guide you through essential considerations. We’ll also compare some of the top providers in New Zealand on coverage, benefits, limits and costs and touch on Wise, a handy companion for saving on spending during your USA trip.
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What does travel insurance for the USA cover?
Travel insurance is designed to protect you from unforeseen events that can disrupt your trip. While coverage varies by provider and plan, common inclusions for the international comprehensive policies are:
- Emergency medical expenses
- Emergency dental care
- Trip cancellation, interruption and resumption
- Lost or stolen personal belongings, documents and cash
- Travel delays
- Personal liability
- Rental car excess
On top of that, many providers also offer add-ons that expand the coverage to include activities like cruises, snow sports, adventure sports and motorcycling.
What does travel insurance not cover?
When travelling it’s crucial to understand what your insurance policy doesn’t cover. You’ll be able to find the details of this in the policy wording, but here are some things that are generally excluded.
- Pre-existing conditions unless pre-approved by the insurer
- High risk activities unless specifically covered by a policy add-on
- Travelling against medical advice
- Leaving belongings unattended
- Illegal activities
- Claims due to events that happened while under the influence of drugs or alcohol
- Reckless behaviour
Things to look out for when choosing a travel insurance for USA
When choosing a travel insurance policy for your trip to the United States, here are some things to consider.
- Is the medical coverage high enough given the expense of the US healthcare system?
- Do you need an add-on to be covered for the activities you have planned?
- What excess applies when making a claim?
- How are payments handled in the event of an emergency; would you be reimbursed or can the insurer pay directly?
It’s also important to make sure the insurance company knows you’re travelling to the USA, as some offer worldwide policies that exclude the US unless you opt in.
Best travel insurance for USA in New Zealand
Here's a comparison of popular insurance providers for New Zealanders traveling to the USA, focusing on the comprehensive policies. For the pricing, it’s reflective of a one week trip to the US for a 30 year old, with a $100 excess.
| Provider | Accidental death cover | Medical expenses | Travel cancellation | Price for 1 week | Additional add-ons available |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southern Cross¹ | $50,000 | Unlimited | $2500 before departing $50,000 once you’ve left | $154.27² |
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| AA³ | $50,000 | Unlimited | Unlimited | $228.00⁴ | None |
| Cover-More⁵ | $25,000 | Unlimited | Cover chosen | $227.00⁶ |
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| Allianz⁷ | $25,000 | $20 million | As selected | $201.97⁸ |
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| Tower | $50,000 | Unlimited | Unlimited | $186.00¹⁰ | None |
| 1Cover¹¹ | None | Unlimited | Chosen limit | $160.57¹² |
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When comparing prices keep in mind that the cost of travel insurance varies based on a variety of factors including age, destination, trip duration, number of people, pre-existing health conditions and the excess chosen. If you’re travelling with family it’s worth considering a family travel insurance process, as it might be more cost effective.
Southern Cross Travel Insurance
For people heading abroad, Southern Cross offers International Comprehensive and International Medical insurance policies.²
The International Medical policy only covers medical emergencies and evacuation, as well as personal liability. By comparison the International Comprehensive policy has a far wider scope of benefits, including:¹
- Emergency medical - Unlimited
- Emergency dental - $2000
- Cancellation during journey - $50,000
- Baggage and personal items - $25,000
- Baggage delay - $1000
- Essential medication - $500
- Personal liability - $1,000,000
- Rental car excess - $10,000
Taking a look at costs, a 30 year old taking a one week trip to the US would expect to pay $154.27 for International Comprehensive and $92.89 for International Medical, both with a $100 excess.²
AA Travel Insurance
AA offers two types of travel insurance for single international trips; Essentials and Comprehensive.³
Essentials offers a basic level of coverage that includes some benefits for cancellation, medical, funeral expenses, baggage and personal liability. Of note is the limit on medical expenses, which is $250,000.
The Comprehensive plan covers a wider range of travel related issues with higher benefit limits.
- Emergency medical - Unlimited
- Emergency dental - $1000 to $3000
- Cancellation of journey paid in full - Unlimited
- Baggage and personal items - $30,000
- Emergency baggage - $1500
- Incidental hospital expenses - $4000
- Personal liability - $2,500,000
- Rental car excess - $6000
A 30 year old taking a one week trip to the US would expect to pay $228 for Comprehensive travel insurance and $160 for Essentials travel insurance with AA, each with a $100 excess.⁴
Cover-More Travel Insurance
Cover-More has three levels of international travel insurance on offer to NZ travellers from International Basic to Comprehensive Plan+.⁵
For most leisure travellers the Comprehensive Plan is going to be the preferable option, which includes these benefits and limits.
- Emergency medical - Unlimited
- Emergency dental - $2000
- Cancellation during journey - As selected
- Luggage and travel documents - $15,000
- Delayed luggage - $1100
- Travel delay - $2000
- Personal liability - $2,500,000
- Rental car excess - $5000
With Cover-More, a 30 year old taking a one week trip to the US would expect to pay $173 for International Basic, $205 for International Comprehensive or $264 for International Comprehensive, if they selected an excess of $100.⁶
Allianz Travel Insurance
From Allianz there’s two levels of coverage for single trips; the Comprehensive Plan and Basic Plan.⁷ Both are available as single, duo or family policies.
The Basic Plan is limited to overseas medical emergencies, funeral expenses and personal liability, while the Comprehensive Plan covers a wider scope of events including the list below.
- Emergency medical and dental - $20 million
- Funeral expenses - $60,000
- Cancellation during journey - As selected
- Luggage, personal effects and valuables - $10,000
- Luggage and personal effect delay - $1000
- Alternative transport - $5000
- Personal liability - $5,000,000
- Rental car excess - $6000
Using Allianz, a 30 year old taking a one week trip to the US should expect to pay around $201.97 for the Comprehensive Single Plan or $147.20 for the Basic Plan, with a $100 excess.⁸
Tower Travel Insurance
Tower also has two plans for single trips; Comprehensive and Essentials.⁹
Essentials has less benefits and lower limits than Comprehensive, for example overseas medical expenses are limited to $250,000. There’s also no cover for events like emergency dental or accidental death.
The Comprehensive Plan offers coverage for a wide range of travel events, including medical, cancellation and delays.
- Emergency medical - Unlimited
- Emergency dental - $1000 to $3000
- Cancellation of journey paid in full - Unlimited
- Personal baggage - $50,000
- Emergency baggage - $1500
- Resumption of travel - $10,000
- Personal liability - $2,500,000
- Rental car excess - $6000
If buying from Tower, a 30 year old taking a one week trip to the US would expect to pay $186 for the Comprehensive plan and $130 for the Basic plan, with a $100 excess.¹⁰
1Cover Travel Insurance
For New Zealanders travelling abroad, 1Cover has Comprehensive and Medical Only insurance.¹¹
Medical Only offers unlimited coverage for emergency medical expenses, as well as benefits for dental, repatriation of remains and personal liability. To be covered for any other events you’d need to buy an add-on or upgrade to the Comprehensive plan.
Here are some of the benefits and limits for 1Cover Comprehensive travel insurance.
- Emergency medical - Unlimited
- Emergency dental - $1000
- Cancellation during journey - Chosen limit
- Luggage and personal effects - $15,000
- Luggage and personal effects delay - $1000
- Repatriation of remains - $25,000
- Personal liability - $5,000,000
- Rental car excess - Not covered
A 30 year old taking a one week trip to the US would pay around $160.57 for Comprehensive or $113.01 for Medical Only travel insurance, both with a $100 excess selected.¹²
Heading to the USA? Safeguard yourself from foreign transaction fees with the Wise card
Travelling with peace of mind starts with the right insurance. Once you’ve got your travel insurance for the US lined up, it’s time to work out the best way to spend during your trip. Meet the Wise account and card.
Open a Wise account online or in the Wise app, add money in NZD right from your bank account, and exchange NZD to USD at your desired rate before your trip and spend at exchange at mid-market rate during your trip. That can mean you save significantly compared to using your bank, as you’ll avoid foreign transaction fees and rest assured you’re getting one of the fairest exchange rates out there along with low, transparent fees. You’ll also be able to get a linked Wise card to use for contactless payments, add your card to a wallet like Apple Pay, or make some free ATM withdrawals when you need cash in the US.
Take Wise with you to USA, and save up to 8x when you spend internationally.
Savings claim based on our rates vs. selected New Zealand banks and other similar providers in Jan 2025. To learn more, please visit https://payout-surge.live/nz/compare%3C/a%3E%3C/small%3E%3C/p%3E%3Csmall%3E
Please see Terms of Use and product availability for your region or visit Wise Fees & Pricing for the most up to date pricing and fee information.
Sources:
- Southern Cross - International Comprehensive
- Southern Cross - Quote
- AA - International Leisure Cover Policy Wording
- AA - Quote
- Cover-More - Policy wording
- Cover-More - Quote
- Allianz - Policy wording
- Allianz - Quote
- Tower - Policy wording
- Tower - Quote
- 1Cover - Policy wording
- 1Cover - Quote
Sources last checked on date: 11 May 2025
*Please see terms of use and product availability for your region or visit Wise fees and pricing for the most up to date pricing and fee information.
This publication is provided for general information purposes and does not constitute legal, tax or other professional advice from Wise Payments Limited or its subsidiaries and its affiliates, and it is not intended as a substitute for obtaining advice from a financial advisor or any other professional.
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