1 December 2022 by Ellie Williams

Continuing its run of award wins, Southern Cross Travel Insurance (SCTI) today announces it has been awarded the 2023 ProductReview.com.au Award for travel insurance.

The ProductReview.com.au Annual Awards highlight products and services that have been well regarded by the ProductReview community. These winners represent the best and most reliable purchasing choices available to Australian consumers in 2022. SCTI currently receives a 4.7 star rating (out of 5 stars) from more than 2,800 reviews and is the number one rated travel insurer on ProductReview.com.au.

Jo McCauley, CEO at Southern Cross Travel Insurance says, “The rating we receive on ProductReview.com.au is of the utmost importance to SCTI as it is a true reflection of how our customers feel about the work we are doing. To have our consistently high star rating reflected by this award win is a great honour.”

Since SCTI last won a ProductReview.com.au Award, the travel industry has worked through unprecedented disruption. To ensure an exceptional experience for its customers, Southern Cross has rolled out the following initiatives:

• In July 2020, SCTI relaunched its Australian website with a new look design and functionality to improve the entire customer experience.
• In December 2020, the Domestic Travel Insurance policy was launched to support the rise in domestic tourism.
• In May 2021, SCTI started offering a level of Covid-19 cover on its domestic and international policies.
• In October 2021, SCTI introduced a new chatbot, a native New-Zealand kea bird called ‘Scout’, to increase communication options for customers, and to prepare for a predicted rebound in tourism and increase in travel bookings.
• International and Domestic Travel insurance policy documents were translated into Plain English to improve customer understanding (winning the Plain English Award for Best Legal Document in 2021 in New Zealand).
• In October 2022, SCTI launched its new International Medical Only policy, providing customers with an international travel insurance option for medical expenses overseas with a lower starting premium.

The ProductReview.com.au Award is the latest in an award-winning run for Southern Cross Travel Insurance which was also awarded three awards by Canstar last month. SCTI was the only provider awarded ‘Outstanding Value’ in the International, Domestic and Seniors Travel Insurance categories.

SCTI was also awarded Travel and Health Insurer of the Year at the ITIJ Industry Awards 2022 where it was was lauded for its focus on quality product and policies, a commitment to diversity and inclusion, and for an impressive response to customers during the Covid-19 pandemic. Launched in 2002, the ITIJ Industry Awards reward excellence and innovation across a broad range of industry sectors in the global travel and health insurance industry.

SCTI has paid more than $1 million in Covid claims to Australian travellers since the start of the year. The majority of claims received have been for travel disruptions that occurred when customers contracted Covid-19 while on their holiday. For SCTI’s international travel insurance product, TravelCare Australia, 79 per cent of the claims paid to date are from people who have been diagnosed with Covid-19 while overseas. Similarly, 67 per cent of claims paid for SCTI’s Domestic travel insurance are from people who had been diagnosed with Covid-19 during their journey, resulting in travel disruptions.