About
The Cover-More app turns a mobile phone into an ‘always-on’ safety monitor. It includes opt-in GPS tracking and intelligence from security analysts to provide everything from near-real-time travel alerts to immediate access to assistance.
Innovation presentation
Today’s tech-savvy and pandemic-weary travellers continue to demand much more as they explore the world: quick access to destination risk ratings, up-to-date travel advice, real-time safety alerts, health risk updates, immediate 24/7 emergency and security assistance, and the confidence knowing an expert team ‘has their back’ in the event of an emergency situation.
Cover-More Travel Insurance (part of Zurich Insurance Group) is the leading travel insurance and assistance provider in Australia and always a first-to-move to enhance the traveller journey. During the global pandemic, Cover-More didn't waste time counting the days until the world could travel again. They made every day count by investing in innovation and technology that would transform post-pandemic travel.
The Cover-More app, which is free to policyholders, is essentially an ‘always-on’ safety monitor. GPS-tracking and close monitoring of worldwide security events, combined with skilled emergency assistance teams, allows Cover-More policyholders to use the mobile phone app to remain safe from danger and access personal 24-hour assistance.
The Cover-More app offers intelligence features beyond emergency assistance, including traveller policy information, regularly updated country reports covering everything from entry and exit requirements, COVID-19 hotspots, vaccination requirements, political environment, local laws, and special information for female or LGBTQIA+ travellers to general information around culture or climate.
Near real-time travel alerts, which are targeted to a traveller’s location, are informed by a team of security analysts, as well as an AI engine that is constantly scouring news websites, social media, and government releases, and identifying threats.
Cover-More’s CX team employed an agile/lean UX process to develop and launch the app in eight months. The team mapped the end-to-end customer journey to illustrate what they were trying to achieve with the app solution.
The team developed the mobile app for both iOS and Android platforms in Australia and employed industry best practice in digital customer experience along the length of the customer journey. The app was also launched in New Zealand in November 2023.
Uniqueness of the project
The Cover-More app is the first of its kind delivering corporate-level travel assistance services to Australian and NZ leisure travellers. It is backed by sophisticated travel risk management technology and 24/7 medical and security assistance teams operating from global command centres in Brisbane, London and Toronto.
The effectiveness of the Cover-More app was demonstrated in Turkey and Syria in February 2023 when Australian travellers to the region could be pinpointed in the immediate aftermath of the devastating earthquake that killed nearly 60,000 people.
Five travellers were identified in Turkey through the app, then each of the five was contacted to confirm they were safe and well and did not require help.
It’s also an app that travellers don’t need to be actively using. Travellers can download and open the app before they go, have a read about their destination, and then just have it in the background and know that if something comes up, Cover-More will alert them and act quickly to keep them safe.
The Cover-More app is currently available in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store in Australia and New Zealand.
