Travel insurance for African safari trips is a must. It is compulsory for everyone booking through African Budget Safaris to take out comprehensive travel insurance for Africa.
We also highly recommend travel protection for emergency evacuation services. Find out more under Travel Protection with Global Rescue below.
Comprehensive travel insurance protects travellers financially and medically which is why it is mandatory when you book through African Budget Safaris. When you book with us, you must provide information about your insurance company, the contact details, and policy numbers before you travel.
Comprehensive Travel Insurance for Africa covers you for the full duration of your travels.
The following expenses and incidents are typically covered:
The above is a general guide of what is included in travel insurance for Africa and will vary depending on your specific policy.
We recommend buying travel insurance for Africa, within seven days of paying the deposit on your safari trip.
This enables you to get travel insurance that covers your trip deposit, financial default by airlines and safari operators, and pre-existing medical conditions. Purchasing travel insurance for Africa when you book your safari covers you in case you get sick or injured before the departure date, or if one of the companies you plan to travel with closes down or defaults.
The main reason to get travel insurance is to provide you with coverage in the case of injury or illness. Another benefit of travel insurance is protection against unforeseen travel expenses.
If you're booking with African Budget Safari you will need comprehensive travel insurance, because it is mandatory.
Comprehensive insurance will cover anything from minor injuries and the flu to more serious accidents that may require time in the hospital. In the case of serious injuries, an early flight back home may even be required, which is when you really cannot afford to be without comprehensive travel insurance or even a travel protection policy.
When it comes to accidents that might happen during adventure activities, the expenses can be even higher. These expenses may be higher due to the nature of the injuries sustained, or because of the remote areas of Africa where adventure activities typically take place. It is worth checking that your travel insurance policy covers all of the outdoor and adventure activities you are planning to do on your safari trip.
The risk of more expensive medical and emergency evacuation costs is especially relevant when travelling in Africa, where you often find yourself long distances away from proper medical facilities. Medical evacuations often require jet flights with onboard doctors - all of which can run into thousands of dollars in expenses. This is why we recommend taking out travel protection - to cover emergency evacuation services in particular, in addition to the medical and day-to-day travel cover provided by travel insurance.
Comprehensive travel insurance will cover you for a wide range of eventualities, ranging from flight and baggage delays to return flights for a close relative's funeral.
Having travel insurance means that you won't be restricted by your travel plans if things change or go wrong while you're travelling in Africa.
Often clients are covered to a certain extent if they book flights with their Credit Cards, but this cover is usually limited.
To avoid disappointments and issues, ask your Credit Card Company the following questions:
We strongly advise taking out additional cover when booking Travel Insurance through your Credit Card Company. Be sure to ask your Credit Card Company about their policy regarding additional coverage.
Unfortunately, medical aid just doesn't cover it when you are travelling in Africa.
Comprehensive travel insurance for Africa does not always cover political conflicts (war-related events) and threats from terrorism, although some policies do.
We recommend asking your tour operator (safari company or us) how these incidents would affect your booking. Check if cancelled trips will be refunded and postponed trips arranged without extra charges if unexpected crises arise.
Most travel insurance companies require pre-evacuation authorization, which can be difficult, if not impossible, to arrange when you are in remote African locations where there are no telephones. Check with your travel insurance company whether authorization is required before medical evacuation so that you can find out how to deal with this clause and work around it in a worst-case scenario.
We strongly advise our clients to sign up with a company that assists with medical evacuations, particularly if they are travelling to remote areas of Africa and participating in high-risk activities.
Travel protection covers you (the traveller) in the unlikely event of a medical or security emergency on your travels. The main service travel protection provides is emergency evacuation.
An emergency evacuation can cost over $100,000, without travel protection. So, this type of emergency cover is particularly crucial for travelling in remote regions of Africa.
A good travel protection policy provides you with medical, security, travel risk and crisis response services.
African Budget Safaris partners with Global Rescue to offer world-class travel protection services.
Over one million members trust Global Rescue to get them home safely when the unexpected happens on their travels. We highly recommend joining Global Rescue before you travel for peace of mind. Their travel protection will cover you in the event of a medical emergency or crisis requiring prompt evacuation services.
Global Rescue offers international travel insurance through its partner, Signature Travel Insurance. This makes it easy to add reliable travel insurance to your travel protection policy.
Signature travel insurance is the perfect add-on to a Global Rescue membership. Their comprehensive travel insurance for Africa covers you against a variety of unforeseen expenses while you’re travelling, giving you the added comfort of knowing the value of your trip is protected.
For dependable advice about travel insurance and travel protection for your trip to Africa, talk to a safari expert at African Budget Safaris.
Call us toll free from US/Canada on 1-888-414-6513, or from the UK on 0-808-189-1052. All other countries can contact us on +27 21 791 0878.
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