Travel insurance is not an exciting subject, but it’s a vital part of planning a safari and merits your attention. Due to pre-payment requirements and substantial cancellation fees imposed by suppliers, we strongly recommend trip cancellation insurance to protect your investment against unexpected changes or termination of your travel arrangements. Here are some tips to help you understand the terminology and decide what insurance coverage is best for you – all with the objective to provide peace of mind as you embark on your African safari.

Travel insurance is a plan you purchase that protects you from certain financial risks and losses that can occur while traveling. These losses can be minor, like a delayed suitcase, or more significant, like a last-minute trip cancellation or a medical emergency overseas.   In addition to financial protection, the other often over-looked benefit of travel insurance is access to assistance services, wherever you are in the world.  Their experts can arrange medical treatment in an emergency, monitor your care, serve as interpreters, help you replace lost passports and so much more.

A few things you should know about travel insurance:

• Benefits vary by plan. It’s important to choose a plan that fits your needs, your budget and your travel plans.
• Travel insurance can’t cover every possible situation. Most travel insurance policies cover only the specific situations, events, and losses included in your plan documents, and only under the conditions described.
• Travel insurance is designed to cover unforeseeable events – not things you could easily see coming or things within your control.

Trip Cancellation and Interruption Coverage

Travel insurance is an important consideration particularly when planning a safari because of the long lead time from planning to travel as well as the significant upfront financial investment.  Understanding the difference between plan benefits is important. Some benefits protect you before your trip begins, such as trip cancellation, while others offer coverage during your travels like trip interruption.   Trip interruption insurance will reimburse the unused portion of your trip if it has already begun and an unexpected incident forces you to return home early. This post-departure benefit is particularly useful when booking expensive trips.

Medical Emergencies/Evacuations

Medical emergencies, if they arise while you are on safari, are likely to require some private air transportation which is costly.  As a result, it is a condition of travel with African Portfolio that each client is insured for a minimum $500,000 in emergency medical evacuation coverage.  Should an emergency situation arise, contact your insurance company immediately if possible. They will often have specific emergency measures and service providers in place and will help make all the necessary arrangements for you.

Best Time to Get Travel Insurance?

It’s best to purchase your travel insurance as far in advance as possible. Pre-existing medical conditions are usually not covered if you buy the insurance more than 14 days after your initial payment . So it is generally “good practice” to make that extra investment in insurance at this stage.  We recommend you purchase insurance when you make your non-refundable deposit payment confirming your safari.  For more details, read our updated discussion on Travel Insurance on our website.

More Travel Insurance Tidbits to Keep in Mind

• A basic travel insurance plan will generally cost about 5% – 10% of the value of your trip (it’s dependent on your age).
• Children under 18 are usually covered under their parent’s policy at the time of purchase.
• Read the fine print and call the insurance company with questions.
• If you need to use your medical benefits, call the insurance company to make sure you are covered and get advice on which doctor/service they expect you to use.
• Some credit cards carry travel insurance policies, but you have to use the card to pay for your trip and you MUST double check to see what they cover; they are unlikely to provide the minimum $500K in emergency medical evacuation coverage for example.
• Most insurance companies will reimburse you for costs you incur during your trip, like a doctor’s visit or lost baggage delay.   But keep your receipts for any and all out of pocket expenses as these will be required to be submitted with your claim.

Please note we’re not insurance experts but we have many years of experience assisting clients who have needed to rely on their travel insurance, so don’t hesitate to contact us with questions if you are booking your trip with us.  While the choice of insurance provider is yours to make, for 20 years we have partnered with Allianz Global Assistance, who offer a range of travel protection plans that include different benefits and benefit limits.  We generally recommend the classic travel insurance plan through Allianz.

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