WeatherIt

FAQs

• What does WeatherIt cover and what rainfall counts?

  WeatherIt Rain Insurance pays a fixed cash benefit (your payout amount) for each covered day on which your trigger is met. Your policy schedule uses three terms:

  1. Rain threshold: the minimum amount of rain (in millimetres) that must fall within a single hour.

  2. Qualifying hour: any hour within your rainfall coverage hours on a covered day, shown on your policy schedule, in which rainfall reaches your rain threshold.

  3. Trigger: the number of qualifying hours needed on a covered day for that day to pay. They don’t need to be in a row.

  It only covers rainfall, not wind, hail, snow, lightning, temperature, humidity or other weather. It isn’t travel insurance and doesn’t cover cancellation costs for your booking. We pay whether or not you attend.

  No forms, no receipts, and no need to cancel your plans. Claims are raised automatically when your trigger is met.

• How is WeatherIt different from other insurance?

  Traditional insurance pays for a loss you can prove. WeatherIt pays when rain is measured.

  Your cover is linked to the booking you’ve made with a WeatherIt partner (your policy calls this your “protected activity”), and your total potential payout matches your booking total at checkout.

  Because your cover is based on your booking total, there’s nothing to prove when you’re paid. You don’t need to show that rain spoiled your plans or that you lost money. If your trigger is met, you receive your payout amount.

• How are my rain threshold, trigger, coverage hours and payout set?

  Your quote is built automatically from your booking. It shows:

  • Your Maximum Payout amount: the booking total in your checkout cart.

  • Your payout amount: your Maximum Payout amount divided by your covered days. Your covered days are the specific days shown on your policy schedule on which rainfall is assessed, and they may not include every day of your insured dates. For example, if your insured dates run from Friday to Monday and your policy schedule shows Friday, Saturday and Sunday as covered days, a NZ$990 Maximum Payout amount gives you NZ$330 per covered day. Rainfall on Monday isn’t assessed.

  • Your rainfall coverage hours: the hours on each covered day during which rainfall is assessed, based on local time at your insured location. These are shown on your policy schedule.

  • Your rain threshold and trigger: the rain needed in an hour, and the number of qualifying hours needed on a covered day. Each clock hour (for example 9:00am to 10:00am, then 10:00am to 11:00am) is assessed on its own. Rain is counted in the clock hour it falls in, so a shower from 9:30am to 10:30am is split across two hours.

  • Your price.

  • Your rain threshold, trigger and price are calculated from rainfall history and forecast data for your booking’s location and dates, so they vary with the place and the time of year.

  Once you purchase, all terms are locked in on your policy schedule and won’t change unless your policy is reissued for new dates. During your cover, the customer portal shows every coverage hour and which ones have qualified.

• Is this real insurance?

  Yes, and you’re in safe hands. WeatherIt offers this insurance in New Zealand as an agent of the insurer, Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Company Limited, a trusted global insurer established more than 100 years ago. The idea behind WeatherIt may be new, but the insurer standing behind it has been looking after people since 1918.

• How does WeatherIt measure rainfall?

  WeatherIt uses rainfall data from the MetService NZ weather station named on your policy schedule, which also shows how far that station is from your insured location. If MetService NZ data isn’t available, we use rainfall data from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) for that station’s location. Only data from these sources is used to assess your trigger. Rainfall at the weather station may differ from rainfall at your insured location. Your payout is based only on the data sources described above.

  This data is final. We can’t consider other evidence of rainfall, such as your own rain gauge, photos or weather apps.

• What happens if the weather station data is temporarily offline?

  Your payout assessment keeps working even if your weather station goes offline. If data from your named MetService NZ station is temporarily unavailable, we use rainfall data from ECMWF for that station’s location, as set out in your policy. A station outage won’t stop your rainfall being assessed or your payout being made.

• How do payouts work and how long do they take?

  You don’t need to make a claim yourself. If your trigger is met on a covered day, we automatically raise a claim for you and let you know by email or SMS within 24 hours. To receive your payment, you just accept the claim and provide your preferred payment details: your bank account details or your PayPal account. If you haven’t accepted your claim, we’ll send you reminders, and your payout remains available for you to accept. Once you’ve accepted, payments are processed within 1 to 3 business days, and we’ll keep you updated throughout.

  We assess rainfall data for up to 2 days after your cover ends. If your trigger hasn’t been met by then, no payout is due.

  As a condition of your policy, details of claims are recorded on the Insurance Claims Register, an industry database insurers use to prevent fraud.

• Can I still go to my stay and receive a payout?

  Yes. Your payout depends on whether your rainfall trigger is met during your coverage hours, not on whether you attend, leave early or stay home.

  Go and enjoy your stay, leave early because of rain, or decide not to go. As long as your booking isn’t cancelled, you’ll receive your fixed cash payout for every covered day on which your trigger is met.

• Can I cancel my policy?

  Your policy is linked to your booking, so you can only cancel it if you also cancel your booking. To cancel, email hello@weatherit.ai.

  If your booking is cancelled 48 hours or more before your insured dates start, you’ll receive a full refund of the Total Paid shown on your policy schedule once you’ve given us written confirmation that your booking has been cancelled. Refunds are paid to your nominated bank account or by PayPal.

  If your booking is cancelled less than 48 hours before your insured dates start, your policy is cancelled from the time your booking is cancelled. There’s no refund, and no payout is made for any covered day after that time.

• What if I change my booking dates?

  Your policy doesn’t change automatically when you change your booking. Email hello@weatherit.ai at least 48 hours before your original insured dates start, and we may be able to reissue your policy for your new dates. Your reissued policy is based on a new quote, so your rain threshold, trigger and price may change.

  If your original insured dates start in less than 48 hours, your policy can’t be changed and stays on its original dates.

• How do I contact support?

  Email us at hello@weatherit.ai. We’ll acknowledge your message within one business day and aim to respond within 30 days.

  If you’re not happy with how we’ve handled your complaint, you can contact the Insurance & Financial Services Ombudsman (IFSO) Scheme, a free, independent service, at www.ifso.nz or 0800 888 202.